Children's home run by Seashell Trust

Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 1 SC035518 Registered provider: Seashell Trust Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to 24 children with physical disabilities, learning disabilities and/or sensory impairment. Children live in six houses on a site that includes a school and college. Most children attend the on-site school.

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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

The manager has been registered since September 2021.

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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: 18 February 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 for children’s home: SC035518 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/08/2019 Full Good 21/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from living in a warm and welcoming home. Staff support children to enjoy sensory play with a good range of toys and sensory equipment in the home. Children enjoy access to a good range of activities on the shared site including the indoor swimming pool. This has been important when COVID-19 restrictions have prevented children from being able to safely access activities in the community. With the easing of restrictions, staff are supporting children to take part in trips in the community which reflect children’s individual interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by a warm and nurturing team. Staff are committed to providing positive experiences for children in their care. The team has a good understanding of children’s needs based on their individual plans. Staff effectively meet the complex health needs of children with the support of the in-house clinical team. This, together with the team’s collaborative work with specialist health services, helps to ensure that healthcare plans meet their individual needs of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education and children’s learning is supported well by staff. This is supported by the collaborative work between the home and on-site school which has been further strengthened since the last inspection. Children’s educational progress is positive and reflects their individual education and healthcare plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure good-quality planning for children moving into the home. Staff have given thought to cultural needs and how these can continue to be supported when moving to the home. Inspectors identified good practice examples where children’s religious and cultural beliefs were addressed particularly well through the thorough plans. This has resulted in smooth transitions for individual children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s communication needs are understood by staff. This includes the different ways that children communicate their wishes and feelings. Staff help children to express themselves through their preferred method of communication. However, there was a delay in securing the communication aid due to awaiting a planned assessment of their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work collaboratively with parents and maintain regular contact with them. This is strengthened by the support provided by the family liaison service. Children are supported to spend quality time with their family. Parents share positive feedback on the quality of care their children receive.

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

Children’s vulnerabilities are well understood. There is appropriate assessment of potential risks outside of the home. Risk management plans provide staff with effective strategies for addressing children’s individual risks. However, the plan for Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 4 one child did not include all known risks. This means that staff did not have all relevant information to understand how to respond to a child’s specific behaviour.

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

Staff follow the appropriate guidance for responding to children’s behaviour provided in the individual support plans in place. This includes, where necessary, staff intervening physically to keep a child safe. However, there is inconsistency in the quality of recording when a physical restraint has been needed. Staff have not always included enough information to describe the physical intervention that was used. The recording of the manager’s review of the restraint is not consistently recorded.

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

Children have been safeguarded well through the pandemic. There has been a thorough response to the potential risks identified due to the complexity of children’s health needs. The team has been supported well by the in-house clinical nurse lead, who has provided clear guidance for them to follow.

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

There has been a helpful independent audit of medication to inform practice. This, together with training and guidance in the administration of medication and health needs, has helped staff continue to meet children’s complex health needs well. This has been strengthened by developments to the process for assessing staff competency in the administration of medication.

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

The responses to a limited number of issues relating to staff practice hase been appropriately addressed. There is effective consultation with the designated officer.

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

Inspectors identified a good example of the overall safeguarding culture in relation to contractors working on the school site which the home is situated on. Contractors are provided with appropriate guidance provided by the designated safeguarding lead. This means contracted workers are clear about the expectations while in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager provides effective leadership of the home. They have a good understanding of the home and the children’s needs. This is strengthened by the new system they have put in place to capture children’s experiences and progress. However, children’s feelings and views on the quality of care they receive are not adequately captured. The registered manager recognises this and has identified further learning to support them in addressing this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has effective management oversight of the large team. The team is supported well by the assistant managers. Staff receive effective supervision including group supervision. However, the frequency of individual supervision does not provide all staff regular time and space to reflect on their role. There is inconsistency in when new staff undertake some mandatory training. This is, in part, a recording issue, with this impacting on the effectiveness of monitoring. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 5 The registered manager has helped to ensure continuity in the care provided to children. This is in the context of significant changes to the staff team since the last inspection. The registered manager has focused on listening to staff and responding effectively to any issues identified. Staff feel valued. The retention of new staff has stabilised during the period the registered manager has been in post.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is good monitoring and oversight by the senior leadership team. The responsible individual has a good understanding of the home. Recruitment of new staff has been identified as a challenge. The responsible individual is implementing creative approaches to address this. The home follows safer recruitment practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 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 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

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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h)) 31 January 2022

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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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all staff receive regular supervision to provide space to reflect on their respective role. 31 January 2022

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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

a description of the measure and its duration; 31 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 7 details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv)(v)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should, in partnership with relevant services, ensure that children are provided with their specific equipment to enable them to communicate their views, wishes and feelings. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)  The registered provider should ensure that risk management plans include all known behaviours and related risks. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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: SC035518 8

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Inspectors

Maria Lonergan, Social Care Inspector Sylvia Eboigbe, Social Care Inspector Mark Woodbridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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