Children's Home run by Autonomy Plus Limited in Wiltshire

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263124 1 Registered provider: Autonomy Plus Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private organisation. It provides care for up to five children with a learning disability and additional needs. At the time of the inspection, four children were living at this home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 12 December 2022.

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This monitoring visit

Ofsted received information that raised concerns about the day-to-day running of the children’s home. This information included concerns about the sufficiency of staff, the quality of the premises, sufficiency of food, and menu planning. This monitoring visit was undertaken to look into the concerns raised and to ensure that the requirements of the children’s homes regulations are being met.

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This monitoring visit

The inspector found that staff take pride in ensuring that the home is clean and in good order. Children’s bedrooms had been cleaned and were all found to be neat, personalised and generally well maintained.

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This monitoring visit

Some areas of the home need repairing or maintenance. Although these repairs have been identified, some repairs remain in progress and others are yet to begin. One double-glazed window in the dining room is broken, and action has been taken to order a replacement.

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This monitoring visit

Sufficient food is available for the children, and the ingredients to prepare chicken curry for dinner that evening were in the fridge. Staff use menu plans each day and ensure that these are used to prepare the weekly shopping lists. Children’s daily records show what meals they have had. When some children opt to restrict the Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263124 2 food they choose, the manager is considering how to introduce different foods to them.

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This monitoring visit

Staff recruitment remains a concern and there continues to be a reliance on permanent staff, bank staff and agency staff to cover vacancies. It remains that agency staff are regularly making up 50% of the care staff team. Leaders and managers recognise that this has been challenging and that this has had an impact on the staff team. Rotas show that agreed staffing ratios are being met. Leaders and managers reported that, when possible, the permanent staff and bank staff are being asked to cover the majority of vacant shifts. Agency staff are now being booked in advance, a month at a time, so that consistency of care for the children can be better maintained.

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This monitoring visit

The requirements set at the last full inspection will remain in place to be reviewed at the next inspection. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263124 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/05/2022 Full Inadequate 18/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/06/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263124 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 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—

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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

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

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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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. 9 September 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263124 5 (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 9 September 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the employment of any person on a temporary basis at the children’s home does not prevent children from receiving such continuity of care as is reasonable to meet their needs. (Regulation 31 (1))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 30 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (2))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 30 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Staff should keep, and encourage children to keep, appropriate memorabilia of the time spent living at Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263124 6 the home and help them to record significant life events. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)  The registered person should ensure that repairs to any damage in the home are dealt with promptly to create a warm, welcoming environment throughout. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263124 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Autonomy Plus Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 67 Roundpond, Melksham, Wiltshire SN12 8EB

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nicholas Faulkner-Elliott

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Inspector

Kerry Fell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263124 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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