Children's Home run by Fair Ways in Hampshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC066481 1 SC066481 Registered provider: Fairways Care (UK) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for up to five children. The home uses a therapeutic intervention to care for children who have experienced abuse, rejection, breakdown of previous placement or exclusion from mainstream school. It is operated by a wholly-owned subsidiary of a charity, which has its own education setting nearby.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 29 September 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: 17 November 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: SC066481 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/11/2021 Full Good 04/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 24/09/2019 Full Good 11/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC066481 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are currently four children living in this home. All the children are making notable progress since they moved into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Proactive and committed staff support children to achieve their goals with positive outcomes. Staff know the children and their needs well and have built positive and trusting relationships. As a result, children speak openly about their thoughts, feelings and wishes for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The therapeutic model of care that supports the care provided to children is well understood by staff. Staff ensure that children receive support from appropriate professionals. Effective challenge by staff and managers has prevented drift and resulted in children receiving timely care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Empathic staff support children moving into and out of the home. Effective and thorough communication helps to ensure that the planning process leads to children having positive outcomes. Record-keeping is consistent and comprehensive. However, jargonistic wording can deflect from the content and is not helpful if a child wishes to read their files in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers work tirelessly to ensure that children feel supported and their voices are heard. There is a strong commitment from staff to ensure that children have access to advocacy services and independent visitors. As a result, children have a consistent adult outside of the home who they can raise any issues or concerns with individually and in confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend education and are making good progress. Children said that they like school. One child said that they have enjoyed making new friends and going to school. As a result, this child has increased her confidence and social skills, and has positively influenced her care planning for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a homely and nurturing environment. Children have chosen colours and personalised their bedrooms. This gives them a sense of belonging and identity, which is a common thread throughout this home. The function of the home’s layout is under review. However, this does not distract attention from the good progress being made by children. The children have been included in the planning and said that they are excited about the upcoming changes.

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

Risk assessments are thorough and regularly reviewed by managers and key workers. Staff understand the risks associated with children’s behaviour and work with them to help them understand their emotions. When children leave the home without permission, staff respond effectively. For example, during a recent incident, Inspection report for children’s home: SC066481 4 staff acted swiftly and calmly to prevent a situation from escalating. The registered manager, staff and senior leaders have taken learning from a recent serious incident and implemented changes to ensure that the staff team is working together.

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

When children make decisions that could affect their health, such as smoking, staff speak with children to help them understand the impact on themselves and others. However, recording of this is not always completed. As a result, valued resources to support children, such as information on youth addiction and health services, may be omitted from their care planning.

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

The location risk assessment for the home has recently been updated. This is comprehensive and ensures that all known risks are managed effectively in conjunction with the children’s individual risk assessments.

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

Health and safety in the home is managed well. Regular fire drills are carried out, specifically when children move into the home. As a result, children can keep themselves and others safe in the event of an emergency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an enthusiastic and committed registered manager. He is supported by a dedicated and knowledgeable deputy. The responsible individual is visible and provides appropriate informed oversight of the home. However, the managers need to ensure that they are more informed about their roles and responsibilities when challenging decision-making, specifically with the local authority. They also need to make sure that information recorded by staff is consistently clear and factual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and senior leaders have a good oversight of staff’s day-to- day practice and can identify themes to help them monitor children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive practice-related supervision and invest in reflective sessions as a team. This empowers staff to learn from practice. There is a good sense of accountability and responsibility captured in supervision session records. As a result, actions are addressed and completed quickly and efficiently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Committed senior managers support staff to receive training. New staff have successfully completed their induction and probation period. Staff provide care in line with the home’s statement of purpose that enables children to thrive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home receives regular monitoring by the independent visitor. This provides an additional layer of scrutiny. However, this often focuses on recurring themes. As a result, the registered manager is not continuously challenged to further improve practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066481 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 independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the independent person should identify different areas of challenge to consistently support good practice. 31 March 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should 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. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that everyone working at the home understands their roles and responsibilities and what they are authorised to decide on their own initiative. This is specifically in relation to children’s care planning and understanding the role of the local authority and that of the children’s home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the

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Recommendations

quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20)

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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: SC066481 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Fairways Care (UK) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ground Floor, Building 1000, Western Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO6 3EZ

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Inspector

Jill Sephton-Wright, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC066481 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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