Children's Home run by Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in Cornwall

Inspection report for children’s home: SC432404 1 SC432404 Registered provider: Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by an NHS Foundation Trust. It offers short breaks for up to two children with complex health needs and a learning and/or physical disability. Some children have life-limiting conditions which significantly affect their activities and daily living.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since June 2018. The manager is also the registered manager of another children’s home in the area.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was staying at the home.

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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 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: 17 November 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: SC432404 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/11/2021 Full Good 12/11/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 21/08/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC432404 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make very good progress at the home. Staff understand their needs well. They support and encourage children to try new experiences and develop new skills. Parents told the inspector that their children enjoy their time at the home and they look forward to staying.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proficient in understanding what children want. They use a variety of ways to help children communicate their wishes and feelings, particularly those children who are non-verbal or who have additional communication needs. During the inspection, staff gave a child time to express what they wanted. They used sign language and pictures to assist the child and listened and watched carefully. This helped the child choose an activity that they were eager to do and thoroughly enjoyed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated in a warm and welcoming way. There is equipment that would not be present in an average family home due to the children’s physical needs. However, the team regularly create new ways to decorate the home to make it feel homely. Each bedroom is personalised for the child’s stay. There is a friendly, resident cat that children like to spend time with.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children coming to stay at the home for the first time are welcomed and that transitions work at their pace. One child was very anxious about staying away from their family. The home devised a bespoke plan with the input of family and other professionals supporting the child. The child slowly increased their time at the home until they felt comfortable to stay overnight.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are detailed and are useful documents. They provide important health and welfare information about the child. They give staff clear strategies to respond in the most appropriate way for individual children. However, some care plans are not up to date. In one example, a significant change in the child’s family life had not been included throughout their plan. In another, changes to the child’s health had not been updated. This did not adversely affect the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Visual and audio monitoring of children at night with specific health needs, for example epilepsy, is robustly risk assessed to ensure children’s safety. However, plans are not discussed with the child, even when they have the capacity to express their views. The team has not explored what it might feel like for a teenager to be watched constantly at night.

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

There have been no incidents where restraint has been used since the last inspection. Staff are skilled at setting appropriate boundaries and encouraging Inspection report for children’s home: SC432404 4 children to make positive choices. Staff are patient and persistent when they engage with children.

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

Staff know how to respond if there is a risk that a child may be being harmed. When concerns are raised about a child’s welfare, professional curiosity leads to robust discussions and recording. Staff involve safeguarding agencies when it is appropriate. This ensures that any unusual or repeated worries trigger safeguarding responses. There have been no safeguarding incidents in the last year.

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

The home has detailed and accurate systems in place to ensure the safe storage and administration of medication. Some children who stay at the home have complex medical needs and they take an array of medication. The home communicates with each parent prior to their child’s stay to ensure that the details the home holds are accurate.

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

The home’s recruitment process is not consistently robust. Managers did not seek a second written reference for one new member of staff who had previously been self-employed. Although a second employer reference was verbally gained, a written character reference was not requested to provide additional information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers work closely with other professionals to ensure that children receive seamless care. When one child’s family situation changed suddenly, the team provided full-time care for them while other arrangements were made. The team supported the family so that they understood and were competent in meeting the child’s care needs. The team also liaised with external professionals to ensure that the child was safe and well cared for during a challenging period.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that the team is well skilled and has access to a range of training opportunities. When children have specific needs, bespoke training is provided to ensure that at least one member on every shift is suitably trained.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good oversight of the care children receive. They perform regular reviews and measure children’s progress. Lessons are learned from reflection and regular meetings. There is a constant drive to improve children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Visits are consistently made by an independent person. However, the reports are not detailed and do not provide adequate analysis of the care provided. This means that opportunities to learn are missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to good-quality, regular supervision that they consider is helpful to them. Managers completed annual appraisals promptly. There are Inspection report for children’s home: SC432404 5 opportunities for staff progression, with some members of the team being seconded or promoted since the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Actions from the previous inspection have been met. The registered manager drives improvements to the service and has high expectations regarding the care children receive. Families and professionals speak highly of the service. They told inspectors that children are provided with excellent care at the home, and they are given exceptional opportunities to enjoy things they like and try new experiences during their stays. Inspection report for children’s home: SC432404 6

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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 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)) 17 March 2023

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings; 17 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC432404 7 help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s privacy will be respected and the circumstances when it may have to be limited;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to prepare for any review of the child’s relevant plans and to make the child’s views, wishes and feelings known for the purposes of that review; and

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Requirement Due date

make each child aware of and, if necessary, remind them of each of the matters in sub-paragraph (d)(i) to (iii);

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Requirement Due date

is enabled to provide feedback to, and raise issues with, a relevant person about the support and services that the child receives;

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Requirement Due date

has access to the home’s children’s guide, and the home’s complaints procedure, when the child’s placement in the home is agreed and throughout the child’s stay in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is given appropriate advocacy support. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(b)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires; and

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires. 17 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC432404 8 A visit by the independent person to the home may be unannounced.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5)

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 17 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC432404 9

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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: SC432404 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Trust Head Office, Carew House, Beacon Technology Park, Dunmere Road, Bodmin PL31 2QN

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Inspector

Penelope Kutz, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC432404 11 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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