Children's Home run by Wessex College Limited in Wiltshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC407430 1 SC407430 Registered provider: Wessex College Limited Full inspection 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 provider and offers care for up to four children. The provider states in its statement of purpose that care is provided for children with social, emotional or behavioural difficulties. At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2020.

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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 outstanding

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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: 20 October 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: SC407430 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/10/2022 Full Good 12/01/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 27/04/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC407430 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children said they ‘like’ living at this home, while the third child told the inspector that they ‘love it’. They like the staff who care for them and feel safe. Affectionate relationships exist between the staff and the children. These are built on trust and respect. Children feel listened to and say their views and opinions are valued. Staff are very proud of the children they care for and celebrate their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress and their outcomes are good. Staff support children effectively and meet their individual needs. Consequently, children’s self-confidence and sense of self-worth have increased.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the previous inspection, two children who lived at the home for a long time have successfully moved on to the next stage in their lives. A new child has moved in. This move was well planned, although it led to a change in the home’s dynamics. These are now settling as the three children learn to live together. One of the children who has left had a positive impact on the other children, who saw him as a role model and a ‘big brother’ figure. This child wrote a letter to the new children coming to the home about his experiences. He said that the new children will soon see the home as their home and he listed all the things he achieved, including learning to drive, going to college, getting an apprenticeship and having the confidence to plan and travel abroad on his own.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to pursue their interests and hobbies as well as encouraging them to try new things. Currently, one child is looking into local football clubs, while another continues to be part of a rock choir. When this child is involved in concerts, the other children and staff attend to cheer them on. Staff create beautiful memory books for the children. These books are full of photos and represent a lovely record of the children’s time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans provide comprehensive guidance for staff on the children’s needs and how these are to be met. Good-quality one-to-one sessions take place with the children. Topics discussed are varied and linked to the children’s needs and incidents that have happened. Records of these sessions are good quality and clearly demonstrate the child’s involvement and how staff help them to understand their lives and make decisions about their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have ensured children have a comfortable, well-furnished home. Children are encouraged to put forward ideas for how they want their bedrooms personalised and how the home is furnished.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Currently, not all the children are in full-time education. However, staff are taking action to address this and support the children to engage in education. Inspection report for children’s home: SC407430 4

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

Children feel safe at the home. They said they have lots of staff they can talk to if they are worried. Staff have a good understanding of their role and how to protect children. Safeguarding records evidence staff’s swift actions to help children when there are concerns about their safety. One two occasions, safeguarding records did not include the date on which disclosures of historical abuse were made.

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

Behaviour and risk are managed well. This is due to the comprehensive understanding the staff have of each child and the strong relationships they have built together. The approach to behaviour management is positive reinforcement and reward rather than a punitive approach. This is proving effective and helps children to develop strategies to enable them to identify and manage their own emotions and behaviours.

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

Restraint is rarely used. On the two occasions it has been used since the previous inspection, this was appropriate to keep the child safe. Meaningful discussions take place with children and staff after these incidents to understand what could be done differently another time to help the child. Records of restraint incidents are comprehensive.

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

The home has recently had new fire doors fitted and painted. During this inspection, two fire doors were found to be ill-fitting and others were wedged open. The registered manager has arranged for the doors to be fixed and is exploring more appropriate ways to keep the doors open.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home benefits from having a very experienced, child-centred and inspirational manager. She is well respected and an excellent role model for the team. The manager communicates her enthusiasm and drive effectively to provide children with a safe and happy home to live in. She has high expectations of herself, the staff and the children. This strong and effective leadership has led to a positive ethos permeating throughout the home, with the well-being, development and safety of the children at its heart. Staff and children wanted the inspector to know that the manager is ‘amazing’, ‘brilliant’ and ‘exceptional’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Monitoring of the home is highly effective. The manager has an accurate understanding of what is happening at the home and the progress children are making. She uses lessons learned from her monitoring and current research-based practice to develop the quality of care and help children to make continuous progress. This has been particularly successful when using current approaches and expertise to support children with their identity and sexuality. The comprehensive development plan demonstrates the manager’s clear vision for the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children make progress because they receive consistency of care from a stable, well-trained team of staff. The team is keen to learn and develop, often finding Inspection report for children’s home: SC407430 5 creative ways to help children to make progress. A highly successful example includes the implementation of a ‘staying close’ approach to support children to move on positively from the home. Staff and managers are excellent advocates for the children. They will escalate concerns swiftly to get the best outcome for the child, while retaining effective working relationships with other professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive regular, good-quality supervisions, which they value. Supervisions provide a forum for staff to reflect on and develop their practice and support their well-being. Since the previous inspection, the quality of supervision records has improved. These now reflect the discussion held more comprehensively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has put in place strong management support and effective systems for when she is absent from the home. She empowers the staff team to take ownership of the home and contribute to its success. Inspection report for children’s home: SC407430 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all new fire doors close as required after they have been painted. In addition, they should find safe ways to keep fire doors open should this be necessary. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that children are in full-time education while they are of compulsory school age, or in full-time further education or work if above this age. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.14)  The registered person should ensure that staff receiving disclosures of historical abuse from children clearly record the date of the disclosure. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.11)

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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: SC407430 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Wessex College Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Atria, Spa Road, Bolton, Greater Manchester BL1 4AG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Samantha Choules

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Inspector

Wendy Anderson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC407430 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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