Children's home run by Beaufort Care Group Ltd

Inspection report children’s home: 1246831 1 Registered provider: Beaufort Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private organisation. It provides care for up to four children who have had adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and presenting complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 26 February 2020.

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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.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 7 September 2020, to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on our website.

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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: 20 January 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: 1246831 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 06/08/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/02/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/06/2018 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: 1246831 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with the adults who care for them. Staff know the children well and understand their needs. Routines and boundaries are supporting children to feel safe and helping them to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children like this house, and are fully involved in the plans for redecoration and any changes. One child is planning to restore the picnic bench in the garden, and is redesigning their bedroom to accommodate new furniture that they have chosen. Members of the organisation’s maintenance department are seen as an extension of the care team. Children engage and consult with the maintenance team about repairs and modifications needed in the home, and help the maintenance team when they can.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents are complimentary about the quality of care provided. One parent said, ‘They [the staff team] have been great, absolutely brilliant, I can’t fault them. Communication is good, I can always speak to the staff or manager if I have any concern.’ Another parent said, ‘The staff are all very good, very nurturing. This is the happiest placement I have seen [name of child] in.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Attendance at school and college has increased for some children, which marks a great improvement for those who have previously struggled to engage with their learning. When children are waiting for a school placement, they have sessions with a tutor. In addition, an engagement worker provides educational resources that relate to children’s likes and interests. For example, the resources may include learning on how children can keep themselves safe when using the internet and social media. This level of learning can be accredited with certificates, which gives children a sense of achievement and a boost to their confidence, and helps to prepare them for attending school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s care plans and risk assessments are detailed and clearly explain how the staff should best meet the individual care needs of each child. Care plans identify any religious or spiritual needs for children, yet fail to identify any cultural needs. Children are supported to meet their family and friends. In addition, they may need support to keep in touch with what is important to them from their family background and early childhood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to be involved in their care planning and to have a say about the home. Regular discussions with a key worker and informal chats promote this inclusion. Formal meetings are recorded to capture the children’s views and wishes; however, children would benefit from simpler, more child-friendly ways of getting feedback. Such a development will let children know more readily that they have been heard, and what action is going to be taken in response to their requests. Inspection report children’s home: 1246831 4

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

Risk management is effective, and is supported well by comprehensive assessments that are regularly updated. These documents alert staff to the children’s known risks and how to respond to keep children safe, both inside and outside of the home. As a result, there has only been one incident of a child going missing, from the current group of children living here.

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

Children are regularly praised and rewarded for their achievements. New items for their bedrooms, games and activities can be chosen. Children have appropriate sanctions in response to their negative behaviour. There is a clear link to their behaviour and the sanction imposed. For example, if items in the home are damaged, children assist in their repair or contribute to the cost of their replacement. Refusing to attend school results in no access to Wi-Fi during the daytime. The records do not always document the effectiveness of each sanction. The recording template does not include this heading as a prompt, and therefore hinders the level of monitoring.

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

The use of restraint is minimal and proportionate. On the few occasions when restraint has been used, it has been to safeguard children who may be harming themselves or others. Generally, when there is damage to the home and/or injuries to staff, these incidents are managed appropriately. This is because staff remain consistent in their approach to safeguarding children. Records of these interventions are clear; children are encouraged to reflect on the incident and contribute to the record.

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

In September 2020, there were some serious incidents that affected the safety and well-being of a child when they were out in the local area. This led to the child moving on from this home after six weeks. Leaders and managers recognise that the matching of this child to this home lacked a thorough assessment. An in-depth analysis, involving the staff team, has led to significant improvements in practice when assessing the suitability of the home to meet a child’s needs. For example, social workers are now given a copy of the location assessment, and children are visited before the arrangements are finalised.

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

The recruitment of staff involves checks and references, in line with regulations. However, this could be further strengthened by challenging referees from the social care and education sectors to provide more information, other than the dates of employment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is qualified, experienced and enthusiastic about improving the outcomes for children. He has a good understanding of the strengths of this home and areas for improvement. The previous requirements and recommendations are met. Inspection report children’s home: 1246831 5 Staffing levels are suitable, although there have been some changes with staff leaving and new staff being employed. There was a large staff team providing care for two children’s homes, but recently these teams have separated to be specific to each home. Consequently, the staff team is smaller, yet sufficient in size.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff employed at this home speak positively about the support they receive from the manager and each other. Regular team meetings and supervision provide good opportunities for reflection and learning. A new member of staff said that she valued supervision. When she received positive feedback about her professional development, this gave her the confidence to continue, knowing she was progressing well in the role. The impact of the COVID-19 virus and staff sickness meant that staff supervision was not held monthly for a few months, but is now back on track. Similarly, staff training was achieved through online learning during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and now face-to-face training is being delivered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals report positively about this home. Communication is reported to be very good, without any concerns, an improvement to an issue that have been raised in the past. One social worker commented on the great progress the child has made. The child is now more confident and is establishing healthy routines. For one child, progress has stalled. However, the social worker reports that the staff have tried their best, and she wouldn’t hesitate to arrange for another child to live in this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has ensured that the previous requirements and recommendations are now met. Ofsted is notified of all serious events and the quality of care review includes the views of children. The location assessment is up to date and, as a result of training in recording and reporting, the quality of the records has improved. Leaders and managers are reflective and prompt to review any difficulties. This allows them to consider if there have been any lessons learned to inform future practice. Inspection report children’s home: 1246831 6

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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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This refers specifically to the manager’s evaluation of the effectiveness of each sanction. 30 June 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of who we are and where we come from. Staff in children’s homes should play a full role in work of this kind. Care plans should document such information and the cultural needs of each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.14)  The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted on. This feedback should be given in a child- friendly way. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises

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Recommendations

potential risks to them. In particular, the registered person should challenge referees from the social care and education sectors to provide more information when only the dates of employment are given. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) Inspection report children’s home: 1246831 7

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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’. Inspection report children’s home: 1246831 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Beaufort Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2, Hollygrove Business Park, Verwood Road, Ringwood, Dorset BH24 2DB

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Inspector

Clare Davies, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1246831 9 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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