Children's home run by Seashell Trust

Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 1 SC035518 Registered provider: Seashell Trust Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to 24 children with physical disabilities, learning disabilities and/or sensory impairment. Children live in six houses on a site that includes a school and college. Most children attend the on-site school. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision at this school.

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Information about this children’s home

The post for a registered manager is currently vacant. A manager is in post, and he has submitted his application to be registered.

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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 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

Date of last inspection: 15 November 2022

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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: SC035518 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/11/2022 Full Good 01/12/2021 Full Good 18/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/08/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are 13 children living across different homes. They have lived at the home for some time. Children are happy and settled. This is because the staff know the children well and understand their needs and interests. The staff have created a warm, nurturing environment. Children’s photos are displayed throughout the home and their bedrooms are personalised. Children benefit from living in a calm and relaxed home and from staff who treat them with dignity and respect.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop warm and trusting relationships with the staff, who are attentive and skilled in understanding what children want. Positive and caring relationships between staff and children were observed during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work collaboratively with education professionals and speech and language therapists. Children are actively encouraged to express their views about their day- to-day choices, using their own preferred communication method. Recently, staff used a short, illustrated story to help explain a child’s stay in hospital. This means that children are helped to understand their routines and become confident in making their own choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress in their education. Each child is registered with universal health services. This ensures that all their health needs are met. Good- quality direct work takes place, which helps to support children’s understanding of appropriate boundaries and staying safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff fully consider children’s diverse needs. Children receive support to access specialist equipment and have their cultural needs met. Religious festivals, prayers and traditional dress are promoted by all. Additionally, achievements are celebrated and there is a wide variety of activities in house and in the local community. These memories are all captured through digital applications.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from parents and professionals is positive. One parent said, ‘They keep me updated, it is a great place for him to live.’

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

Safeguarding practice is effective and the use of one-to-one staff support significantly minimises the risk of harm. Additionally, staff have a clear understanding of children’s needs, vulnerabilities and the potential risks they may be exposed to. Staff understand how to report safeguarding concerns. However, the registered person should ensure that staff are refreshed in understanding the role of the local authority designated officer.

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

Medication is not always administered correctly. Where errors have occurred, leaders and managers have taken steps to keep children safe. For example, they have Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 4 sought advice from medical professionals and informed external agencies. However, there are not robust medication procedures in the home. This has not directly impacted on the children.

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

Positive behaviour is well promoted, and staff show care and understanding in their responses when children are distressed or upset. Staff use a wide range of de- escalation techniques. Since the last inspection, physical interventions have reduced in the home. However, there have been missed opportunities to creatively capture some debriefs with children following interventions.

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

Recruitment procedures and practices are safe and effective. All staff are checked and vetted prior to starting work. These checks ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with children in the home.

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

Fire practices in the home are safe. Each child has a personal emergency evacuation plan that provides staff with details of the support the child requires in the event of a fire. All staff are suitably trained in fire awareness, and children regularly take part in fire drills.

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

Leaders and managers respond efficiently and effectively to all complaints and allegations. The management team ensures that all actions are completed and follow-up advice is sought from external professionals.

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

Children living at the home have complex needs and require constant supervision. As a result, the risk of children going missing from the home is low. Staff understand all necessary protocols should an event of this nature occur.

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good

There is a permanent manager in post, who has applied to be registered with Ofsted. Current management systems and processes have not identified the shortfalls in practice.

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good

Managers do not consistently report serious incidents to Ofsted within the required time frame. Furthermore, the manager has failed to report a serious incident. This means that the regulator has no initial oversight of what action staff have taken to keep children safe.

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good

There are suitable staffing levels in the home. The manager has recently introduced a new management structure, which staff have responded to positively. The staff team is committed to proving good care for children. There is also a good ethos of teamwork. This is supported with regular team meetings that provide a forum for staff to share practice.

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good

Staff feel supported in their roles and receive a good-quality induction when they join the company. However, leaders are unable to evidence that staff receive supervision in line with their company’s policy. This may affect managers’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 5 understanding of staff’s skills, experience and practice. It may also affect the quality of care provided in the home. This is a repeat requirement from the last inspection.

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good

Children’s plans are not always up to date and do not fully reflect their current needs. In some cases, local authority plans are not provided. This may affect children’s planning and progress.

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good

Staff attend a wide range of training to develop their skills and knowledge. This helps staff to provide care for children’s individual needs. However, the workforce development plan does not contain details of the staff team’s experience and qualifications, or any further training required for those staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 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

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) (2)(h)) 25 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. (Regulation 23 (1))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that there are robust procedures in place for the administration of all medications. 25 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that all staff receive regular supervision to ensure opportunities for reflection and development. 25 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 25 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 7 a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any child who has been restrained can express their feelings about their experience in line with their preferred method of communication. Additionally, all staff should sign the records in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)  The registered person should ensure that all staff are familiar with the policy for the protection of children from abuse or neglect. This should include a refresher on understanding the role of the local authority designated officer. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.21)  The registered person should ensure that all children’s case records are kept on file and up to date. This includes all local authority documents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62,

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Recommendations

paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that there is a workforce development plan in place that includes the experience and qualifications of staff who are working in the staffing structure. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8) Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 8

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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: SC035518 9

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Bernadette White

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Inspectors

Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Mark Woodbridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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