Children's home run by Plus One South West Ltd in Somerset

Inspection report children's home: SC477040 1 SC477040 Registered provider: Plus One (South West) Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private company based in the South West of England. A maximum of three children who require support with social and emotional needs may live in this home. At the time of the inspection, two children lived in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since January 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 home on 3 March 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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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC477040 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/10/2019 Full Good 14/11/2018 Full Good 16/08/2017 Full Good 06/10/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC477040 3

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improvement to be good

Since the previous monitoring visit in March 2021, three children and young people have lived in the home.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager has, for various reasons, been unable to maintain a stable and consistent staff team. This has had a direct impact on the children being able to form long lasting and trusting relationships with the staff. One young person told the inspector that they have lost loads of staff and do not trust anyone and that they do not always feel listened to.

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improvement to be good

Despite the repeated changes to the staff team, the children and young people make progress. All children and young people go to school or college regularly and have been successful in achieving qualifications. One young person who attends college is also enjoying working in a local adult care facility.

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improvement to be good

The main part of the home is spacious and comfortable, and rooms are decorated well and are homely.

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improvement to be good

One young person who was moving towards independence lived in the annex of the home. Records evidenced the support given to this young person and the attempts made by the staff to help him to learn to live independently. However, despite these attempts, the registered manager failed to ensure the living conditions for this young person were consistently good enough. The inspector found some rooms in the annex, where up until recently the young person was living, were unclean and in a state of disrepair.

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improvement to be good

Children and young people rarely go missing from the home. On the occasions when they do, staff follow protocol, and they are safely returned to the home. The child and the young person living in the home told the inspector that while they do not always like living in the home, they do feel safe.

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improvement to be good

The inspector found care plans and risk assessments to be detailed and kept up to date. In particular, for one child who has a Deprivation of Liberty Order to keep him safe, the staff have supported him well. However, the registered manager has failed to prevent the other young person who lives in the home from being affected. They feel that they have been unfairly restricted from having easy access to all areas of the home.

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improvement to be good

The high turnover of staff in a relatively short period has had an impact on how the children and young people are responded to when upset. The lack of a cohesive Inspection report children's home: SC477040 4 staff team has meant that there have been some inconsistencies when supporting the children and young people. Some staff have been challenged by the behaviours of the children and young people, and this has led to some serious incidents. That said, the professionals that contributed to the inspection did not raise any safeguarding concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Since the monitoring visit in March 2021, the registered manager has not consistently demonstrated good leadership and management in line with the home’s statement of purpose. There have been several internal investigations that relate to staff practice, one of which remains on-going. These have resulted in a series of changes in the staff team that have directly affected the children’s abilities to form relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has ensured there have been enough staff to support the children, in line with their risk assessments, and some new staff have more recently joined the team. However, the registered manager has not yet been able to rebuild the staff team and unify them in their approach to supporting the child and the young person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has failed to ensure all the staff team feel supported and ably led. The views of the staff that contributed to the inspection were mixed. Some staff spoke negatively about their experience of working in the home and the subsequent impact of feeling ‘tired and exhausted’. This is due to the repeated changes in the team and not having a core staff team. While some staff reported they felt supported by the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The children and young people have experienced a challenging period, which has included the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and the high turnover in staff. Despite these, social workers spoke positively of the care the children have received and the quality and regularity of the communication by the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual has an action plan to address the shortfalls they and the inspector have identified. The requirements made following this inspection and the performance of the registered manager will continue to be monitored. Inspection report children's home: SC477040 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—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

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—

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably; 18 February 2022 Inspection report children's home: SC477040 6 make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(ix)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that the home is managed effectively, and that staff are provided with clear support and direction from leaders.

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager must make sure that one child’s restrictions do not have an effect on another child and that all areas of the home are kept consistently clean and tidy.

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that the children are provided with a continuity of care from the staff team, which enables them to build positive and long-lasting relationships with the staff. 18 February 2022 Inspection report children's home: SC477040 7 The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Senior leaders must ensure that the registered manager provides effective management and leadership of the home. This includes making sure there is a cohesive and stable staff team. 18 February 2022 Inspection report children's home: SC477040 8

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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: SC477040 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Plus One (South West) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Mount, 21 High Street, Wellington, Somerset TA21 8QT

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Inspector

Linda Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC477040 10 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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