Children's home run by Wessex College Limited in Dorset

Assurance visit report: SC451819 1 SC451819

p.1

Assurance visit

Information about this children ’ s home

p.1

Assurance visit

The children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is one of five children’s homes operated by this private organisation. The organisation provides an independent school that children from this home can attend. After several months of closure, the home reopened to children in August 2019. The home had no registered manager from August 2019 until the present manager, who started in post in November 2019, registered on 18 May 2020.

p.1

Assurance visit

Previous inspection date: 15 January 2020

p.1

Assurance visit

Previous inspection judgement: Requires improvement to be good

p.1

Information about this visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted suspended all routine inspections in March 2020. As part of a phased return to routine inspection, we are undertaking assurance visits to children’s social care services that are inspected under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

p.1

Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:

p.1

Information about this visit

 children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership.

p.1

Information about this visit

This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

p.1

Information about this visit

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s social care system has delivered child-centred practice and care within the context of the restrictions placed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assurance visit report: SC451819 2

p.1

Findings from the visit

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance visit.

p.2

The care of children

The children enjoy positive and trusting relationships with the staff. They receive nurturing care from a consistent staff team. Children say that there is always someone they can talk to about anything that is worrying them.

p.2

The care of children

The staff set clear but realistic boundaries to help the children to learn appropriate behaviours. Consequently, the children’s behaviour is improving. They are gaining in self-confidence and resilience. As a result, they are making progress in the home.

p.2

The care of children

The staff help children to maintain quality contact with their families, in line with their placement plans. They facilitate this by travelling considerable distances to collect children who have been visiting their homes. This helps children to maintain their identities as family members and supports important community links in their home areas.

p.2

The care of children

In relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, the home has sound measures in place to maintain social distancing and promote good hygiene. These measures have, so far, kept the children and staff safe from infection.

p.2

The care of children

The children have experienced disruption in their education due to COVID-19, but the staff have tried to minimise this by encouraging online learning. The manager and staff are currently trying to reintroduce three of the four children to school and are at an early stage in this transition. When there are challenges around finding local provision for newly admitted children, the staff and manager advocate strongly on the child’s behalf.

p.2

The care of children

The children’s healthcare needs are documented and met well. The staff help children attend any appointments when necessary. All children have access to professional therapists who work with the company. This helps to ensure that their emotional and psychological needs are met. The therapy staff also support care staff with bespoke training to help meet individual children’s needs.

p.2

The care of children

Since the easing of national COVID-19-related restrictions, the children have enjoyed a range of activities away from the home. These include visits to a theme park and an all-you-can-eat restaurant. During the restrictions, the children had access to the home’s large and well-kept gardens.

p.2

The safety of children

There have been 63 missing-from-home incidents since 1 April 2020. Although the staff have always acted correctly in response, this is a very concerning level of Assurance visit report: SC451819 3 going-missing incidents. Now that the home has clear and consistent leadership, and the mix of children has changed, the frequency of them going missing is reducing.

p.2

The safety of children

In January 2020, the company began to employ agency staff to support one child’s needs when required to provide a waking night person. This, together with clear leadership and increasing consistency in staff practice, started the process of improvement in this area.

p.3

The safety of children

Since the last inspection, there have been many behavioural incidents within the home. These have generally been well managed, although historically, the staff sometimes called the police to support them. Many incidents were in relation to one adult-sized young person whose behaviour was particularly complex, and whose physical development meant that the staff could not manage him safely. He is no longer resident in the home. Since he moved on, and the manager established a clear policy of not criminalising children, it is rare for the police to be called. This is a step forward in building trusting relationships within the home.

p.3

The safety of children

The independent visitor raised recommendations about the need for the company’s safeguarding policy to be updated to reflect the challenges of criminal exploitation, gangs and county lines. The operations manager has now updated the policy accordingly.

p.3

The safety of children

The home reported a number of safeguarding concerns to the designated officer within the appropriate timescale. The resulting internal investigations have been rigorous and well documented. The manager has ensured that the learning from these incidents is communicated to the staff to further improve practice.

