Children's Home run by South West Childcare Services in Plymouth

Inspection report children’s home: 1277304 1 Registered provider: South West Childcare Services 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 provides care and accommodation for up to two children. It is operated by a private provider that has other homes in the region.

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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 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: 6 November 2018

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1277304 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/11/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1277304 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.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

Take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly relates to the need to make sure that children are supported to learn to use the internet safely without close supervision. 30/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s homes overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)(2)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to making sure, whenever possible, that 30/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1277304 4 children are present when the staff search their bedrooms and remove any of their possessions.

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken in to account and give the child reasons for decisions made in relation to the child. (Regulation 7(1)(c)(2)(a)(iii)) 30/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being;

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10(1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to ensuring that if a child requires support with drug or alcohol dependency, this help is sought without delay. 30/09/2019

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improvement to be good

The staff fail to ensure that young people are always sensitively supported on their arrival at the home. The staff failed to encourage and help one young person to unpack their bags so that they could benefit from having a sense of permanence, belonging and being nurtured. The young person’s bags remained unpacked in their bedroom two weeks after they had moved into the home.

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improvement to be good

The staff do not promptly obtain specialist support for a young person who is misusing illegal substances. Healthcare plans do not detail how young people will be helped with substance misuse and what action should be taken to address the associated health risks. Inspection report children’s home: 1277304 5 The young people know how to complain if they are concerned about any aspect of their care at the home. However, the staff do not always respond to complaints in line with the home’s complaints procedure, and do not offer a written response to young people to confirm that their complaint has been taken seriously, what action has been taken to investigate the complaint and the outcome of the investigation.

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improvement to be good

The staff succeed in promoting family relationships. The staff welcome the young people’s families and friends to the home, as well as enabling the young people to visit their families outside of the home. The staff recognise the importance of these relationships, particularly when the plan is for the young person to return to their family when they leave the home.

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improvement to be good

The staff effectively support the young people to learn independence skills such as budgeting, applying for a passport, shopping and cooking. This learning will give the young people independent-living skills that they will need when they leave the home.

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improvement to be good

The young people are encouraged by the staff to eat healthily and take part in physical activities such as biking, climbing and walking. One young person who has recently moved into the home, reported that he is looking forward to joining the scouts and police cadets, and that the staff are helping him to apply.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments do not detail how the young people will be kept safe when they are using the internet, or how they will be supported to learn to safely use the internet without the close supervision of the staff.

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improvement to be good

Two young people have left the home since the last inspection. The staff were unable to safely manage their behaviour. One member of staff was injured by a young person during an incident where damage was caused to the home and resulted in a criminal charge being made against the young person.

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improvement to be good

The police have been called to the home on two occasions by the staff to take control of unsafe situations and manage one young person’s behaviour. During one incident, a young person was handcuffed on the floor by the police, as the staff were not able to keep the young person safe.

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improvement to be good

The staff do not always ensure that young people are involved, whenever possible, in the searches of their bedrooms and the removal of any illegal items that are found. One young person reported that they were very angry that the staff had been in their bedroom without their knowledge and removed some of their possessions. The staff’s failure to try to involve the young person in the searches was a factor in a breakdown of relationships between the staff and the young person.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff are reflective and they learn from any incidents that could have Inspection report children’s home: 1277304 6 been managed differently, and then implement this learning. This learning includes improving behaviour management plans so that they now give the staff clear and effective strategies and guidance to follow in order to safely manage the behaviour of young people.

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improvement to be good

Comprehensive missing-from-home protocols ensure that the staff are clear about their responsibilities and the action they should take if a young person goes missing. The manager ensures that any incidents of missing are followed up with a return-to-home interview conducted by an independent person. The staff are curious to find out where a young person has been if they are missing and what they have been doing. This information is then discussed in a one-to-one meeting with the young person, so that they can learn from their mistakes.

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improvement to be good

The staff understand the potential risks that the young person may present to themselves and/or others. The manager and the staff have strong links with safeguarding professionals and the police, and gain advice and support from them to help to keep the young people safe.

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improvement to be good

Comprehensive staff recruitment procedures are in place, and are effectively implemented by managers. This helps to ensure that only suitable people are employed in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and suitably qualified to undertake the management role in the home. She is working towards the necessary level 5 management qualification, and aims to complete it within the next 12 months.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has experienced a turbulent time since the previous inspection. Two registered managers have left the home and there is a new staff team. The current registered manager is working hard to review care plans, systems and procedures to ensure that the staff benefit from having the leadership they need to effectively support the young people in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff benefit from having access to the extensive training opportunities offered by the company. They are equipped with the skills that they need to effectively care for the young people. The staff receive training in topics such as safeguarding, attachment and first aid. The staff also receive specialist training to meet the identified care needs of the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and the staff team have high aspirations for the young people in their care. The manager challenges other professionals if she thinks that the young people are not receiving a high quality of service, such as when she decided that the young person in her care was not receiving therapy from an appropriate person. She challenged the service and succeeded in ensuring that a more appropriate professional was found. Inspection report children’s home: 1277304 7 The home meets its stated aim of providing a homely and comfortable environment for young people The home is well decorated. The extensive damage caused to the home by a former resident has been repaired.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The requirements from the previous inspection are met. The manager is aware of the strengths of the home and the areas that need to be further improved, and how the necessary improvements will be achieved. This is documented in the home’s development plan.

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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: 1277304 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: South West Childcare Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: First Floor Flat, 46 Durnford Street, Plymouth, Devon PL1 3QN

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Inspector

Tina Maddison: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1277304 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 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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