Children's Home run by Blackford Education (schools) Ltd in Somerset

Inspection report children’s home: SC045096 1 SC045096 Registered provider: Blackford Education (schools) Limited

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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 home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children and young people. The care packages usually include the provision of education at the company’s school. The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since 2011. She is also registered to manage a second home within the organisation.

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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: 12 September 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC045096 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/10/2017 Full Good 15/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/05/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC045096 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 the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the records in relation to the use of sanctions are evaluated for their appropriateness. 31/07/2019

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 31/07/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC045096 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people receive good-quality care and support. Staff develop positive relationships with them and show them genuine warmth and care. These positive interactions are akin to relationships in a family home. Children and young people say that they are very happy living here. Some have been living at the home for many years and consider this to be their home. Leaders and managers ensure that children and young people’s views are listened to and acted upon. For example, children and young people have been consulted about what holiday they would like to go on this year and about their thoughts on living with others. Detailed records demonstrate the action taken to address their views. Leaders and managers ensure that there is an effective assessment process that clearly identifies the needs of children and young people before they come to live at the home. This ensures that the provision can meet the children and young people’s needs. Staff

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

welcome children and young people when they first come to stay. Children and young people say that the children’s guide is helpful. Children and young people thoroughly enjoy an extensive range of activities and leisure opportunities. Memory books and photographs of activities in the home and in the wider community are kept for children and young people to keep and look back on. Staff encourage children and young people to be more independent. For example, they are encouraged to make their own snacks and drinks, go to the shops and take part in household chores. As a result, children and young people develop skills for later life and are proud of their achievements. Staff encourage children and young people to lead active and healthy lifestyles. They ensure that children and young people’s individual health and emotional welfare needs are identified, and specialist support is provided if needed. Children and young people attend the organisation’s school and go to college. Their

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

attendance is good, and they are doing well relative to their starting points.

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

The arrangements to safeguard children and young people are good. Leaders and managers respond to safeguarding concerns effectively. Staff receive regular safeguarding training and demonstrate a good awareness of safeguarding processes. Children and young people are safe and they say that they feel safe. Positive behaviour is encouraged well. Detailed behaviour support plans guide staff effectively in how to support the children and young people to manage their emotions and feelings. Comprehensive risk assessments identify risks and describe how these risks are to be managed and reduced. Restraint is used as a last resort, to keep children and young people and others safe. Since the last inspection, restraint has been used on one occasion. Leaders and managers ensure that there is good oversight and evaluation of its use. Staff seek children and young people’s views of the intervention used and these views are clearly

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

Inspection report children’s home: SC045096 5 recorded. In addition, discussions are held with staff following the use of an intervention, so that they can reflect on their practice. Leaders and managers ensure that there is good management oversight of incidents in the home. Staff respond effectively to incidents and work together with local authorities to ensure good outcomes for children and young people. Children and young people have not been missing from this home. In addition, there are no concerns in relation to the misuse of drugs or alcohol. Children and young people live in a safe environment. The recently reviewed locality assessment is comprehensive and identifies the known risks and social and leisure opportunities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is well managed. Leaders and managers have high expectations for what children and young people can achieve and have a good awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision. Since the last inspection, the registered manager has undertaken a comprehensive review of the care and support provided and has identified realistic targets for improvement. She responds effectively to recommendations made by the independent visitor. Since the last inspection, there has been a significant improvement in the management oversight of many records. The use of sanctions is rare. However, closer scrutiny of the records in relation to the use of sanctions requires improvement. The records do not demonstrate that the registered manager has evaluated the appropriateness of all sanctions. Placement plans are comprehensive and guide staff in how to meet the individualised needs of the children and young people. These are regularly reviewed and updated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff ensure that records reflect the child or young person’s time spent living at the home, their progress and achievements. Overall, staff are supported well. However, not all staff are receiving regular and reflective supervision. Staff benefit from a wide range of training, including mandatory training and specific training that equips them to support the children and young people well. As part of the home’s quality assurance, leaders and managers seek professionals’ views and opinions about the quality of the service provision. Feedback is very positive. At the time of this inspection, a social worker spoke highly of the care that is provided and of the effective communication with all staff who work at the home. This is an example of good partnership working. Children and young people live in a homely and well-maintained home. Staff ensure that children and young people’s ideas and views are sought in relation to redecoration of the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

home. For example, children and young people have been involved in choosing wallpaper and paint to redecorate their bedrooms. They say that they love their bedrooms. However, the registered manager has identified a number of improvements that can be made and these are included in the home’s detailed development plan. The two requirements and two recommendations raised at the last inspection in Inspection report children’s home: SC045096 6 September 2018 have been met.

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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: SC045096 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Blackford Education (schools) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Blackford House, Blackford, Minehead TA24 8SY

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Inspector

David Kidner, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC045096 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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