Children's home run by Five Rivers Child Care Limited in Wiltshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC059753 1 SC059753 Registered provider: Five Rivers Child Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a national private organisation. The statement of purpose advises that the home can accommodate a maximum of two children with emotional and behavioural needs arising from trauma and attachment-based difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since 1 June 2021. She has not yet registered but has made an application to Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 20 January 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC059753 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/08/2019 Full Good 18/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/05/2018 Full Good 03/01/2018 Interim Not judged Inspection report for children’s home: SC059753 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home gives good, individualised care to children. Carers are conscientious and go above and beyond to ensure that children receive the emotional and physical support that they need. Carers know what the children like and dislike. They provide varied experiences for children that support and expand their interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build trusting relationships with carers. Carers listen to children and act on what they are told.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained. It is decorated beautifully and has a lovely large garden for children to play in. It has homely communal areas that are used for shared activities. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and provide cosy spaces where they can relax. Carers display children’s artwork on the walls. However, there are few photos of children on the walls of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers produce beautiful memory books for children that include photos and stories that record their activities. This helps children see the progress they are making. It also gives them a lasting memory of their time in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make positive progress in the home. One child has learned to ride a bicycle, can now swim and has improved their self-care skills. Carers record children’s progress well. This helps them to offer children additional support in areas where they struggle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly and make good progress. Carers support children with their education and show them the value of trying hard and doing well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves into and out of the home are managed sensitively. Children are supported with introductions. One child, who has left the home, regularly stays in touch with carers. This helps children maintain important relationships while building new ones. However, the home does not fully assess the impact that one child’s needs have on another child. This has led to two children leaving the home in an unplanned way.

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

Carers are well trained in safeguarding procedures and they know what to do when a child is at risk of harm. Carers act promptly to keep children safe. Information is shared promptly within the team and with appropriate professionals so that the care given to children continues to meet their needs

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

Restraint is used in the home, but this is proportionate and only used when necessary to keep children or adults safe from harm. Carers report incidents clearly and promptly. Carers talk to children about incidents to help them make sense of what happened and understand the reasons for their behaviour. This helps carers Inspection report for children’s home: SC059753 4 respond more effectively when children are distressed and use appropriate de- escalation techniques.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. When children do go missing, carers take urgent action to locate them, keep them safe and return them home.

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

Allegations are investigated thoroughly and reported to the relevant professionals.

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

A strength of the home is that carers provide consistent and clear boundaries for children. Positive behaviour is promoted and rewarded. Carers are consistent in their approach with children. When children struggle with their emotions, carers will advise other professionals how best to respond to children to help achieve the best outcomes. Carers are confident and skilled in managing incidents with children, using a caring, yet firm way.

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

Children’s plans are detailed documents that assist carers in meeting their individualised needs. However, carers continued to use a room monitor to prevent a child from entering another child’s bedroom, even when there was no risk. Carers promptly removed this when the inspector brought it brought to their attention.. However, risk assessments are not always reviewed promptly. This means that strategies do not always reflect the current needs of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leaders and managers ensure that the home has a stable and consistent team of carers. When additional temporary carers are needed, they are resourced from sister homes. This ensures that the children know who will be caring for them and that they are familiar to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Carers enjoy working at the home. They told the inspector that they ‘loved working at the home’, ‘wouldn’t want to work anywhere else’ and that it is ‘the best job I have ever had’. Team members are supportive of one another and model respectful relationships to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Carers feel well supported by leaders and managers. However, they have not been given regular reflective supervision. This has had no impact on the children’s care. Carers told the inspector that managers always have time for discussions when they are needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are well attended. Discussions focus on the needs of the children and explore ways in which carers can support them and enrich their lives. Changes in the child’s care plan are discussed to ensure that carers have the most up-to-date information. The views of children are sought and discussed during the meeting. For example, one child had asked to learn the guitar and the team talked about how to make this happen.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers ensure that carers access good-quality training. Carers report that their practice has significantly improved after undertaking training. The Inspection report for children’s home: SC059753 5 induction process is thorough and well supported. There is good management oversight that ensures that new staff develop the skills and confidence that they need to provide good-quality care to children at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC059753 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

the privacy of children is appropriately protected; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, alarms on children’s bedrooms should be removed if the risk is no longer present 5 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a)) 5 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC059753 7 In particular, the provider should ensure that appropriate decisions are made about matching children, so that staff can safely meet all the children’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

The provider should also ensure that children’s plans are regularly reviewed and updated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 5 January 2022

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Recommendation

 For children’s homes to be nurturing, supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. In particular, photos of children and their achievements should be displayed in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9 )

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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 for children’s home: SC059753 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Five Rivers Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 47 Bedwin Street, Salisbury SP1 3UT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Newman

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Inspector

Penelope Kutz, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC059753 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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