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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC006921 1 SC006921 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

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to five children between the ages of seven and 14 years with social and emotional difficulties. The home’s statement of purpose states that they offer an intense therapeutic support package designed to enable children to move on to a suitable family environment.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 2013. She is suitably qualified.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC006921 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/04/2021 Full Good 27/11/2019 Full Good 18/09/2018 Full Good 16/08/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC006921 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a strong family ethos. Annual summer holidays and sit-down Sunday lunches reflect the family culture. The long-standing registered manager is referred to as the ‘mother’ of the home. The staff’s nurturing approach is unquestionably child-focused. Staff read children bedtime stories and settle them in bed with their favourite cuddly toys. Children are happy, have fun and develop trusting relationships with staff. Some children who have left the home keep in touch with the manager and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wealth of activities after school and at weekends. They enjoy socialising with peers at local youth clubs and gyms. Staff support children on shopping trips, and visits to the cinema and local parks. Children and staff bake together and enjoy football kickabouts in the garden. One child enjoyed their first- time ice-skating experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and experiences of the home are regularly sought, for example through feedback forms. Comments from children include, ‘The food is excellent,’ and ‘The staff are friendly.’ Staff support children to attend weekly group meetings, where they share their feelings and any concerns and make plans together for the week ahead.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children living at the home attend the on-site school. Children’s care plans and behaviour support strategies are shared with the school staff, which enhances consistency in care across the home and school. Leaders and managers describe this as ‘wraparound care’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in all aspects of their lives. Progress includes improved personal care, bedtime routines, socialising skills and age-appropriate independence skills. A member of staff said, ‘It is joyous to see their progress.’ A parent described their child’s progress as a ‘massive improvement’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a large and has spacious communal rooms and outdoor space. Children’s bedrooms are personalised. However, some areas in the home are in need of repair, for example, some paintwork is scuffed, some fixtures and fittings are missing and there is damage to a shower room wall. The home’s interconnecting door to the kitchen is locked at night, which restricts children’s access to the kitchen during the night. These factors detract from the overall family home environment.

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

All the staff working in the home know the children well. They understand the children’s needs and vulnerabilities and the strategies to minimise risks. Research- informed practice ensures that staff provide children with consistent and purposeful care and support. Children spoken with said that they feel safe living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC006921 4 The home’s in-house therapist meets with each child on a weekly basis. These weekly sessions help children understand their past experiences and vulnerabilities. This understanding further informs staff’s direct work with each child. Staff use creative and age-appropriate resources and role modelling to help children learn to manage their emotions in a safer way, and risks reduce.

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

Staff are alert to risk and risk assessments are, in the main, comprehensive. However, one child’s risk assessment lacked some detail about the identified strategies to keep the child safe.

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

Physical restraint is rarely used. Restraint records demonstrate that it is only used as a last resort to keep children safe. When children make complaints, they are treated sensitively and investigations are undertaken. Children are informed about the outcome of their complaints.

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

Children understand their daily routines and the staff’s shift patterns are planned around the children’s needs and well-being. For example, in the morning, children are woken by the same staff who said goodnight to them. This helps children to remain settled in the home.

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

Thorough checks are carried out when assessing the suitability of staff prior to them working at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is highly experienced in children’s residential care. Staff describe her as professional and very caring towards themselves and the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual has a similar wealth of experience. He visits the home weekly and takes a keen interest in the welfare of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A stable and dedicated staff team supports the registered manager. Parents and professionals describe the staff team as approachable and always available to respond to queries.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The in-house therapist attends the staff team meetings. She provides highly valued feedback and updates to the staff team. Children’s care plans and their support needs are reviewed. This helps to ensure that children’s care is responsive to their changing needs. Staff also value their time to reflect in the team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff receive a thorough induction and undertake a comprehensive probation period. All staff are trained in the home’s therapeutic parenting approach, which helps them to support and understand the needs of the children living at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent person provides detailed, comprehensive monthly reports. These include recommendations, which are consistently actioned by leaders and managers. However, the report does not explicitly include the independent person’s opinion as Inspection report for children’s home: SC006921 5 to whether children are safeguarded effectively and that the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being, as required by regulation. Inspection report for children’s home: SC006921 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that risk assessments detail all strategies to manage risks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that the independent person includes in their report their opinion as to whether children are safeguarded effectively and the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.8)  The registered person should assess and keep under review the practice of locking the interconnecting door to the kitchen at night. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should improve or replace some of the home’s fixtures and fittings. They should also ensure damage to walls is repaired. (‘Guide to the

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Recommendations

Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC006921 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

Responsible individual: Timothy-John Matthews

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Inspector

Victoria Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC006921 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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