Children's Home run by Devon County Council in Devon

Inspection report for children’s home: 2529648 1 Registered provider: Devon County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a local authority and registered to provide care for one child. The child may have a physical and/or learning disability and/or sensory impairment.

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Information about this children’s home

A manager is in post and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: 2529648 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/06/2022 Full Good 28/03/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/03/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 17/12/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2529648 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The one child living in the home has made significant progress from their starting point. They are cared for and supported by a staff team that is stable and consistent in its approach. Consequently, the child has developed a good sense of belonging and has formed trusting and positive relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have worked extremely well to develop the child’s independence. The child is no longer requiring a high ratio of staff, and they now safely use public transport by themselves to either visit their family or attend college. An educational professional spoke highly of the progress the child has made in both their independence and academic achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A particular strength of the staff is how they support the child to take responsibility for their health and physical well-being. Records capture the staff’s child-focused approaches when helping the child manage change. This has resulted in the child’s physical and mental health significantly improving. For example, due to healthier eating and exercise, the child no longer heavily relies on their wheelchair.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector observed warm and loving interactions between the child and the staff. In particular, the inspector noted how well the staff helped the child over the phone to navigate herself around a change in the train she was catching.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child told the inspector that they were happy living in the home and that they were proud of all that they had achieved. The child spoke of how they are consulted with and involved in the development of the home, for example by interviewing new staff and helping to design the decoration of their new bedroom.

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improvement to be good

Since the previous inspection in June 2022, leaders and managers have successfully recruited a full staff team, including a manager. This has resulted in a significant reduction in the use of agency workers. A direct impact of a stable staff team is that there are structured, consistent and personalised responses to the child when they are upset or worried. The child’s behaviours are managed well, and the use of physical intervention has drastically been reduced. The child is gradually learning to manage their anxieties and worries.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff understand potential risks and triggers. Plans for reducing these risks are detailed, and a comprehensive positive behaviour support plan provides the staff with guidance on how to support the child when they are upset. However, the child’s risk assessment requires further work to ensure it captures all potential risks the child faces through the use of the internet. Inspection report for children’s home: 2529648 4 Staff have access to a suite of training courses, both online and face to face. Records indicate that all staff are up to date with their mandatory training. However, regardless of this, some staff have repeatedly made errors when recording and auditing medication, and they did not follow the home’s medication auditing protocol. Despite action by leaders and managers, poor practice continues. There has been no harmful impact on the child to date, however if this issue is not

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good

The newly appointed manager has a wealth of knowledge and experience in social care. Along with the responsible individual, he has been instrumental in forming a cohesive staff team. They have worked hard to improve the quality and consistency of care provided in the home. This has resulted in progress and improved outcomes for the child living in the home.

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good

Monitoring takes place, is well documented and evidences the oversight by the manager. In particular, the management reporting tools highlight the significant progress the child has made across all areas.

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good

The manager recognises the need for the relatively new team to continue to develop, and he provides regular, good-quality supervision. Action to address the underperformance of some staff is clearly recorded. However, further work is necessary to make sure that the practice of all staff is in line with the home’s policies and protocols and that risk assessments capture all potential risks.

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good

Professionals and staff that contributed to the inspection spoke highly of the new manager and his impact on the progress of the child. The inspector was told that the ‘staff know the child well’, that the ‘child has a very strong team around her’, and that the manager and staff ‘demonstrate a real care and desire to get things right for the child’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2529648 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, The 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

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications, and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must make sure that the training and supervision for staff who undertake the administration of medication are effective and that all staff are fully competent to administer and record the giving and auditing of medication. 18 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must make sure that all staff understand and follow the home’s protocol when recording and auditing medication. 18 August 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that risk assessments include sufficient details of current issues to ensure that they are useful documents that support staff in the care of children. In particular, this relates to a child’s use of the internet. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children’s home: 2529648 6

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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: 2529648 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Devon County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Devon County Council, Chief Executive’s Directorate, County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter EX2 4QD

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Inspector

Linda Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2529648 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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