Children's Home run by Central and Southern Homes Limited in Devon

Inspection report for children's home: 2611536 1 Registered provider: Central & Southern Homes Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides care for up to five children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home’s manager is not yet registered with Ofsted but they have submitted their application.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2611536 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/03/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/11/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: 2611536 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has an unusual layout. However, significant action has been taken to make the home as warm and welcoming for children as possible. Children’s spaces are tailored to their needs and communal areas are a positive feature of the home. Some repair or redecoration is needed, such as to a broken wardrobe door, writing on walls and worn paintwork. The child’s wardrobe was repaired during the inspection.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy at the home. Both children said they feel safe and like living there. The inspector saw evidence of good relationships between children and staff. They are affectionate with one another, they laugh and play together and they show interest in their day. Staff are calm and patient when children’s behaviours challenge them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in the home. Both attend school and there is good educational provision available when children do not attend. There are robust systems in place to track children’s progress and identify patterns in behaviour.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, plans progress at their individual pace. However, managers do not consider before children come to live at the home how well they will cope with living together. The children currently living at the home have had disagreements and there have been some bullying incidents. While these were managed well, more robust matching assessments may pre-empt these difficulties.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a wealth of activities that enrich their lives and give them new and positive experiences. Staff support children to do the things that make them happy. One child is interested in buses and staff have helped them learn to enjoy this hobby in a safe way. Children are encouraged to learn new skills at their own pace. When children approach the age of 18, managers carefully devise individual plans so that they move to adult placements that can meet their needs.

p.3

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

When restraint is used, it is proportionate and helps prevent the child from hurting themselves or others. Staff are skilled in using calming techniques to try and reduce the use of restraint wherever possible.. Records are detailed and there is good management oversight to help the team learn from incidents, recognise triggers and reduce future incidents. However, one record used wording that is not helpful to staff or the child.

p.3

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

Staff build positive relationships with children that are built on fairness and trust. They use consistent boundaries to help children feel safe and reinforce positive Inspection report for children's home: 2611536 4 behaviour. There is a strong ethos of therapeutic parenting that is underpinned by understanding the trauma experiences of each child.

p.3

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

Plans are detailed and provide staff with clear strategies to support the child. However, these are not always updated in line with the child’s current needs. One child has their mobile phone checked daily, when there have been no concerning incidents for some time.

p.4

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

Risk assessments are thorough and clearly demonstrate that the team continuously assesses the level of risk and how to mitigate this. However, known triggers for some self-harm behaviours are not always clearly identified.

p.4

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

Impact risk assessments are weak. They do not consider how children will live together and the skills the staff team needs to meet the child’s needs. This has been identified as a weakness by managers and a new process has been developed.

p.4

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

There continue to be medication errors. These have not adversely affected children due to being recording errors. There is a plan in place to address this issue.

p.4

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

Allegations are dealt with in a thorough and swift manner. Prompt referrals are made to the local authority safeguarding officer. Internal investigations are comprehensive and leaders and managers make robust decisions so only appropriate adults work at the home. The home has safer recruitment processes.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers understand children’s needs and fiercely challenge local authority plans when they are not right for the child. Leaders strongly advocated for a child when there was an ill-considered plan to move them. This led to the child remaining at the home and further consideration as to when a move might be appropriate.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is good management oversight of the care children receive. Debriefs and reflection provide good opportunities for the team to learn and adapt to the changing needs of children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that staff have regular, good-quality supervision. Staff say their supervision is helpful in improving their practice. They told the inspector that if they need additional supervision, they can access this when required.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that there are sufficient skilled staff to look after the children in the home. Staff have access to a wide range of training courses. This includes individualised training that specifically helps them meet the needs of the children currently living in the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers ensure that children’s voices are heard and that this helps to improve the care provided. Inspection report for children's home: 2611536 5 The home has good relationships with external agencies and families. Professionals and parents reported that the home provides good levels of care. One parent said that the team was doing an excellent job in caring for their child. Inspection report for children's home: 2611536 6

p.4

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This relates in particular to ensuring that the home is well maintained and maintenance is carried out promptly. 20 January 2023

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

p.6

Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them;

p.6

Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and 20 January 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 2611536 7 a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child.

p.6

Requirement Due date

Paragraph (2) does not apply to medicine which— is stored by the child for whom it is provided in such a way that other persons are prevented from using it; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

may be safely self-administered by that child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3)(a)(b))

p.7

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

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;

p.7

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This relates to risk assessments, including known triggers for children, and ensuring safety plans are updated in line with the child’s needs. 20 January 2023

p.7

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— Inspection report for children's home: 2611536 8 receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

p.8

Requirement Due date

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

p.8

Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

p.8

Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered person ensuring that children living in the home have compatible needs and personalities.

p.8

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information and is helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

p.8

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: 2611536 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Central & Southern Homes

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Pitmaston House, Malvern Road, Worcester WR2 4LL

p.9

Inspector

Penelope Kutz, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2611536 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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10