Children's home run by Diverse Abilities Plus Limited in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Inspection report for children’s home: SC004085 1 SC004085 Registered provider: Diverse Abilities Plus Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by an independent charitable organisation. The organisation provides a short-breaks service for up to four children who may have sensory impairments, physical disabilities and/or learning disabilities. Day care for additional children is provided on the same premises.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2013.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 20 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: SC004085 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/12/2021 Full Good 13/08/2019 Full Good 18/09/2018 Full Good 16/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC004085 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from short breaks in a home that offers them the opportunity to have fun. Children enjoy the sensory room, arts and crafts, messy play and dancing. Staff encourage children to spend time with others who attend, to go out for trips to the park or the shops. At weekends, children explore the seaside and forests. Staff encourage children to make choices with day-to-day decisions, such as choosing what music to play or what to have for tea. Staff identify realistic and achievable targets for children to support their development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive support from staff who know them well. Staff work collaboratively with parents, learning children’s routines and how to meet their complex needs. This results in children experiencing continuity of care and the sense of a home from home. Care plans support staff to care for children. These plans capture children’s individuality and personality, resulting in personalised care. Managers give consideration to the children who stay together, to best meet their needs. When new children have been reluctant to attend, staff ensure that they work creatively to resolve any worries. For one child, this has involved planning their stay for the same time as someone they know well from school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents appreciate the support offered. They said that their children enjoy attending and they feel their children are safe during their stay. One parent raised concerns about the number of new staff, and said that they feel they do not always know who is caring for their child and how well their child knows them.

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

Staff understand children’s needs well. Staff know that children with communication difficulties may express their needs through actions. Where needed, children have clear behaviour support plans to help staff to respond appropriately. Staff make records of any incidents that occur. However, the language used in records is sometimes ambiguous. This means that the records are not always clear.

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

Safeguarding concerns are rare. However, when staff have worries, they raise them with their managers. Managers share information with children’s families and social workers as needed, and take action to ensure children’s safety. Managers promote clear expectations for staff to know and understand children’s plans, recognising that this is vital to ensuring children’s welfare.

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

Staff receive a variety of training to meet children’s complex health needs. Staff show curiosity about children’s health, sharing their views with professionals when needed. Managers thoroughly investigate any medication errors. Staff raise these promptly and learning is in place. Inspection report for children’s home: SC004085 4 The home offers sufficient space to store specialist equipment safely during children’s stays. Detailed risk assessments tell staff how to support children in the event of a fire. Safer recruitment processes are used to employ staff.

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good

The registered manager has worked in the home for many years, and she understands how staff can best support the differing needs of children who use the service. The manager acknowledges that staff turnover has been a challenge. However, the manager remains clear about what support staff can deliver. This means that children rarely have their stays cancelled.

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good

Staff feel supported by the management arrangements in the home. They receive regular supervision. However, records of these meetings are inconsistent in quality, and the conversations held are not always captured. As a result, it is not clear that staff have the opportunity to reflect on their practice. Regular team meetings are clearly recorded. These provide staff with opportunities to talk about children’s support needs.

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good

Professionals spoke positively about the home. They value the opportunity given to the children they support to enjoy a short break. The manager works closely with professionals to ensure that staff have accurate information to form the basis of their care plans.

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good

Although the manager took action to ensure that a child was safe during a safeguarding concern, they did not share the information directly themselves with the appropriate safeguarding authorities. The manager relied on others to take action, and this was not followed up. During this inspection, the manager addressed this and the appropriate actions are now in place.

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good

The manager has not ensured that the statement of purpose has been updated or shared with Ofsted. While the manager has completed a review of the quality of care in the home, this was not shared with Ofsted in a timely way. Inspection report for children’s home: SC004085 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vii)) In particular, ensure that the relevant safeguarding authorities are notified in a timely manner when there are concerns raised about staff practice. 18 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) In particular, ensure that the statement of purpose is up to date and reflects the experience and qualifications of staff. 30 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (4)(a)) 30 December Inspection report for children’s home: SC004085 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of supervision reflect the content of the conversations to evidence reflection and staff development. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff use clear language that everyone can understand when making records of incidents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC004085 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Diverse Abilities Plus Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Barnabas Project Centre, 13-15 Manor Avenue, Poole, Dorset BH12 4LB

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jonathan Seaward

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Inspector

Clare Nixson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC004085 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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