Children's home run by South West Childcare Services

Inspection report children’s home: 1268518 1 Registered provider: South West Childcare Services

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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 care and accommodation for up two children. The home is operated by a small private company that has other children’s homes in the same region of England.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 31 October to 1 November 2019

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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: 1 November 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1268518 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/11/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 23/04/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1268518 3

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Recommendations

 Homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  Children should be encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’ supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people living at the home benefit from the staff’s nurturing and individualised care. The consistent and stable staff team builds trusting relationships with the young people in its care. These relationships form the base from which the young people begin to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people living in the home get along well with each other. Leaders and managers carefully consider whether a young person will be a good match for the young people already living in the home. The staff and the manager undertake a comprehensive compatibility risk assessment prior to a young person being admitted to the home. This process helps to ensure that the young people can live positively together and that the staff can meet their care needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two young people recently moved out of the home and successfully moved back home to their families. The staff understand the importance of keeping in touch with the young people after they have left the home, and provide ongoing support if necessary.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One young person is making very good progress at school and is now engaging with education, having been a school refuser prior to coming to live at the home. The manager and staff advocate for young people to obtain places at schools that best meet their educational needs. As a result, one young person recently won an award for achieving a very good level of school attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage the young people to give their views and opinions. These views and opinions are gained informally, for example during a car journey, and then recorded in their files. However, these views are not documented in the young people’s care plans to demonstrate that their views and opinions are being acted on by the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people benefit from the staff implementing clear routines and boundaries in the home because this helps them to feel safe and secure. They learn independence Inspection report children’s home: 1268518 4 skills, such as cooking and budgeting. The young people regard the home as a place of safety and stability. The young people have settled well at the home following multiple moves from their previous homes, where their complex care needs could not be met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A strength of the home is the way in which the manager and the staff build positive relationships with the young people’s families and friends. Siblings of the young people enjoy overnight stays at the home. The staff are effective in supporting the young people to regularly visit their families at their family homes, as part of plans for the young people to eventually leave the children’s home and return to live with their families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff meet the young people’s physical and emotional healthcare needs well. They support the young people to attend all medical and dental appointments. The staff receive specialist training so that they are equipped with the skills they need to support the young people with specific care needs and conditions.

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

The staff understand the potential risks that the young people may present. The staff undertake individual work with young people to help them to learn how to keep themselves safe when they are out of the home enjoying their free time.

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

Comprehensive assessments of risk and control measures are in place to help to keep the young people safe. The manager and the staff work closely with safeguarding professionals and placing social workers to monitor and address any risk-taking behaviours.

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

Incidents of young people going missing from the home are reducing in number. The young people are gaining a sense of safety and well-being from living at the home. They reported that they feel safe and can confide in the staff if they are feeling unsafe or worried. The young people reported that they trust all of the staff in the home, and that all staff listen to them and take their concerns seriously. This means that staff can take prompt action to respond to and reassure the young people.

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

The staff manage the behaviour of the young people effectively by using playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy. (PACE). The use of this therapeutic method of behaviour management enables the staff to de-escalate difficult situations, and help the young people to learn from their mistakes and build on their positive behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and is undertaking an appropriate management qualification. She provides strong and effective leadership in the home and creates a Inspection report children’s home: 1268518 5 culture where all the staff have high aspirations and high expectations for the young people they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is consistent and stable. The staff reported that they enjoy their jobs and feel well supported by the manager, and that the home is a positive place to work. Because the staff are supported and led so well by the manager, they in turn can offer high-quality support and care to the young people living at the home. All staff are either trained in an appropriate childcare qualification or are enrolled on a training course so that they will gain the necessary childcare qualification within the required timescale.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from other professionals was entirely positive. Placing social workers praised the level of communication from the manager and reported that the manager and staff go above and beyond to support young people to succeed and make good progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager actively challenges other services and professionals if she thinks that they are not offering the young people a good-quality service. Recently, the manager was effective in challenging a local authority to promptly find a replacement social worker for one young person whose social worker had left.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home provides the young people with a homely and comfortable environment. Any damage in the house is promptly repaired. The young people choose soft furnishings for the house and colour schemes. Photographs of the young people are displayed throughout the house, giving the young people a sense of belonging. One young person created a flower bed with a member of staff in the home’s garden during the summer. The locks that are fitted on young people’s bedroom doors are broken, which detracts from the otherwise homely appearance of the house.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is fully aware of the strengths and areas for improvement in the home. The home’s development plan is informed by feedback from parents, the young people and staff. Prompt action is taken to address any areas for improvement. All requirements and recommendations made at the previous inspection are 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 Inspection report children’s home: 1268518 6 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: 1268518 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: South West Childcare Services

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Tina Maddison: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1268518 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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