Children's home run by Five Rivers Child Care Limited in Wiltshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC001452 1 SC001452 Registered provider: Five Rivers Child Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to six children who have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There are currently four children living in the home. The inspector spoke with two children during this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2021 and is appropriately qualified.

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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 on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 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: 3 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC001452 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/02/2020 Full Outstanding 07/11/2018 Full Outstanding 24/01/2018 Full Outstanding 22/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC001452 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are happy and settled at the home. Staff are skilled at quickly forming warm and nurturing relationships with the children. They are open and honest with the children, which helps to build positive and trusting relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive a professional and effective service from the staff. This helps the children to regulate their behaviour and settle into the home quickly. The children become settled and go on to do well because of the support that the staff offer.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves to and from the home are well planned. Staff implement these plans effectively. The manager and the staff work closely with internal clinical psychologist and education provider. This ensures that the children have the right support that helps them to learn to regulate their behaviour. This has led to children moving successfully into longer-term homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children attend the school attached to the home. They have good school attendance and receive education packages tailored to their own individual needs. This helps the children to improve their life chances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s emotional needs are closely monitored. Staff understand the impact of adverse childhood experience and trauma. As a result of the therapeutic approach by staff, the children begin on their individual journey of understanding and reflecting on their past experiences. The children have made good progress in developing and implementing these strategies, which have strengthened their resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy a wide range of activities in the home and in their local community. For example, the children go for walks, play sports and go to local activity clubs. Activities are linked to the children’s personal preferences, talents and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy good health and have a varied diet. Staff are proactive and support the children to attend their medical and healthcare appointments. Staff support the children to make informed decisions about having the COVID-19 vaccination.

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

The manager and the staff understand the children’s vulnerabilities. The staff ensure that the children’s risk assessments contain the required clarity and are up to date. This supports the staff to take effective action to keep the children safe. The staff plan for, and respond well to, all the children’s known potential risks. Because of this, the children are better protected. Inspection report for children’s home: SC001452 4 Children are held as a last resort. When incidents occur, the use of the hold is proportionate and low level. The manager has good oversight of this practice, which she monitors closely.

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

Key-work sessions take place with the children at the earliest opportunity following any incident of inappropriate behaviour. This encourages them to develop a better understanding of what is and is not acceptable, and to regulate their behaviour accordingly. Positive behaviour is celebrated and is rewarded with special treats. This process has helped the children to develop self-esteem and enjoy success.

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

Staff use restorative sanctions when the children’s behaviour is inappropriate. The manager reviews the effectiveness of the sanction in a timely manner to improve behaviour management strategies. However, the inspector found that some of the records lack sufficient information, such as the amount of financial repayment or how the child was supported to complete the reparation work. This means that the children’s records do not contain all the necessary information.

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

Safeguarding concerns are responded to quickly, and subsequent investigations are thorough and involve all the relevant safeguarding agencies. However, the manager has not notified Ofsted of six allegations that the children have made against staff. This oversight has prevented Ofsted from scrutinising how allegations are investigated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff and the children benefit from stability in the management team. The manager is suitably experienced and qualified. She is supported by a stable leadership team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has high expectations and aspirations for the children and the staff. She has developed a progression tool to support her staff to progress further in their career in care. This has helped the manager to stabilise and better support her staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and senior leaders provide regular supervision to the staff. This is child-focused and reflective. The supervision process provides the staff with the guidance they need to provide good and consistent care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is dedicated and has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. She ensures that any incidents are reviewed, lessons learned and actions implemented. She also seeks support from the provider’s internal clinical service regularly. The management team values ongoing professional development and training. Any additional training needs are identified and sourced in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular team meetings are held to discuss the progress that the children make, care practice and staff well-being. This enables the staff to develop a sense of shared ownership about the home’s care practice. Staff report that there is good leadership and that they feel supported. Inspection report for children’s home: SC001452 5 The manager consults with the children, their families and professionals to improve the service. Levels of communication are good. This partnership working helps to plan children’s care effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: SC001452 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 registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 15 April 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered provider should ensure that the staff record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. This is with particular reference to ensuring that the children’s sanction records contain all of the correct information. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, 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 for children’s home: SC001452 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Five Rivers Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 47 Bedwin Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 3UT

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Inspector

Cherie Chen, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC001452 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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