Children's Home run by Plus One South West Ltd in Somerset

Inspection report children’s home: SC386430 1 SC386430 Registered provider: Plus One (South West) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private company which is based in the South West of England. The home provides care and accommodation for up to two children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 18 December 2017

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC386430 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/12/2017 Full Good 07/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/11/2016 Full Good 24/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC386430 3

p.2

Recommendations

 Ensure that children’s homes are nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations. In particular, ensure that the domestic hot water temperature is not excessive. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, April 2015, page 15, paragraph 3.9.)

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in this home and say that it is the best they have experienced. Their relationships with staff are inspired by warmth, genuine affection and mutual respect. They find the staff very easy to talk to. As a result, children feel safe, secure and make good progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they got along well with another young person who has recently moved into independent accommodation. They are aware that another young person might move in. The registered manager explained how important it is to ensure that any new young person is suitably matched, so that there are safe, harmonious relationships.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some staff continue to keep in touch with past residents for some time after they have left the home. This provides these young people with invaluable support when they are starting out in adult life.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy the quiet rural location of this home. The house is clean and there is a pleasant garden. Discussion took place about areas for further improvement, such as removing broken play equipment from the garden. Another area for consideration is to replace the conference-style dining chairs with furniture which is more domestic in style. The manager had already started work on some of these areas for development before the end of the inspection.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a variety of sports and other activities. They join local clubs and participated in a four-day football coaching event during the school holidays. Staff are creative in encouraging the children to enjoy themselves through healthy activities. One member of staff decided, spontaneously, to take a child on a walk to a local landmark to break up the hour-long journey back from school. This was a great idea and was very well received.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child came to live in the home before a local school place became available. This resulted in his educational needs not being met. A requirement was made at the last full inspection. The registered manager worked hard with the placing social worker and the education department to achieve a place. The child now attends school full time, so this Inspection report children’s home: SC386430 4 is an improvement from the last full inspection and the requirement is met.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children eat well and enjoy their food. They are encouraged to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Children’s healthcare needs have recently changed. The staff have responded very well, supporting children through the potentially concerning process of attending hospital appointments.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children receive regular cognitive behaviour therapy through the company’s therapist. This helps children to understand their life experiences and to find strategies to help them to manage their behaviour. As a result, there has been a major decrease in the number of incidents since children came to live in the home.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Risks in the home are very well managed. Risks are regularly updated, for example, with the inclusion of newly-identified healthcare needs. There are clear and coherent strategies to help staff to support children appropriately.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The registered manager has eliminated duplication in the children’s paperwork by combining the risk assessment and behaviour management plan. The resulting document is easy for staff to read and absorb. Staff sign to show that they have read the plan.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Behaviour management is extremely positive. Daily discussions often highlight any recent behaviour of concern. Staff provide prompt, non-judgemental feedback and advice. Rewards are used intelligently to help reinforce positive behaviour.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Any restorative measures are appropriate and timely. For example, when a child recently stayed out without agreement, his free time was temporarily suspended.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The registered manager consults the local authority designated officer when necessary. This has happened on one occasion since the last inspection, in relation to an incident when a child was restrained at school.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Some children have gone missing on several occasions since the last full inspection. Each individual event has been managed well. For example, the staff remain in touch with the children, who are often with friends. They encourage the children to return to the home with them. The registered manager has a strategy in place, including discussions, return home interviews and risk management meetings, to help reduce the level of risk to children.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The home has helped the children to reduce the number of incidents and restraints. Before he came, one child was being restrained several times a day. The staff have been involved in two very brief supportive holds, both on the same day, since the last inspection. This is a considerable improvement. Following these incidents, the registered manager reviewed and increased staffing levels for one month. The child’s behaviour stabilised, showing that this was an effective strategy. Inspection report children’s home: SC386430 5 There has been one complaint since the previous inspection. This was investigated fairly and thoroughly.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

In June 2018, a sample of staff recruitment files from another service operated by the same company were examined. The minor shortfalls found during that inspection were all resolved promptly. Staff recruitment files were not inspected for this home on this occasion. They will be seen on the next full inspection.

p.5

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Health and safety is well managed in this home. All the necessary fire safety checks are completed as a minimum at the intervals recommended by the fire and rescue service. The registered manager has been asked to ensure that the hot water supply is controlled at the boiler to maintain an appropriate temperature for a children’s home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is well managed. The experienced, qualified registered manager monitors the home extremely well. She leads her staff team by example and provides regular, supportive supervision.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has sufficient qualified staff to look after the present child. Staffing levels are kept under review and additional staff are deployed if the need arises. The use of agency staff is sporadic and has not occurred in recent weeks.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training is of a good standard and helps the staff to meet the child’s needs. Recent training has included Asperger’s Syndrome and childhood trauma. More training is planned on supporting children who show harmful sexual behaviour. When the child recently developed a medical condition, the staff all received training in how to manage this. The staff receive clinical supervision and training from a qualified clinical psychologist, who also undertakes direct work with children. As a result of the good levels of training and support, staff feel valued and fulfilled in their roles. They express great enthusiasm for working with children and show considerable commitment to them.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager shows ambition for the home. She explained that the company is hoping to purchase the house and build an extension to further enhance the accommodation.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a very good understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. Her development plan includes making the office less formal and more readily accessible to children. Some work has already taken place to achieve this objective.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff have a good understanding of the children’s progress. They maintain good professional relationships with the local safeguarding agencies and the child’s school.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The four requirements and one recommendation from the previous full inspection have all been met. The registered manager responds well to advice and support from the Inspection report children’s home: SC386430 6 home’s independent visitor, as well as acting quickly on discussions during Ofsted inspections. This means that she had already responded to the inspector’s comments during this inspection, before it was concluded.

p.5

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

p.6

Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC386430 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Plus One (South West) Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Mount, 21 High Street, Wellington, Somerset TA21 8QT

p.7

Inspector(s)

Heather Chaplin: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC386430 8 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.7

Inspector(s)

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector(s)

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector(s)

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8