Children's home run by New Forest Care Limited

Inspection report children's home: 1258343 1 Registered provider: New Forest Care Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This privately operated children’s home is one of a group of homes and education premises located in the south of England. It is registered for up to four children who have had adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and complex behaviours.

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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. This home had an assurance visit in September 2020.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 1258343 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/07/2019 Full Inadequate 04/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/10/2018 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 1258343 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from positive relationships with the staff. Staff know the children’s needs well and are dedicated to supporting them to make good progress. Most of the children have moved to this home from the organisation’s assessment home. They have developed relationships with the staff over time. This enables the children to build trust in the staff, who provide predictable and consistent care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making progress. They are encouraged to engage in learning through activities. At times when the children have found education tough, the staff have supported them. They work with the school to encourage the children to learn. However, as the children progress into their teenage years, further consideration is not always given to each child’s cultural needs and their changing needs in terms of their identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children speak positively about a wide range of activities and are excited for the plans for the summer holidays which include trips to theme and water parks. The children found the lockdowns boring at times. However, the staff made use of the outside spaces to enable the children to exercise and have fun. The children continued to remain in contact with important people and have now resumed face- to-face visits with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All of the children are provided with specialist support through the organisation’s own therapeutic team. The staff meet regularly with the therapeutic team, who provide additional advice and guidance and some reflection on the strategies used to support the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When the children have made complaints, they have felt listened to. Their views have been investigated and they have had clear outcomes. The staff have also advocated for the children. They act as champions for the children and support them to have their voices heard. As a result, the children know that the staff take their views seriously and support them to have a voice.

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

The children all said that they feel safe. They knew that they could go to any staff and were clear that staff would help if they had any worries or concerns. The children felt well cared for during COVID-19, even when staff from other homes helped out. This was due to staffing availability. The provider ensured that all covering staff were familiar to the children.

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

There have been periods of time when the use of physical restraint has been high and concerning. However, leaders and managers have focused the staff on using different strategies to manage behaviour. As a result, there has been a reduction in the frequency and intensity of physical restraint. Inspection report children's home: 1258343 4 The staff’s focus on nurturing the children is having a positive impact. The children feel valued. At difficult times, such as settling time, knowing that the staff are close by is reassuring and results in less critical incidents.

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

For some children, risky behaviour has reduced. For others, risks remain and careful plans are made by the staff with the children’s social workers and families to keep them safe when they visit home. However, the children’s plans had not been updated in relation to one incident where new risks occurred. This is a missed opportunity to provide the staff with clear strategies to follow should the risky behaviour be repeated.

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

The staff are clear about their safeguarding responsibilities and make relevant referrals to the designated officer. A social worker spoke positively about the progress one child had made in relation to risk, and the clear regular information that the staff share with him.

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

The house is generally well maintained. However, three of the exit doors require a key to open them. This may prevent the children or staff exiting the building in an emergency. Furthermore, the grounds of the home have become overgrown in places and there were loose slabs and other broken items that could potentially be harmful to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is having a positive impact on the service. He is child- focused and has high aspirations for the children. The staff describe him as visible, supportive and consistent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff departures have provided the registered manager with an opportunity to recruit new staff. The new staff speak positively about their induction and training. They feel well supported by frequent supervisions and a clear probationary framework. More experienced staff spoke positively about the team forming. They feel confident in the leadership and share the child-focused ethos.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff spoke confidently about the model of care being delivered. Observations of their practice demonstrated that they are delivering care in line with the home’s statement of purpose. However, it had not been updated since the manager became registered in June 2021, nor had the most recent version been shared with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has monitoring systems in place. However, these are not yet effective. For example, he could not easily locate the records relating to sanctions, and the information provided for inspectors was not accurate. Furthermore, there is limited evidence of how learning through practice informs future plans. Supervision records were also lacking in clear structure and outcomes. These are missed opportunities for the manager to demonstrate clear oversight. Inspection report children's home: 1258343 5

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— understand the children's home's overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; 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— provide personalised care that meets each child's needs, as recorded in the child's relevant plans, taking account of the child's background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the staff understand the children's needs in terms of identify, use this learning to inform the children's plans to ensure their needs are met. 12 September

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child's relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the children's risk assessments are to be updated following new risks being identified. Furthermore, that the grounds are cleared and loose slabs and other broken and damaged items are removed promptly. 12 September Inspection report children's home: 1258343 6 The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children's home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(f)(h)) 12 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children's home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. The registered person must— keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1)(3)(a)(b)) 12 September

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must— provide adequate means of escape from the home in the event of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(b)) 12 September

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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: 1258343 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: New Forest Care Ltd, West Shore House, West Street, Hythe, Southampton, Hampshire, SO45 6AA

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Inspector

Sarah Olliver, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1258343 8 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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