Children's home run by New Forest Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1258343 1 Registered provider: New Forest Care Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately operated children’s home is one of a group of homes and education premises located in the south of England. It is registered to care for up to four children who have had adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and complex behaviours.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1258343 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/07/2021 Full Good 02/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/07/2019 Full Inadequate 04/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1258343 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they like living here and feel that it is their home. Managers and staff have a clear understanding of the progress that children are making, and this is well recorded. Examples of progress include children attending school regularly and becoming more confident in talking to staff about difficult emotions and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff seek prompt medical advice, share information with external agencies appropriately, and monitor the children’s physical and emotional health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff ensure that children are accessing the resources and support that they need to meet their physical and mental health needs. For example, they are proactive in contacting medical professionals for follow-up appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children talk positively about attending school and are making good progress. One child spoke proudly of being rewarded for consistent daily attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s learning and development. The children enjoy playing board games with staff to help them to settle at bedtime.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are systems in place to check the completion of household cleaning tasks. A deep clean takes place after each school holiday, but the children’s bedrooms, carpets and communal environment need additional attention.

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

Staff encourage children to think about their own safety, such as wearing proper safety equipment when using their skateboards. Children’s positive behaviour is noted and rewarded.

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

The manager shows through his oversight, recordings and conversations with children and staff, that he is appropriately managing safeguarding and looking for any patterns of concern. When children’s risk assessments are updated, a system is in place to ensure that all staff read and understand the changes.

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

Staff show good insight and practice in terms of understanding and sensitively supporting children when they present heightened emotional behaviours.

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

The children have specialist support through the organisation’s own therapeutic team. The therapist sees the children regularly and the staff also have regular consultations with her. This has enabled the team to develop good insight into the children’s pasts. The staff are supported to understand the nature of the children’s attachments and think how to support them with their responses and care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report for children’s home: 1258343 4 Staff speak positively about their experience of working for the organisation, and of the support that they receive from the managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Newly appointed staff feel well supported by the organisation and have a workplace mentor, along with their supervisor. They receive regular supervision and say that the induction training is relevant and helpful in preparing them for their roles. Training records are clear and reviewed regularly by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the plans for the children and has systems in place to track their progress. The manager works with the staff team to think about and promote more-child-friendly and less-institutionalised language. The children are positively contributing to this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Reports for children’s reviews are comprehensive. They provide a good overview of children’s experiences and progress in the review period. Reports are quality assured by both the manager and a senior manager, who provide constructive feedback to improve practice and support learning. These reports would be enhanced by including direct comments and views from the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a clear vision for the way that the home can improve outcomes for children and areas of development. Tracking systems are in place to monitor and review these.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and his deputy are seen as credible practitioners within the team and lead by example. Staff value this. Inspection report for children’s home: 1258343 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met– doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff listen to children and take their views and feelings into account when planning and undertaking their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 21, paragraph 4.5)

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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: 1258343 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: New Forest Care Ltd, West Shore House, West Street, Hythe, Southampton, Hampshire SO45 6AA

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Inspectors

Mike Simmonds, Social Care Inspector Lee Kirwin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1258343 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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