Children's Home run by 1848 Ltd in Somerset

Inspection report for children's home: 2592531 1 Registered provider: 1848 Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private provider and cares for up to three children. At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in July 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State 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 inspection on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 3 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: 2592531 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children's home: 2592531 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children live in this home. Both are very positive about the adults who care for them. They told the inspector that they feel safe and listened to. Similarly, the staff are positive about their role and gave examples of the progress both children have made since moving into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic have been managed well at this home. Staffing has remained stable, providing children with consistency of care. Leaders and managers have worked in line with government guidance to keep children, staff and visitors safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff team are strong advocates for children. They place the children’s needs at the centre of their practice. For example, staff have helped one child to join a new school that better meets his needs, and another child has been supported to visit the dentist after avoiding this for several years. The staff speak about the children with genuine care and affection. C hildren make good progress because of the support and nurturing care they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are relaxed and comfortable in this well maintained and homely house. The atmosphere in the home is like that of a positive family home. Children confidently approach staff for their company, advice and help. Interactions between the children and adults are warm and respectful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have high aspirations for children and prioritise their educational needs well. Personalised timetables are devised and provide the children with an individualised education package. Children attend school and/or college regularly and are reported to be making progress from their starting points. Children say that they enjoy learning and they have made new friends. Staff support children to spend their leisure time engaging in activities of their choice. For example, children enjoy bicycle rides and attending community activities, as well as spending time developing their personal interests and hobbies. These opportunities promote children’s health and well-being and help to develop their social skills and self-esteem. Care plans are regularly reviewed and provide staff with helpful up-to-date information about how to meet children’s changing needs.

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

Leaders, managers and staff have created a safe home for children. Children say that they feel safe here and feel confident that staff keep them safe. The registered manager recognises and responds to potential safeguarding concerns well. She works collaboratively with a range of safeguarding agencies. All staff attend regular refresher safeguarding training and successfully apply their learning in practice. Staff are clear about their safeguarding responsibilities. Inspection report for children's home: 2592531 4 Staff know the children well and take a positive approach to supporting children when they are unhappy or anxious. Staff help children to talk about what worries them and together they find ways to make things better. Staff’s care of children has helped them to develop safer responses to anxiety. Risk is managed well and incidents of self-harm have reduced.

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

Restraint has not been used. Where appropriate, ‘social stories’ are developed that help children to understand what is expected of them. Despite this good work, discussions with children do not consistently empower the children to share how they feel. Similarly, discussions with staff do not always explore what alternative practice could have been considered that may have prevented the incident escalating. As a result, the opportunities for the staff and children to learn and explore alternative coping strategies are inconsistent.

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

Children’s healthcare needs are met. They are supported to access external specialist healthcare when needed. Records about children’s health are maintained. However, not all records include confirmation that those with parental responsibility are notified when a significant incident occurs.

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

Children have the confidence to make a complaint when they are not happy and know how to do this. The registered manager ensures that children’s concerns are listened to, and she takes appropriate action in response. Children confirmed that when they are feeling unhappy, they are listened to and that they are satisfied with the action taken by staff.

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

The locality assessment requires review. Information in the written document does not inform staff well enough about the potential risks to children in the home’s immediate area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is well managed by a registered manager who has high standards and expectations of herself and the staff team. She has strong leadership skills and manages her team well. A social worker speaks positively about this home and told the inspector, ‘I have no concerns regarding the home. I find the team efficient, child-friendly, very knowledgeable and extremely caring towards the children they support.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that all staff receive regular formal and clinical supervision. Team meetings take place regularly and attendance is good. The manager shares pertinent information with staff during team meetings and directs them effectively in their role to meet children’s needs. However, despite this good work, team meetings do not consistently provide staff with the opportunity to share and develop good practice, and to learn from the findings of audits and monitoring activities. Inspection report for children's home: 2592531 5 Staff are provided with good training opportunities. The registered manager monitors the staff training programme effectively and ensures staff receive specialist training when needed to enable them to develop their skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The development plan does not reflect the leaders’ and managers’ vision and their ambitions for children. For example, children have asked the manager if they can renovate an outbuilding in the garden. This development opportunity has been agreed in principle, but not included in the home’s written development plan. Inspection report for children's home: 2592531 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that debriefs of children and staff following incidents consistently include opportunities for them to talk about how they felt during the incident and explore what support is needed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)  The registered person should review the location of the premises and ensure that all risks in the local area are properly considered and that strategies for managing them are documented. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)  The registered person must lead and manage the home as set out in the statement of purpose. In particular, the registered person should ensure that where required, records include confirmation of notifications to those with parental responsibility, that the written development plan includes all planned

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Recommendations

improvements, and that team meetings consistently include opportunities to share practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)

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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 for children's home: 2592531 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Old Bank Buildings, East Street, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0AJ

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Inspector

Sharron Escott, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2592531 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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