Children's home run by Wessex College Limited in Dorset

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC043245 1 SC043245

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Registered provider: Wessex College Limited

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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 manager has been registered with Ofsted since 12 December 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

Date of last inspection: 26 October 2022

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: Requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At these inspections, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC043245 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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The care of children

Since the previous inspection, one child has successfully moved, with staff support, into semi-independent living.

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The care of children

Children like living at the home and are making progress. For example, there has been an improvement in children’s sleeping patterns, which has had a positive impact on their mood and ability to function effectively the following day. Staff and children worked together to devise meaningful incentive plans to help to motivate children with making these changes.

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The care of children

Children live in a well-furnished and comfortable home. They are supported to personalise their rooms as they wish. Some children have lots of posters and family photos, whereas others prefer more-minimalist décor. Repairs are undertaken quickly to maintain an appropriate standard of accommodation.

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The care of children

Children’s plans have improved, but further improvement is required. Their care plans are current and reflect their needs. However, behaviour support plans do not consistently provide clear guidance for staff on how these needs will be met. This could lead to inconsistency in the care provided.

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The care of children

The child’s voice is evident in their plans. This empowers the children and gives them ownership of their care. The registered manager has escalated concerns effectively, when appropriate, when responses to children’s requests, such as more time with their families, are not addressed in a timely manner.

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The care of children

Children are all engaged in education or voluntary work. For some children, this is a significant achievement as they have previously been out of education for a considerable time. Staff have developed good working relationships with education providers, which ensures a consistent approach to meeting children’s needs.

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The safety of children

Children are kept safe and feel safe at the home. Children said they have several staff who they would speak to if they had any concerns. Children feel listened to and that staff take what they say seriously.

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The safety of children

Overall, safeguarding practice has improved. Records of safeguarding events are now clear and provide appropriate detail of the actions taken by staff to protect children. However, there has been one event where, despite taking action to protect the child, there was a delay in notifying the local authority designated officer. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC043245 3 Investigations carried out by senior managers into safeguarding events are of an appropriate quality. They include lessons learned, which are then used to improve practice.

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The safety of children

Since the last inspection, there has been a reduction in children going missing from home. This is mainly due to one child moving out of the home. However, overall, the reports of missing-from-home events have improved. These now provide information on the action that staff took to prevent the child from leaving and about searching for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The manager is now registered with Ofsted. She, with the support of senior managers and colleagues, has effectively worked on the areas for improvement that were identified at the previous inspection. This work is ongoing and needs further time to embed into practice. Leaders and managers understand this, as they have a realistic view of the home’s performance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The quality of staff handovers has improved. These are now an effective forum for sharing information and planning the day.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff supervision has improved, but more work is needed to improve the records of these important meetings. Some of the records lack detail and do not aid in the support and development of the member of staff. This inconsistency is also present in the team meeting minutes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Overall, the quality of notifications submitted to Ofsted has improved. However, some notifications have not contained all the information and detail required to enable the regulator to understand fully what happened and the action taken in response.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/07/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/05/2021 Full Inadequate 21/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC043245 4

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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 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, ensure that children’s plans provide clear guidance for staff on how children’s needs will be met to provide consistency of care. 31 March 2023 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC043245 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff recruitment record contain the 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)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure 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)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure notifications of significant events contain details of the actions taken by the staff's 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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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that referrals to the local authority designated officer for allegations are made without delay. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 43, paragraph 9.12)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of team meeting are of a consistently good quality so as to aid in the improvements in the quality of care provided and the development of the home. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 52, paragraph 10.4) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC043245 6

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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 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC043245 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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