Children's home run by Empower Residentials Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2595791 1 Registered provider: Empower Residentials Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The statement of purpose states that the home can provide care for up to three children who may have social and emotional needs or learning disabilities. At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The post of registered manager has been vacant since November 2022. An interim manager and new responsible individual have been appointed.

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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

Date of last inspection: 21 September 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2595791 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/09/2022 Full Inadequate 02/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 31/08/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2595791 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, the same child remains living in this home. The adults have been successful in maintaining a home for the child that is warm, welcoming and well-resourced. The child is relaxed and comfortable in his home. In recent months, staff have reported that the child is spending less time in his room and more time in the home’s communal rooms interacting with staff. This milestone progress endorses the child’s growing confidence and trust in the adults who care for him.

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improvement to be good

The home’s care and support plans are extensive. They do not provide new and inexperienced staff with succinct information they need on how to meet the child’s current daily needs. Information about the child’s current health needs is difficult to find and targets set are unrealistic. The interim manager is aware that the plans are not easy to follow, and some targets are too ambitious. She confirmed that discussions are underway with the new responsible individual to review these documents.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, behavioural incidents have reduced. There have been three reported incidents that have resulted in staff physically guiding the child. On each occasion, the hold was used as a last resort and for a minimal amount of time. Opportunities for the child and staff to reflect and learn from these incidents have improved significantly.

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improvement to be good

The child’s attendance and engagement at school continue to be positive. He enjoys school and is being supported by the team to meet his educational targets. Similarly, the child enjoys a broad range of activities, both in the home and in the community. His confidence has grown because of these opportunities and positive experiences.

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improvement to be good

Since the last full inspection, leaders and managers have provided staff with improved training opportunities, which have helped to improve their understanding and recognition of potential safeguarding concerns. The staff said the training courses have provided them with the knowledge and confidence to recognise and respond swiftly if the child is at risk of harm. There have not been any significant safeguarding concerns requiring referral since the last full inspection.

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improvement to be good

Overall, incident records have improved, but further work is required to develop the team’s report-writing skills. Some records contain language that lacks clarity, for example heightened and stimming.

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improvement to be good

Improved opportunities have been introduced that help staff and the child to talk about how they felt during and after incidents. More work is needed to help the Inspection report for children’s home: 2595791 4 child to communicate how he felt before the incident, and for staff to consider preventative strategies. Leaders and managers recognise that further work is required.

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improvement to be good

Staff recognise and respond to risks appropriately. They are not risk averse. Risk assessments provide staff with up-to-date information and instruction on how to manage and mitigate risks. Despite this, these documents are not easy to follow, and pertinent information is lost because these documents detail a chronology of events relating to each known risk. Again, leaders and managers recognise that further work is required.

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improvement to be good

The home’s locality assessment is informative, but too generalised. The information does not specifically set out the actual hazards in the local area that have the potential to place the current children at risk. The interim manager agreed to review this document.

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good

Since the previous full inspection, the registered manager has left, and a new interim manager has been appointed. The new manager is being supported by a newly appointed responsible individual.

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good

Since the last inspection, improvements have been made to improve the quality of care provided for the child. Continuity of care has been maintained by a team of staff who are developing their skills through new training opportunities. Staff confirmed that the interim manager is supportive and works inclusively. Staff said that the interim manager leads by example and morale within the team has improved. The interim manager described the team as a team that is keen to learn.

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good

The interim manager provides staff with regular formal supervision and team meetings. Discussions held focus on the child, his progress and individual roles and responsibilities. Despite this good work, records of these meetings do not always include the staff’s contribution, or discussions about how the team members learn from each other.

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good

All staff have received basic mandatory training and online specialist awareness training courses. To maximise the child’s progress, staff would benefit from enhanced training opportunities in subjects such as autistic spectrum disorder, separation and loss, and personal care.

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good

Weaknesses identified at this inspection relate mainly to records, for example internal care plans, risk assessments and quality of reports completed by the staff. These weaknesses to date have not had a negative impact on the child’s health or well-being. Inspection report for children’s home: 2595791 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotional can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11 (1)(2)(a)(ix)) 28 February 2023

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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—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensures that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must progress their plans to ensure that staff are provided with specialist training 28 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2595791 6 courses that will help them understand and respond to the complex needs of the children they care for.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to simplifying internal care plans and person-centred plans to make them easier to read and ensure they are written in a way that will be helpful to the child. 28 February 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that formal supervisions and team meetings provide staff members with the opportunity to learn from internal and independent monitoring findings. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should review the location of the premises and ensure that all risks in the local area are properly considered and that strategies for managing them are documented. This particularly refers to ensuring that the contact details of all emergency services are identified, along with their response times in the event of an emergency. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the

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Recommendations

quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2595791 7 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: 2595791 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Empower Residentials Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2 Prockters Farm Offices, West Monkton, Taunton, Somerset TA2 8QN

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Inspector

Sharron Escott, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2595791 9 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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