Children's Home run by Wessex College Limited in Bath and North East Somerset

Inspection report children’s home: 1241840 1 Registered provider: Wessex College Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private provider and offers care for up to four children. The provider states in their statement of purpose that they provide care for children and young people with social, emotional or behavioural difficulties. At the time of inspection four children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since January 2022.

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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: 12 January 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1241840 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/01/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/09/2019 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1241840 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Outcomes for children are good, and children are making progress. This includes a reduction in incidents of self-harm, substance misuse and going missing from the home. In addition, children’s independence skills and engagement in school have increased. One child has moved into semi-independent living and two other children are preparing to take this next step. Timescales for these moves are managed at a pace to meet the needs and levels of support each child requires.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from having strong, trusting and nurturing relationships with staff. They feel that staff really care for them, seek and listen to their views and opinions, and want the best for them. The children like living at the home. They do view it as their home and are proud of it. Children said there can sometimes be tension between the older and younger children, but they feel that staff manage it well. One child said that it is the same as you feel sometimes living with a younger brother.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care and support plans are of a good quality. They provide clear guidance for staff on how to meet the child’s needs. These plans are frequently reviewed and updated to ensure they reflect each child’s current needs. Within these plans there is clear evidence of the child’s input. Staff see this as key to developing the child’s understanding of their situation, ownership over their present and future, and develop self-management and care strategies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s healthcare needs are well met. Staff advocate for children effectively to ensure they received additional health support when needed and help them to attend these appointments. The outcome of this has been an improvement in children’s self-esteem, social skills and self-confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend a range of educational provisions to meet their individual needs. Some children have recently been taking exams, and they are now awaiting their results. Staff supported the children through their exams and helped them to create and follow revision timetables. Staff are aspirational for the children in their care. They are very proud of the children’s educational attainments and celebrate these.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to keep in touch and spend time with their family and friends. Parents spoken to are very positive about the home and the care provided.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with a comfortable, well-furnished home. This is personalised by and for the children who live there. However, the use of locks on doors is excessive and takes away from the homely environment the staff have created.

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

Children feel safe at the home. All of them are confident that they can talk with staff and managers if they have any concerns or worries. Staff have a good Inspection report children’s home: 1241840 4 understanding of safeguarding procedures and implement them effectively in practice. Staff work collaboratively with other professionals to protect children. Records of safeguarding events are suitably documented.

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

Behaviour is managed appropriately. Detailed behaviour support plans reflect children’s current behavioural needs and how staff are to meet them. There have been occasions when the police have been appropriately called to the home for safety reasons. However, on one occasion this was to manage a child’s behaviour. The manager identified that this was not appropriate and took action to address this. Restraint is rarely used.

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

Risk is well managed. Risk assessments are clear and provide guidance for staff to help them to keep children safe. Staff are not risk-averse and work with children to understand and manage risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and appropriately qualified for their role. They have a good understanding of the strengths of the home and the areas for development. They have high aspirations for the children and the staff team, which are reflected in their clear vision for the home. This approach is driving the progress the home has made and there are clear plans in place for its future development. Staff, parents and professionals are very positive about the manager’s leadership, and they find her supportive and approachable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and the senior manager have effective monitoring systems in place to review the quality of care. Information from monitoring is used to further develop the home and the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The requirement from the previous inspection has been met, resulting in a new bathroom being installed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Information about safeguarding events is stored across several different areas. This does not make tracking and monitoring of safeguarding records as easy as they could be.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is of a good standard. There is clear evidence of staff receiving additional training to meet their individual training needs and the needs of the children. New staff receive an appropriate induction which prepares them well for their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervisions are of a good quality. Supervisions provide an opportunity for staff to reflect on their practice and well-being and review their training needs. Each supervision record has a clear action plan which is reviewed at the next session.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The current children’s guide provides a lot of useful information for the children moving into and living at the home. However, the document does not accurately reflect information about the current staff team. Inspection report children’s home: 1241840 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide is reviewed and updated to reflect the current staff team. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.21)  The registered person should review the excessive use of locks to ensure they provide the children with a homely and domestic environment rather than an ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that electronic records are easily accessible and that systems to store safeguarding records are streamlined. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2)

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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: 1241840 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Wessex College Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Acorn Norfolk Limited, Atria, Spa Road, Bolton BL1 4AG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Samantha Choules

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Inspector

Wendy Anderson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1241840 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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