p.3

The safety of children

The children in this home are rarely restrained. If this becomes necessary to protect children or adults, the techniques used are low level and of brief duration. Restraints are well recorded. Staff and children are debriefed afterwards, so that they can learn from the experience.

p.3

The safety of children

COVID-19 has had an impact on staff training plans, because face-to-face training could not be delivered. The company organised online training, which staff say was beneficial. They also say they receive good-quality induction and foundation training, with specific input to help them to meet individual children’s needs.

p.3

Leaders and managers

After several months when there was no consistent leadership, the home now has a qualified, experienced registered manager in post. Her hard work and commitment have made a significant difference to the children’s lives. Assurance visit report: SC451819 4 The manager was new in post at the time of the last inspection in January 2020, so she had not at that time had the opportunity to bring about any fundamental changes in the home. Eight months on, the manager has established herself well. Staff and social workers praise her clear thinking, reflective management style and good communication. One social worker said that their child now receives really consistent responses from a stable staff team, and that the registered manager is ‘brilliant at communication and does really good risk assessments’.

p.3

Leaders and managers

The staff record their work with the children on an electronic database. The records can be interrogated to identify patterns of incidents and behaviours. The manager and staff find this system to be a positive development which supports rigorous management monitoring.

p.4

Leaders and managers

The registered manager has established good relationships with social workers and other professionals, including the police and virtual headteachers, to help promote positive communication. This helps to ensure that all the adults involved in a child’s life work with a common purpose.

p.4

Leaders and managers

Four requirements were made at the last inspection. Three requirements have been met in full. These were in relation to:

p.4

Leaders and managers

 establishing the children in education  promoting positive relationships between the children  improving the quality of individual risk assessments.

p.4

Leaders and managers

The fourth requirement, made under regulation 13, was in relation to staffing and the previous lack of a registered manager. With the registered manager in post, this has been partially met. The remaining shortfall is that the additional staff the home employed as a temporary measure. It would better support consistency in staffing if there were permanent staff employed.

p.4

Leaders and managers

The company has recently reviewed all its staffing arrangements and is currently consulting on proposed changes to the rota. Once implemented, this will provide greater flexibility and consistency, but it is not yet fully in place. The requirement has been repeated.

p.4

Leaders and managers

The recommendation from the last inspection concerned the need to make improvements to the home’s environment. Great progress has been made in terms of decoration. The children’s rooms have been redecorated and some of the downstairs areas of the home have been refurbished.

p.4

Leaders and managers

The recommendation made at the last inspection regarding the quality of the environment was also partially met. It has been repeated.

p.4

Leaders and managers

The independent visitor has made recommendations in relation to flies and wasps in the roof space. The company arranged for a pest control visit to be made, but no action could be taken at the time because there are bats, which are protected Assurance visit report: SC451819 5 species, occupying the roof. The manager is working with the pest control company to find an environmentally acceptable solution to this problem.

p.4

Leaders and managers

In addition, one child told the inspector that there is an odour of damp in a bedroom. This has not been fully investigated or resolved. The registered manager has discussed this problem with the maintenance person during the visit and he will take this forward.

p.5

Leaders and managers

There is one experienced member of staff who has not yet attained a qualification at level 3. The home’s leaders and managers had already identified this and have put a plan in place to support this person to complete their award. No recommendation has been made at this visit, but this will be followed up at the next inspection.

p.5

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.

p.5

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—

p.5

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child.

p.5

Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(d)(e)) 31/10/2020 Assurance visit report: SC451819 6 In particular, ensure that there are sufficient permanent staff employed to reduce the need for agency staff in the home.

p.5

Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (The Guide to Children’s home Regulations including the quality standards. April 2015 Pg. 15. Paragraph 3.9). In particular, ensure that work continues to deal with flies and wasps in the home and that action is taken to resolve the reported odour of damp in one bedroom.

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Wessex College Limited

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Wessex College Limited, 4 Cedar Park, Cobham Road, Ferndown Industrial Estate, Wimborne BH21 7SF

p.6

Inspector

Heather Chaplin, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: SC451819 7 to 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.

p.6

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7