Children's home run by New Forest Care Limited in Southampton

Inspection report children’s home: SC402135 1 SC402135 Registered provider: New Forest Care Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four children. According to the statement of purpose, the home specialises in caring for children who have experienced difficulties in settling into residential care and accessing mainstream education. The organisation has its own separately registered school and its own therapy team.

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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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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 requires improvement to be 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: 26 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 children’s home: SC402135 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/06/2019 Full Good 13/11/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/01/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC402135 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children thrive in this caring and nurturing environment. They make progress shortly after they move to this home. Children quickly settle and begin to form trusting relationships with staff. A parent acknowledged this by saying, ‘He [child] has settled so quick there, and is doing so well. He even calls it home and he has never done this before.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make sure that children’s needs are known and fully understood before they move in. The plans for children’s moves into the home are child centred and carefully thought through. Clear plans are made for those children who are to return to their family homes at weekends and during school breaks. This helps children to feel welcomed and reassured and it gives clarity on how they are to balance living at this home and regularly transitioning to their family home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since moving into this home, children have improved their school attendance. Staff, leaders and the manager ensure that children are registered at a school provision soon after their move. They work closely with the school to ensure that individualised stage-by-stage plans are completed. These involve children visiting the school and starting a process of building relationships before they commence full- time education. As a result, children enjoy being at school and recognise the importance of education for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to address their physical and emotional health needs. They work alongside a qualified therapy team to provide emotional and therapeutic help, using a parenting and child-focused/trauma-informed model of care. Parents and family members are also provided with family-based therapy, which supports relationship-building within families and promotes a positive return home process. This combination of support has helped staff and families to understand behaviours presented by children and how to thoughtfully respond to their needs. A family member said, ‘We are so pleased he [their nephew] is calmer, hardly gets angry and even talks more about how he feels now. We have staff and the therapy team to thank for this.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make sure that children are given opportunities to voice their views, and are encouraged to contribute to decisions made in the home. House meetings, key-work sessions and general discussions at any time of day, including bedtime, enable children to open up to staff. The inspector joined everyone for dinner, where one child who has recently moved into the home said, ‘I like staying here, staff are so lovely, and I enjoy doing things with them.’ The child later showed the inspector her bedroom, and proudly informed the inspector that all the decorations were chosen by her. The staff empower children to make decisions and listen to children’s views, which has resulted in children having a sense of belonging. Inspection report children’s home: SC402135 4 Children enjoy taking part in a wide range of activities in the home and out in the community. Staff support them to identify activities that they may enjoy in the local

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

area and beyond. During the inspection, one child expressed how she had fun at the skatepark earlier that day and was looking forward to travelling to another town and visiting the aquarium. Children also enjoy attending activities and clubs such as football, swimming and skating, and even unique ones such as ghost hunting. Their active lives help them to stay physically fit and meet new friends.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding of children is well managed. Children here do not go missing from home. In the event that this occurs, staff follow clear and up-to-date missing persons protocols and guidance to ensure that the children are returned home safely and relevant individuals are informed. One social worker said, ‘Since I have started working with this child, I have seen staff at this home respond to safeguarding concerns rigorously.’

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to understand the boundaries and guidelines when they move in. Staff encourage children to participate in a process of implementing their own behaviour plans. These enable staff to use approaches that have been agreed to by children in the event that they struggle with the emotions. Children are also encouraged to self-regulate through using identified techniques and in-depth reflective discussions with staff. However, on occasions, staff have not followed the guidelines in children’s plans, which has resulted in children presenting harmful behaviours that could have possibly been avoided.

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improvement to be good

There has been a decrease in physical interventions. This has been made possible by successful use of de-escalation techniques by staff, and support provided by the therapy team in regard to how staff are to approach children. Restraint reports are well documented, indicating the actions and de-escalation measures used by staff. However, the leaders and managers do not always provide timely oversight of the completed reports. The lack of consistent management oversight risks poor practice occurring.

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improvement to be good

Fire processes are completed as required by guidelines. There is a fire evacuation plan in place for the home. However, there is no individualised evacuation plan for one child, who prefers to sleep with the bedroom door open because it gives them a sense of security to be closer to the night staff. This reduces the protection provided by the fire door, as it only closes through a sound-sensor system, therefore increasing the fire risk for the child and others in the home. Door alarms are fitted on children’s bedroom doors, but there is no evidence to indicate the need for these in relation to behaviours and risks presented by the children currently in the home.

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improvement to be good

The manager and leaders adhere to safer recruitment processes and guidelines when employing staff. This helps to ensure that all individuals are thoroughly assessed, and are suitable to care for children. This promotes the safety of children. Inspection report children’s home: SC402135 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new manager has been appointed and she has made extensive changes to the processes in the home. She has implemented new plans that are aimed at improving the care given to children, and promoting swift progress for children. A member of staff said, ‘Even though she is a new manager, she is very supportive and has put a lot of things in place for both children and staff.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some members of staff have received regular supervisions. However, these opportunities have been missed for part of the staff team. As a result, there has been limited opportunity for the affected staff to formally provide their ideas and views, and reflect on their practice. This has negatively affected some staff members’ morale.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and manager are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. They have identified areas for improvement and acted on them. For example, during the assessment period for one child, they noted that the child did not mix well with the dynamics in the home. As a result, they moved the child to another section of the home, to enable staff to support him and other children while they all remained in the same premises for consistency. The manager addressed this and has continued to assess the progress being made. This has had a positive impact on the progress and experience of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager shares positive and respectful working relationships with other professionals. She is not afraid to challenge organisations when children’s needs are not met. For example, the manager challenged the abrupt move of a child back to his family home without completion of thorough assessments and therapy work, in line with agreed care plans. The manager runs a home that aims to provide high quality of care for children, which makes a positive difference to their lives. Inspection report children’s home: SC402135 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

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

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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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)(ii)(iv)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 29 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(d)) 29 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if— 29 April 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC402135 7 the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d))

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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)) 29 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph that requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)) 29 April 2022

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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: SC402135 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: New Forest Care Ltd, West Shore House, West Street, Hythe, Southampton, Hampshire SO45 6AA

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Inspector

Alphie Khumalo, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC402135 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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