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

Inspection report children’s home: SC467115 1 SC467115 Registered provider: Plus One (South West) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private company, which is based in the south west of England. It provides care and accommodation for up to two children who may have emotional and behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 16 October 2018

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC467115 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/10/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/06/2018 Full Good 29/11/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 21/12/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC467115 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

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; help each child to understand how to keep safe; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; and take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)–(iii) and (vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s unsupervised time is structured, managed in line with the placing authority’s directions and the home’s own risk assessment and is supported by agreed multi-agency strategies. 15/09/2019

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improvement to be good

The home requires improvement to be good because some children and young people have been at risk of harm while missing and away from the staff’s care and protection. It is sometimes unclear with whom the younger child is associating. Both children and young people engage in drug and alcohol misuse. The staff continue to work hard to counsel them against this behaviour, but this is not currently a good outcome for them.

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improvement to be good

Other aspects of the children’s care in the home are positive. Both children and young people benefit from positive and nurturing relationships with their staff. As a result, they have both made progress in most areas.

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improvement to be good

One young person has overcome some educational challenges and has achieved good Inspection report children’s home: SC467115 4 exam results. This young person is working towards independence. She has applied for jobs and has showed tenacity and maturity when early applications were rejected. The young person has now settled into her new job and has passed her probationary period.

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improvement to be good

The other child is engaging well with his alternative education programme and as a result, he is achieving well.

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improvement to be good

Children and young people are consulted about every aspect of their daily lives. The important conversations that they have with staff help children to reflect on the challenges of everyday life in the home. The children and young people can take part in a variety of constructive activities, although currently the strongest attraction for some is spending more time with their friends.

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improvement to be good

The staff have helped a child to visit his family in another part of the country. Relationships have improved to the extent that the child can now enjoy overnight stays. The staff have planned a camping trip in the child’s home locality during the school holiday period, so that he can spend more time with his family. This is a very positive outcome for him.

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improvement to be good

Children’s and young people’s healthcare needs are very well understood. Both have been helped to understand recently acquired medical conditions. The staff have been exceptionally supportive towards a young person who had a stressful stay in hospital earlier in the year. Their vigilance and attention to detail was instrumental in obtaining prompt medical help for a young person who had unusual medical symptoms.

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improvement to be good

The children and young people receive a good diet and are encouraged to live a healthy lifestyle. The staff work very well with medical professionals to obtain the best possible healthcare for their residents.

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improvement to be good

The home provides ready access to a qualified cognitive behaviour therapist. The therapist works directly with the children and young people as well as offering consultation to the staff team. This helps the children to talk about any matters that are worrying them. Consultation with a qualified clinician enables the staff to implement an informed and sensitive approach to behaviour management.

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improvement to be good

The home provides a very pleasant place for the children and young people to live. One professional who responded to the Ofsted survey said that ‘it feels like a home, in a nice relaxed environment and the staff are friendly’.

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improvement to be good

The inspector has concerns about the safety of both children in the home. The staff work very hard to keep the children and young people safe, but this has only been partially successful. The risks to one young person appear to be reducing, but risks to the other child have recently increased. Inspection report children’s home: SC467115 5 Between the full inspection on 19 June 2018 and the interim inspection on 16 October 2018, one young person was involved in two high-risk episodes when she went missing from the home. Since then, the staff have worked alongside police officers to educate the young person about the risks that she faced in terms of exploitation and abuse. These risks were at their most acute when the young person formerly went missing and returned to her home area, but this no longer happens. This shows that the work with this young person has been largely successful.

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improvement to be good

Instead, the young person spends time camping with friends of a similar age and stays within a few miles of the home. The staff and the placing authority agree that the risks to this young person are still present but have reduced significantly over the past year.

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improvement to be good

Conversely, there are increasing concerns about a younger child in the home. This child has been missing on fewer occasions than the older young person, but his age and behaviour when missing put him at risk. For example, he associates with manipulative adults who have recently placed him under considerable duress.

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improvement to be good

The child went missing again during the inspection. He was out overnight, apparently on the streets, in a nearby town. The staff were very diligent in trying to locate him. On several occasions, they went out to search for him and he did agree to return later that night.

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improvement to be good

The inspector has major concerns about how unsupervised time is managed in the home. The child’s risk assessment and placement plan state that the social worker does not want him to have unstructured free time. This has not been adhered to.

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improvement to be good

The service has not yet arranged a multi-agency risk management meeting involving the police. However, they have been in frequent contact with the police to keep them updated about his whereabouts. Police officers visited the home during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Another concern is one young person’s inappropriate use of the internet. Both children and young people have removed protective software, which the staff installed on their mobiles, to prevent them from accessing certain internet sites. This has made the children and young people more vulnerable. The staff continue to work with other agencies to reduce the potential risk of online abuse and exploitation.

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improvement to be good

Other aspects of safeguarding practice in the home are positive. Generally, behaviour management is good. The staff work well as a team. Rewards and consequences are fair and there have been only two minor restraint holds for a very short duration.

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improvement to be good

The staff speak with children and young people regularly and frankly about their behaviour. They explain the children’s and young people’s choices and the possible consequences of their actions in an atmosphere of patience, acceptance and support.

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improvement to be good

Recent staff recruitment files were inspected for all homes in the company earlier in the year. Recruitment is well managed, as is the home’s health and safety. Inspection report children’s home: SC467115 6 Policies and procedures, including missing from home procedures, provide a strong basis for sound practice. The registered manager links well with other agencies to help safeguard children, including the designated officer who has no concerns about the quality of the home’s communications.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have in most instances taken swift and effective action to keep children and young people safe, but there have been recent examples where this has not happened quickly or assertively enough.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The staff need to develop more professional curiosity and trigger multi-agency meetings rapidly at the first sign of serious risk. This has happened with the older young person but not always with the younger child. A multi-agency meeting will not in itself stop the child from going missing, but it would be an important step towards drawing up a rigorous and workable safety plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Apart from this instance, the home is generally well managed. The registered manager, who is working towards her qualification at level 5, has now been in that role for over a year. She has brought about significant improvements in the home, particularly in the way in which the staff work together towards common goals. The manager is well supported by the responsible individual who is very much involved in the conduct of all the homes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive good-quality training, supervision and clinical support from a qualified cognitive behaviour therapist. Staff feel very well supported and one member of staff described the registered manager as ‘fantastic’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has strong systems in place to monitor the quality of written records and staff practice. Her Regulation 45 reports are of a very high, reflective standard. This home also has a good independent visitor who provides additional challenge and scrutiny.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The comments received from professionals who responded to the Ofsted survey were also positive. One person said that the home has a ‘very competent manager who advocates well for the young person in her care’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The single recommendation from the last inspection has been met. The staff and manager met with the designated officer for child protection in order to discuss expectations and to start to build a positive working relationship. Inspection report children’s home: SC467115 7

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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: SC467115 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Plus One (South West) Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Hannah Lloyd-Perkins

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Inspector

Heather Chaplin: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC467115 9 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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