Children's Home run by Empower Residential Ltd in Somerset

Inspection report children’s home: 2547967 1 Registered provider: Empower Support Services 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 owned and operated by a private provider. The home is registered to care for two children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties or learning disabilities. The post of registered manager has been vacant since November 2021. The newly appointed manager has advised the inspector that they are applying to register with Ofsted. 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. We last visited this setting on 16 and 17 December 2020 to undertake an assurance visit. This 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

Date of last inspection: not applicable Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2547967 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2547967 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home. He has been living here for over two years. The child told the inspector that he is happy living here and that he likes the staff. He said that he feels safe. The inspector observed warm, caring and supportive interactions between the staff and the child. Staff place the child’s needs at the centre of their practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to continue to enjoy his hobbies and interests, which are of significant importance to him. With great enthusiasm and pride, the child showed the inspector his collections of bottles. Staff encourage the child to develop relationships with children of his own age. However, the child has not made any friendships with children outside school. Staff need to look at additional ways to support the child’s social development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well decorated and homely. Recently, the child has moved bedrooms. He said that he loves his new bedroom and is sleeping much better. On occasions, staff ‘search’ his bedroom to make sure the environment is safe. However, staff are not provided with clear guidance as to what constitutes the need for this practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child receives a bespoke education package. Staff support and encourage him to attend and help him to make progress. When there are challenges to the child’s education needs being met, managers work in partnership with other professionals to improve his outcomes.

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

Staff help the child to develop positive behaviour. Feedback from staff and professionals indicates that he is developing in maturity. In addition, he is beginning to recognise his feelings and express them better. The inspector observed staff supporting the child to manage his emotions and feelings effectively.

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

Staff have a good awareness of the child’s risks and are guided by detailed risk assessments, behaviour-support plans and intervention plans. These are regularly reviewed and updated.

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

Staff complete detailed records in relation to incidents. Leaders and managers scrutinise these records effectively to look for trends and triggers. In addition, leaders and managers ensure that staff reflect on their practice to ascertain whether the incident could have been managed differently. However, the language used in some records to describe the child’s behaviours is institutionalised and unclear. Inspection report children’s home: 2547967 4 Physical intervention is rare and only used as a last resort to keep the child and staff safe. However, discussions with children following the use of an intervention are not always conducted. Leaders and managers provide the placing authority with incident and physical intervention reports for their information and scrutiny.

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

Staff demonstrate a good awareness of safeguarding protocols. Since the assurance visit in December 2020, no referrals have been made to the designated officer or to children’s social care.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that staff recruitment is effective and safe, to safeguard children. In addition, managers have conducted a detailed and effective risk assessment of the location of the children’s home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager left the home in November 2021. A new manager has been appointed and informed the inspector that she is in the process of applying to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is well managed, and leaders and managers have a good awareness of the strengths and needs of the provision. The manager ensures that the home’s development plan is regularly updated and that it clearly identifies areas for improvement. In addition, the manager responds effectively to recommendations made by the independent visitor.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of the support and guidance that they receive. The manager ensures that staff receive regular and effective supervision. Staff regularly reflect on their practice. When needed, the manager ensures that any shortfalls in staff performance are addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers ensure that staff receive specific training to enhance their awareness, understanding and skills to meets the needs of the child. As well as mandatory training, staff have recently received training around autism spectrum and therapeutic parenting. Staff said that this training has been helpful and has improved their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from the child’s social worker and other professionals about the quality of care is extremely positive. The social worker said that the communication and partnership working with the staff are very good, which results in positive outcomes for the child. Inspection report children’s home: 2547967 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 registered person must ensure that— 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(c)) 28 February 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are provided with clear guidance regarding the reasons for children’s bedrooms to be searched. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continue to encourage children to participate in activities in the community and in clubs. In particular, help children to meet other children outside the school environment. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2547967 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Empower Support Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2, Prockters Farm, Empower Support Services, West Monkton, Somerset TA2 8QN

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Inspector

David Kidner, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2547967 7 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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