Wood View

Inspection report children's home: SC008274 1 SC008274 Registered provider: Searchlight Care Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for one child who has lived through adverse childhood experiences.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The current manager has been in post since September 2020. She holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC008274 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/10/2019 Full Good 20/03/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/01/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: SC008274 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved into foster care. The child was able to make the move successfully. Records show that the child’s transition process was gradual, over a four-month period. The feelings of the child were carefully considered throughout the process.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One new child has been welcomed into the home and is settling in well.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive a good level of support from a committed staff team. Staff have a positive view of the children they look after and work hard to help each child develop positive relationships. This helps children to feel confident about their relationships with staff and supports their progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All staff are aware of the detail set out in children’s individual plans and follow these plans in their everyday practice. This ensures that children’s objectives are fully met.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to health services that promote their physical and emotional well-being. Children are encouraged and supported to attend routine appointments with primary health care services.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s medication is stored and administered safely by trained and competent staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children access education placements that meet their individual needs. Staff encourage children’s learning, and this helps them to make progress. For example, one child who previously did not attend school, has achieved 80% attendance. This supports improved educational outcomes.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain positive relationships with family and friends. Staff work closely with children and their families to ensure safe and positive experiences.

p.3

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

Staff understand the risks and potential hazards for children and follow detailed risk- management strategies to promote children’s safety and well-being. Safeguarding issues are identified promptly and are acted on in line with local and national guidelines. Staff work directly with children to support them to make positive choices in relation to their personal safety. This has contributed to increasing children’s safety.

p.3

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

Staff make good use of positive relationships and de-escalation techniques to manage conflict and confrontation. Because of this, the use of physical intervention is rare and only used as a last resort. Sanctions are fair and proportionate and help children to understand the effect of their behaviour on themselves and others. Staff Inspection report children's home: SC008274 4 offer rewards to children to celebrate their achievements and to promote positive behaviour.

p.3

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

Children live in a physically safe environment. Regular health and safety checks on all electrical, gas and fire safety equipment help to make sure that they remain in good working order. Staff carry out regular fire drills so that children know what they need to do in the event of an emergency.

p.4

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

Children are protected by the organisation’s recruitment practices. Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures promote the safety of children by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a committed and experienced manager. She has high expectations for the quality of care to be provided and is pushing forward improvements in service delivery.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision and are appraised annually. They benefit from a range of appropriate training, which develops their knowledge, skills and professional practice. New staff undergo an induction programme followed by enrolment on the diploma in residential childcare award. As a result, staff are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to meet children’s wide-ranging needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has formed positive relationships with a range of partners, including parents, placing authorities and teachers. This helps to secure a coordinated approach that means staff are better able to meet children’s individual needs. One parent told the inspector, ‘Communication is really good. I get weekly summaries on how he has been and, because I work, I get contacted through WhatsApp.’ Inspection report children's home: SC008274 5

p.4

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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’.

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Searchlight Care Services Limited

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Marcus House, Parkhall Road, Longton, Stoke on Trent ST3 5XA

p.5

Inspector

Dave Carrigan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC008274 6 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.5

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 . 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.6

Inspector

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

p.6

Inspector

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

p.6