Children's home run by Solent Child Care Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2671361 1 Registered provider: Solent Childcare Ltd 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 operated by a private provider. The home provides care for up to two children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 7 March 2022, when the home opened. She is also the registered manager for another home operated by the provider.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 2671361 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children's home: 2671361 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience a warm and welcoming home, which they like living in. Children have toys and games to play with. They enjoy a range of outings, which cater to their interests. These have included trips to the seaside, trampolining, swimming, and football matches. Staff promote a healthy lifestyle, including a varied diet. Children enjoy good physical health and attend routine appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family style meetings take place over an evening meal. Staff give children the opportunity to have their say about what they would like to eat and ideas for day trips out. This is also used as an opportunity to support the children to develop their relationships with each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child attends a local school as a weekly boarder. Staff keep in touch with him throughout the week and take him out for dinner one evening a week. Staff ensure they communicate with the school to share important information. One child is currently not in education. Staff contribute to education meetings to support the search for the right provision. Consultation with nearby schools is in progress. Staff create a structured day for the child. This ensures there are routines and opportunities for learning and meeting with other children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spoken to know children well and focus on building their relationships with them. Clinical supervision supports staff to develop their understanding of the children’s developmental needs. This is then incorporated into the way staff support children.

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

Both children have staff they feel comfortable to talk to and share worries with. Staff regularly speak with children to discuss positive behaviour. They also promote this through daily interactions. Children receive support in line with their individual behaviour plans. Staff work as a team to put in place consistent boundaries for children. This helps them experience continuity of care with staff. Sanctions used are fair and proportionate.

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

Safeguarding concerns are appropriately identified and reported to children’s social workers. Concerns for one child’s safe use of a phone were discussed with the social worker. This led to clear plans being put in place to promote safety. The child now has regular discussions with team members about safe phone use and content checks take place. The conversations help the child to understand the risks but are also sensitive to the child’s age and development.

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

Use of restraint has stabilised after a number of incidents following one child moving into the home. Learning from some incidents has led to some changes being implemented, for example, change to evening routines. Records of restraint are not Inspection report for children's home: 2671361 4 always clear. Children’s debriefs following restraint are of inconsistent quality. Some contain positive reflection and discussion to check on the child’s welfare and talk about how to do things differently. However, staff do not always make use of other indicators when a child is unable to say how they feel after a restraint.

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

Children’s risk assessments contain clear information about the risks to be aware of. They give staff clear direction about how to keep children safe. Risk assessments considering fire and location safety are comprehensive and suitable for need. Children and staff undertake regular fire drills. Recruitment follows safer recruitment practices.

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good

A confident and experienced manager leads the home. The manager is reflective and open about the challenges experienced since opening the home. A carefully planned transition for one child did not work as expected. Leaders and managers identify that the home can no longer offer the support the child needs. Several staff have left since the home opened. This means children have had to get to know a number of adults.

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good

Staff are positive about working in the home. They feel supported by leaders and managers. Staff receive mandatory training and regular supervision. Managers use supervision and probation meetings effectively to identify and monitor areas for development. Team meetings focus on children’s needs and embedding consistency of support.

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good

Poor management oversight of restraint means inconsistent quality of recording is not picked up on. As a result, the manager does not have all the information they need to monitor use of restraint effectively and track incidents. Reflection and evaluation of the use of restraint is under-developed. Learning is inconsistently applied and actions are not always clear. Processes are not yet embedded and do not consider incidents in enough detail to make learning as effective as possible to bring about change for children.

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good

Professionals speak positively about communication with the manager. Key documents to support children are up to date and contain current information. However, the information is not always clear across the different documents. Inspection report for children's home: 2671361 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 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

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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure suitable systems are in place to monitor the quality of recording and to track and evaluate incidents that occur in the home, so that clear plans can be made to reduce the need to use restraint. 8 July 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

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration; 24 June 2022 Inspection report for children's home: 2671361 6 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

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; 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)(iii)(iv)(vi)(vii)(c)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all records of restraint clearly record the details of the restraint as outlined above. The registered person must also ensure that it is clearly recorded how children are spoken to about the measure and what information is used to ascertain their welfare when they are unable to articulate their views.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that information across placement plans, behaviour plans and risk assessments is cross referenced to ensure consistency and clarity across all documents. (‘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: 2671361 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Solent Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 9 St Georges Yard, Castle Street, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7LW

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Charlotte Tanner

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Inspector

Clare Nixson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2671361 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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