Children's Home run by Willows21 Limited in Devon

Inspection report for children's home: 2599388 1 Registered provider: Willows21 Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The provider states in its statement of purpose that the home provides care for a maximum of three girls aged 10 to 17 with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 21 July 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first full inspection undertaken by Ofsted since the home was registered on 21 July 2020.

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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 17 and 18 December 2020 to carry out an assurance 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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2599388 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is beautifully presented and provides children with cosy, homely places to relax and play. Children’s bedrooms are fantastic spaces that are personalised to the interests and age of each child. The gardens are large and well maintained. They give children opportunities to explore nature and be active. Pets in the home are loved and well cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting and emotionally warm relationships with carers. They feel comfortable sharing their worries with them and asking for advice. Carers are attentive to children. They ask about their day and help children discuss challenges. They praise children’s achievements and encourage them to do well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly and make good progress. Carers are persistent in encouraging children who are reluctant to attend school. Children’s attendance levels are good because of this. One child, who was not attending school when they came to the home, has completed school and is now at college. Carers value education and help children to succeed by supporting them with homework and revision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers demonstrate skill in managing conflict between children in the home. Bullying is not tolerated, and incidents are dealt with swiftly. Carers use focused discussion and activities to help children understand the impact of bullying and prevent further incidents. Children who have experienced bullying are supported to build their self- esteem and resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves in and out of the home are well managed. Most children have planned moves. Children continue to stay in touch with carers once they have moved. One child experienced an unplanned move and carers took extraordinary measures to ensure that they were safe and well. However, risk assessments do not robustly consider the needs of children who are already in the home alongside those who may be joining them.

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

Children living in the home are kept safe from harm. Children told inspectors that they feel safe. When carers are worried about the safety of a child they act quickly, protecting the child and informing appropriate professionals. Investigations are thorough and procedures are robust.

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

When children go missing from home, carers make every effort to find them. Carers have good knowledge of the children’s friends and familiar places and this helps them search effectively. Carers talk to children once they are found to understand why they went missing and how to prevent further incidents. During the inspection, one child went missing from school. Carers supported the school to help find the child and return them home. Inspection report for children's home: 2599388 3 Restraint is used in the home but only when it is necessary to prevent a child hurting themselves or others. Carers use guiding techniques and nurture holds to move children to safety and to prevent injuries. Recordings of events are detailed, and managers ensure that both children and adults receive debriefs to help them understand and learn from incidents. However, one record used phrases that blamed the child.

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

A strength of the home is that carers provide clear and consistent boundaries for children. They respond to children fairly and age-appropriately. Carers work as a cohesive team and information about children’s changing needs is shared regularly and effectively. This ensures that all carers know how best to respond to support children.

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

Carers help children to keep safe when using the internet and mobile phones. Access to both is made available to children depending on their age and understanding. Carers talk with children about the risks of social media. They support children in developing healthy relationships and recognising when requests may exploit them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager promotes a strong, child-focused ethos within the home. They believe that all children can succeed when they are nurtured and loved. They encourage carers to show emotional warmth and encouragement. This creates a family environment where children feel safe and valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers develop positive relationships with professionals involved with children living in the home. The registered manager challenges plans that do not meet children’s needs and confidently escalates issues when concerns are not resolved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good oversight of the children’s care. They ensure that plans for children are detailed and individualised. However, some risk assessments do not identify and detail risk clearly. This leaves carers unable to properly recognise and manage behaviours that may place children at risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers provide good-quality training for carers that helps them to provide individualised care for children. Carers were given specialist training to ensure that medication was safely administered for one child with complex medical needs. This training also helped them identify changes in the child’s behaviour that could signal a deterioration in their health.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a stable team that enjoys working with children. Carers told the inspector that they loved working at the home. One carer said, ‘I feel really supported by the organisation and we are an absolutely brilliant team.’ The home has permanent support carers who provide additional cover for this home and two other sister homes. This means that children know every carer who works in the Inspection report for children's home: 2599388 4 home. They can build positive relationships and this helps them to feel safe and secure.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s electronic recording system is cumbersome and makes accessing records challenging. This causes difficulties for carers when they try to locate children’s plans and information. Inspection report for children's home: 2599388 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

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 (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to the registered manager ensuring risk assessments identify risks clearly and assess the likelihood and impact of each risk. 2 February 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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that the needs of all children are fully assessed before another child comes to live at the home. 2 February 2022 Inspection report for children's home: 2599388 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all records about a child are non- stigmatising and distinguish between fact and opinion. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that all electronic records are easily accessible by anyone with a legitimate need to view them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2)

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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: 2599388 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Stephen Quay Accountancy, The Granary, Hinton Business Park, Tarrant Hinton, Blandford Forum DT11 8JF

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Inspector

Penelope Kutz, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2599388 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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