Children's home run by The Governing Body of Woodlands School in Plymouth

Inspection report children’s home: SC448615 1 SC448615 Registered provider: The Governing Body of Woodland School

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides short breaks for children who have sensory impairment, learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 20 February 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC448615 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 28/11/2017 Full Good 19/10/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/06/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC448615 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to ensuring that all staff have appropriate first aid training. 31/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only—

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character; 31/12/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC448615 4 the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the registered person satisfying themselves that any agency worker used in the home fully meets these requirements. 33: Employment of staff

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from their overnight stays at this service because they are afforded opportunities they would not otherwise have. For example, they enjoy a wide range of activities and opportunities to mix with other children outside of school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents have confidence in the service. They value the benefits to their child and the additional positive impact on their family, including their other children. The staff team is fastidious in gathering information from parents and social workers so that staff can provide safe and consistent care to each child. During this inspection, staff were observed to provide highly sensitive and nurturing care to each child in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Careful and considered planning ensures a good mix of children. Introductions are thorough and responsive to the needs of the child. A particularly good example of this was seen during the inspection in relation to a child who was finding it difficult being away from home. The parent said that the team had been ‘absolutely brilliant’ and felt very reassured that her child was being well cared for. Communication with parents is Inspection report children’s home: SC448615 5 excellent, and recently the service has embraced the use of technology to keep parents informed about how their child is spending their time while away from home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The physical environment has improved considerably over the past couple of years, and further improvements continue to be carried out to meet the changing needs of the children who visit.

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

Children who have overnight stays at this service are safeguarded effectively. Staff receive good-quality training and have an excellent insight into the vulnerabilities of the children they care for.

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

The responsible individual and the registered manager take a proactive approach to safeguarding, meeting regularly and, if necessary, escalating concerns. Personal care needs are responded to sensitively, and staff respond well to any concerns they may have, for example in relation to unexplained bruising or nutrition. Any concerns about staff conduct are responded to thoroughly and decisively. A social worker commended the team’s approach to safeguarding, saying: ‘Safeguarding is always their priority; good, open communication and good working together.’

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

The management and administration of medication have been extensively reviewed and improved. This has led to a more thorough, yet simpler and safer approach.

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

Good attention is given to ensuring that staff are appropriately trained and competent in medical procedures necessary to care for children safely. Mostly, training is provided by an external community nurse, and competency assessment and sign off are provided by the in-house registered nurse. This tiered approach is thorough and accountable. However, not all staff have current training in emergency or paediatric first aid. This is important in providing base-line skills for all staff, so that opportunities for children are not limited.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual and registered manager are dedicated to making continuous improvements to the quality of this service. They work effectively together and are supported by a newly appointed deputy manager and a motivated staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A recent review of expectations of roles and responsibilities during shifts has led to a greater emphasis on a child-led approach. This has meant that children are afforded more opportunities to have positive experiences and enjoy their stay. Staff have designated responsibilities during their shifts, which affords clarity of purpose and accountability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team has provided good continuity for children over the past year. All staff Inspection report children’s home: SC448615 6 have a professional level 3 qualification. The manager is completing a level 5 qualification and the deputy a level 4 qualification. Excellent attention is given to regular team meetings, affording time to reflect and improve practices to benefit children. Further attention is needed to the quality and frequency of one-to-one supervision and annual appraisals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A great deal of work has been put into re-organising children’s files, which feel fresh and informative. Work is in progress to rationalise staff files, including information supporting staff’s recruitment, supervision and training. During this inspection, ways to further improve other records, such as individual risk assessments and the manager’s review of quality, were identified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Three agency staff are occasionally used to maintain appropriate staffing levels. Leaders and managers need to satisfy themselves that robust safer recruitment practices have been carried out by the agency.

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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.

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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: SC448615 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Wood View Learning Community, 51 Lancaster Gardens, Plymouth PL5 4AA

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Inspector

Norma Welsby, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC448615 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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