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

Inspection report for children's home: SC059717 1 SC059717 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 provides care for up to six children in two houses, who may have social and emotional difficulties. The home is operated by a national private organisation. At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 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: 9 December 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC059717 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/12/2021 Full Good 16/10/2019 Full Good 24/10/2018 Full Good 27/09/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: SC059717 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a warm, welcoming, happy environment where children enjoy living. The children very much see this as their home, as they are involved in choosing the decor and determining the plans for developing the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress. Incidents of self-harm have reduced as, with help from staff, children are learning other ways to express themselves and manage their emotions. Children have learned about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. This is helped by a chef frequently visiting the home to do cooking sessions with the children and staff. After these sessions, the children and staff have organised ‘come dine with me’ nights where they cook for each other. Children said they love these nights.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have effective and caring relationships with the children built on trust and respect, despite some changes in the staff team. During the inspection, children were seen to be relaxed and happy in the company of staff. There was also a lot of laughter. Children identified several staff members with whom they feel comfortable talking about any worries or concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s support plans are up to date and provide guidance for staff. Leaders and managers have identified that these plans need development and are taking appropriate action to address this. Children are actively involved in determining their care plans. A very good example is that children who are planning to move to foster care are developing their own fostering profiles.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Monthly newsletters and children’s memory books are creative and full of pictures, and they provide a good record of the child’s life at the home. Daily summaries and weekly and monthly reports are also of a good quality. Currently, staff do not read these records consistently, which may deflect from their effectiveness.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to improve their attendance and engagement at school. For example, staff advocated on behalf of a child to drive the child to and from school, resulting in a reduced journey time and a more positive experience. The child is now routinely attending and making better progress at school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy and benefit from taking part in a wide range of physical and social activities. Staff encourage children to try new things and to play with other children. Children have fun and make progress emotionally and socially.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to take good care of their physical and mental health. Children are supported to attend all their routine health appointments and engage with specialist support services to meet their needs. Inspection report for children's home: SC059717 4

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

Children feel safe at the home. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding practice, including how to report any concerns outside of the organisation. This helps to protect children.

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

Leaders and managers challenge any concerning issues immediately. On one occasion, the practice of staff fell below what is expected to ensure children are safeguarded. The matter was dealt with effectively by the responsible individual. Her sound safeguarding knowledge and prompt response minimised the impact of an instance of poor practice on children.

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

Risk is well managed, and staff are not risk-averse. Risk assessments are of a good quality and include strategies to reduce risk. Work takes place with children to help them to develop their understanding of risk. As a result, children are making safer choices.

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

Behaviour is managed well. High levels of praise and the use of incentives motivate children to feel good about themselves. Children respond well to the boundaries put in place for them. Meaningful conversations are held with children regularly. These discussions are helpful and enable the children to reflect on events and learn from them. As a result, the use of restraint has not been necessary. This is a testament to the staff team’s skill in de-escalating situations.

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

When incidents have occurred, records of these incidents are appropriate. Meaningful conversations always take place with children and the staff involved.

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

Incidents of children going missing from the home are rare. When they have occurred, staff are vigilant and take all measures possible to locate children and welcome them back home without delay. Reflection and learning following the incidents have helped the manager and staff develop increased insight into some of the reasons why children may have run away and how to respond to them more effectively in the future. However, despite requests for independent return home interviews, the local authority does not always provide a timely response or share the outcome of the interviews. This reduces the effectiveness of future safety planning to protect children.

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

Staff recruitment follows safer recruitment practices, which protects children. When necessary, probationary periods have been extended to ensure staff practice is of a good quality.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced for the role. Staff speak positively about the manager, the deputy and the responsible individual. Staff said they are approachable and very supportive. Staff are also very positive about their colleagues. Inspection report for children's home: SC059717 5 The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. Some areas have been addressed, while others are a work in progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. The quality of supervision records does vary from adequate to very good. Those of a good quality are reflective and support staff to develop their practice. However, some records lack details on the discussion held and actions taken, which is particularly evident when a member of staff raises an issue or concern. Supervision does help staff to develop their understanding of the regulations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The use of certain terminology can be improved to avoid using institutional style language. At times, staff use words such as ‘contact’ and ‘absconding’ when talking to or about children. These outdated phrases do not support the positive approach that staff typically demonstrate. The manager has identified the need for staff to receive further training on the use of language.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staffing levels are appropriate for the current number of children living at the home and their needs. Children are currently living in one of the two houses. Leaders and managers have plans in place to reopen the second house, but this is being done cautiously in light of the ongoing recruitment of staff. Inspection report for children's home: SC059717 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff do not use language that is vague or institutionalised when discussing children and in records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure staff routinely read each child’s daily summary records as these represent a significant contribution to the child’s life history. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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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: SC059717 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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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Chelsea Smart Deborah Haim

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Inspectors

Wendy Anderson, Social Care Inspector Joy Howick, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC059717 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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