Children's home run by Wessex College Limited in Dorset

Inspection report for children’s home: SC043245 1 SC043245 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

The home is owned by a private provider and offers care for up to four children. The provider states in its statement of purpose that care is provided for children with social, emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager is in the process of applying to register with Ofsted

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC043245 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/07/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/05/2021 Full Inadequate 21/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/07/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC043245 3

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improvement to be good

Earlier this year, the home went through a difficult period, which led to three children’s placements being ended and moving-on plans for two other children being brought forward. Senior leaders decided to close the home temporarily for a period of reflection and analysis of previous events. This has led to a review and improvement of process, especially concerning the assessment and matching of potential new children. At the time of this inspection, children who had moved in were settling into their new home with staff support.

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improvement to be good

Staff are building relationships with the children and spoke about their achievements with pride and affection. Children confirm that they get on well with staff who care for them.

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improvement to be good

Children’s progress is mixed. Some are doing well with their education and have part-time jobs while others are struggling in these areas. Staff are providing support for those who are struggling and have gained access to an alternative education provider, while further work is done to enable a child to attend a full-time education provision.

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improvement to be good

Children are gradually developing their independence skills with staff support and guidance. This is done at a pace that suits the individual.

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improvement to be good

Children’s plans vary in quality. Some are clear and reflect the child’s current needs whereas others do not. Plans are not consistently reviewed and updated in light of events such as substance misuse or changes to restrictions regarding where a child can and cannot visit. This does not provide staff with clear guidance on how to support a child.

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improvement to be good

The health care needs of children are met. Children benefit from having access to in-house therapists, as well as support from external professionals with whom the staff have built effective working relationships.

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improvement to be good

Generally, the quality of the environment is of a good standard. Shared spaces are comfortably furnished, providing a warm and welcoming space for children. Most children have personalised their bedrooms, including putting up family photos. However, one child’s bedroom had broken drawers and very little personalisation, which provided a stark and uncared for impression. The damaged drawers were repaired during the inspection, but further work is needed to improve the quality of this child’s bedroom.

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improvement to be good

Feedback from social workers on the care the home provides is positive. The feedback from parents is mixed. Some are very happy with the home and the care their child receives. Others said they would like more contact from staff and they Inspection report for children’s home: SC043245 4 thought the quality of care could be better. This feedback was shared with leaders and managers.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they feel safe at the home. Safeguarding concerns are appropriately addressed and referred to the required agencies. However, there was a delay in reporting one event to the local authority designated officer. Effective action was taken to safeguard the child at the time. The delay was identified by leaders and managers and swift action was taken.

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improvement to be good

Other concerns have been reported appropriately. Internal investigations into safeguarding concerns are of a good quality. However, one was not carried out in a timely manner as the organisation requested an external person carry out the investigation. Leaders and managers had not identified the impact of this on the time frame of completing the investigation.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour support plans vary in quality. Some are very detailed, providing clear guidance for staff, while another had not been updated in light of recent events. This could lead to inconsistency in staff practice. Restraint is rarely used. Records of restraint are detailed and there is evidence of the manager monitoring these for quality, patterns and trends.

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improvement to be good

The majority of events, when children go missing or are away from the home without permission, are appropriately managed. Childrens plans include guidance for staff on what actions to take. However, some records lack clarity and do not consistently show that staff are acting in accordance with the child’s plans. For example, one record lacked information on what action staff took to persuade a child to return to the home.

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improvement to be good

Potential risks to children are identified, and actions are taken to mitigate the level of risk. The staff work well with external professionals, involving them to provide additional support for children who need more specialist help, for example in the area of substance misuse.

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improvement to be good

Two staff recruitment files were reviewed. These contained most of the information required. However, only one file had the interview notes from both interviewers. The interview notes are not of a consistently good quality.

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good

The manager has recently had their registration interview with Ofsted and, at the time of this inspection, is awaiting the outcome of this. The manager has experience of residential care and is currently undertaking their Level 5 qualification. This is their first management role. Senior leaders are supporting the manager in her new role and helping her to develop. The manager does have some understanding of the Inspection report for children’s home: SC043245 5 strengths and areas for development of the home but has not identified all the shortfalls found at this inspection.

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good

The manager has not consistently escalated concerns with a placing authority when she has concerns about agreed actions not being implemented in a timely manner. This has caused anxiety for the child concerned.

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good

There have been significant changes in the staff team since the previous inspection. Since the beginning of the year, there have been 35 different adults caring for the children. This does not help with continuity of care, the building of relationships or providing good stability for the children. Several of the new staff lack experience of working in children’s residential care. Leaders and managers are taking action to support staff during their probationary period.

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good

Staff are positive about the support they receive from the manager and a senior leader. They find them approachable and supportive. This has led to an improvement in staff morale. The quality of staff supervision sessions varies and requires improvement to ensure these are of a consistently good quality to aid in the development of staff. Some supervision records lack detail of the discussions held, whereas others reflect this well.

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good

Handover meetings require improvement. Important information is not always shared promptly at these meetings.

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good

Notifications made to Ofsted vary in quality. They do not consistently contain all the information required or provide a clear description of events.

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good

Information on safeguarding events is stored across a number of sections on the online recording system. This does not aid in the review and monitoring of these important records. Inspection report for children’s home: SC043245 6

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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

Engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(c)) 30 December

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children’s plans must be reviewed and updated in light of events to ensure that they reflect a child’s needs and provide guidance for staff on how these needs will be met so as to provide consistency of care. 30 December Inspection report for children’s home: SC043245 7 The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, where an internal investigation into safeguarding events has been requested and the organisation feels this must be undertaken by an external person, they must ensure the investigation commences in a timely fashion. In addition, when children go missing from care, staff must consistently record the actions they have taken to persuade the child to return to the home. 30 December

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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— 30 December Inspection report for children’s home: SC043245 8 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(c)(e))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all children’s bedrooms are appropriately furnished, comfortable and personalised. In addition, repairs must be carried out in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure, where possible, that staff build effective working relationships and regularly communicate with parents regarding their child’s care and progress. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.3)  The registered person should ensure that all relevant information is shared during staff handovers so all staff are aware of events and/or visits that may potentially impact a child’s mood or behaviours. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20)  The registered person should ensure that staff recruitment records contain the

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Recommendations

interview notes of both members of the interview panel and that these notes are of a good quality. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that records of staff supervision sessions reflect the discussions held and aid in the development of staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure notifications of significant events contain details of the actions taken by the staff in response to the event. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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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 frameworks. 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: SC043245 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Wessex College Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Atria, Spa Road, Bolton, Greater Manchester 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 for children’s home: SC043245 10 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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