Children's Home run by Central and Southern Homes Limited in Cornwall

Inspection report for children’s home: 2652096 1 Registered provider: Central and Southern Homes Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s statement of purpose says that the home provides long-term care for up to four children aged up to 18 years who have social and emotional difficulties, mild learning difficulties and autism spectrum disorder.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2023. They are currently on a leave of absence. An acting manager has been in post since 19 July 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home. One child moved out three months earlier.

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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

Date of last inspection: 26 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: 2652096 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2652096 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into and on from the home are very well planned and managed. Since the last inspection, one child has moved to live with foster carers, and two children have come to live at the home. Assessments of children’s needs are excellent, and how each child may adapt to the change is well considered. Children are introduced to the home, staff and the other children at a pace that works for them. They have video calls, lunches and sleepovers before they move in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well presented. It is vibrant and welcoming. It looks like a family home that adults and children would want to live in. Children’s bedrooms are decorated the way that they like. Staff have thought carefully about lights, blankets and cosy spaces for one child with sensory needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress at the home. One child’s social worker told the inspector that they have made incredible progress since living at the home and that this is the most settled that they have ever seen them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers value education, and children are supported and encouraged to attend. One child is attending school consistently and told the inspector that they love it. Another child, who disengaged from education in his previous home, has visited a new school ready to start in the autumn term.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have lots of varied and enjoyable experiences. They have been to theme parks, the cinema, swimming, visited beaches and gone on woodland walks. Children choose the activities that they are interested in, and staff do their best to accommodate them. This helps children to build positive memories and strong relationships. The inspector saw children and staff engaging in art, cooking and outdoor games.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children trust staff to respond to them in a sensitive and calm way. They share their worries with staff and talk about their past trauma. The inspector saw children asking staff for hugs and children giving them to staff spontaneously. Children know that they are loved. When incidents occur, staff repair relationships with children and help them to move forward in a positive way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, managers have employed a psychologist to support staff. This has provided the team with regular group sessions where practice can be explored, and they can access ad hoc advice and guidance. This means that staff underpin their responses with therapeutic strategies and knowledge. Staff report feeling more confident when responding to behaviours that challenge them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to manage difference and live together positively. The relationship between the children living in the home is changeable. At times, they are warm and caring with one another. However, at other times, they are in conflict Inspection report for children’s home: 2652096 4 and trying to hurt each other. Staff deal with this appropriately, using clear boundaries and distraction techniques.

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improvement to be good

Risks to children are well understood by the team. There are detailed and individualised plans for each child that clearly identify current and potential risks. The home’s safeguarding policies are thorough and are, in most cases, followed. However, on one occasion, a new member of staff did not follow procedure by not reporting safeguarding information they gained while talking to a child. This did not adversely impact on the children.

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improvement to be good

Restraint has been used to manage one child’s behaviour during 23 incidents. All the incidents reviewed by the inspector were used to prevent injury to children or adults. The records show that de-escalation strategies are used effectively by staff and the use of restraint has reduced in the last month. However, despite appropriate responses being used, a member of staff has been injured during one of these incidents. Furthermore, on two occasions, restraint was used by a member of staff who has not received the necessary physical intervention training. These restraints were not recorded, and managers were unaware that they had taken place.

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improvement to be good

Children rarely go missing from home. When they do, staff follow the appropriate protocol to look for children and ensure that they return home safely. Other agencies are informed, and specialist advice is sought when necessary.

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improvement to be good

The inspector saw evidence of staff having sensitive chats with children, exploring issues of their safety and well-being. This included relationships, spending time in the community, road safety and approaching unknown adults. This supports children to understand risky behaviour and develop ways to keep themselves safe.

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good

The home has experienced an unsettled period recently. This has been due to concerns being raised about practice, the registered manager being on a leave of absence and the home recruiting a significant number of new staff this year. This has caused some inconsistencies in the approach that staff have taken in responding to children.

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good

Staff report that they have not always felt well supported. However, since the acting manager has been in post, they have provided stability, consistency and good levels of support to the team. One staff member said that the acting manager gave them the confidence to successfully undertake the role that they have been trained to do.

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good

Allegations have been dealt with swiftly and effectively by leaders and managers. They have completed thorough investigations, prioritising the children’s welfare and Inspection report for children’s home: 2652096 5 safety. Managers make confident and fair decisions when adults working at the home are not practicing to a good standard.

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good

Managers communicate and engage well with external agencies. They ensure that plans continue to meet children’s needs and that services are made available when required. The children’s social workers told the inspector that the home provides quality care for the children.

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good

The home has safe recruitment practices to prevent unsuitable adults from working with children. However, there has been insufficient monitoring of new staff to ensure that they understand and follow the home’s policies and procedures. Inspection report for children’s home: 2652096 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

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

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered person ensuring that staff are trained in Team Teach prior to using restraint with children.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff are trained appropriately before using restraint with children. 1 December 2023

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; 1 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2652096 7 the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that all incidents of restraint are recorded appropriately.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to ensuring that staff report safeguarding concerns effectively. 1 December 2023

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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 1 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2652096 8 promotes their welfare.

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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))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to managers ensuring that they continue to monitor the care practices in the home effectively when the registered manager is absent. This includes the complaints procedure being monitored and actioned in a timely way and new staff’s understanding being reviewed effectively.

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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: 2652096 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Central and Southern Homes

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Pitmaston House, Malvern Road, Worcester WR2 4LL

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Inspector

Penelope Kutz, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2652096 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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