Children's Home run by 1848 Ltd in Somerset

Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 1 Registered provider: 1848 Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider and is registered to provide care for up to three children. At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home, having moved there in June 2023. A third and fourth child lived in the home between August 2020 and July 2023 and April 2022 and June 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2023.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/07/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living at this home and establish strong and trusting relationships with staff. Staff know children well and provide them with warm and nurturing care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children living at the home regularly attended education and are making good progress academically from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before moving to this home, two children had not attended education consistently for several months. One child has been supported to secure a college placement and attend taster sessions during the summer holidays. Another child does not yet have a named educational placement. Staff and managers have challenged the local authority and arranged home tuition for this child as an interim measure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s voices are evident throughout their records, with some children contributing to the development of their own risk assessments and support plans. More recently, children have written comments on their own daily logs and incident reports.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to make a complaint and feel confident in raising any worries they have with the home’s manager and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child told the inspector that they felt involved in the process when raising a complaint, that their views were listened to carefully and that action was taken.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to stay in touch with family and friends, and children regularly have visitors to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming, and children can personalise their own bedrooms. However, one bathroom in the home is in need of repair to address issues of mould and damp.

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

Children told the inspector that they feel safe at this home and that staff try to help and support them to make progress.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s needs and risks, and incidents of self- harm are managed appropriately and empathetically.

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

When children go missing from home, staff look for them, report them as missing and offer them warmth and reassurance when they do return. Records kept of these incidents are clear and detailed, with good management oversight.

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

Concerns about exploitation and online safety are managed appropriately, with Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 4 strong relationships with staff being key to children being able to speak openly about their experiences.

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

Age-appropriate restrictions on the home’s internet and television are in place, and regular phone checks take place with the consent of children.

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

Restraint at this home is rare, with one incident consisting of multiple uses of restraint and guides over a period of several hours taking place. The restraint used in this incident was appropriate and to prevent serious harm. However, the system for recording incidents of restraint is not clear and does not enable the reader to gain a concise overview or narrative easily. Managers have identified this issue and advised the inspector that the recording of incidents is due to be streamlined to enable easier oversight.

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

Children’s moves to the home are well planned, with children visiting the home and meeting key staff members before they move in.

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

Before any move has been agreed, children’s needs and risks are considered robustly alongside the skills and experience of the staff team and the needs of children already living in the home. Children’s views are recorded clearly throughout the process.

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

One child told the inspector they felt well supported and prepared for their move out of the home and that staff helped them build on their independence skills.

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

One child’s needs were complex, and there remained concerns about their mental health and vulnerability to exploitation up until they left the home. For this child, their move from the home was not well planned due to arrangements for support and housing not being progressed by the local authority in a timely way. Managers appropriately challenged and escalated their concerns about communication and the quality of planning and support for this child with the local authority. This included making a formal complaint on behalf of this child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s manager is a child-focused and dedicated practitioner who is passionate about seeking and including children’s views in plans for their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and children spoken to by the inspector were positive about the manager’s support and leadership. Children told the inspector that they feel listened to and confident that when they raise issues with managers, they will be taken seriously and addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals and family members were positive about the communication from the home’s manager and the care and support provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have a good understanding of children’s needs and risks. Care plans and risk assessments are of good quality, and management oversight is evident across Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 5 records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Allegations against staff and concerns regarding staff practice are responded to appropriately, with the relevant safeguarding procedures being followed. Investigation reports are completed promptly, with lessons learned being recorded and, where appropriate, additional support and training being provided for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Multiple medication errors have previously taken place at this home. An external audit of medication procedures was commissioned, with the actions recommended from this being progressed. This included a review of the home’s record sheets and medication policy and updated training for the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer recruitment checks are carried out. However, records do not specify that safeguarding concerns are discussed during the verbal verification of references for new staff members. Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 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, 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii)) 19 October 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that recruitment checks are fully and clearly documented. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are easy to understand and allow clear oversight. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should ensure that they continue to escalate concerns regarding arrangements for children’s education if appropriate provisions are not in place. The registered person should also ensure that records allow clear oversight of professional challenge. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.3) Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 7

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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: 2491059 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Old Bank Buildings, East Street, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0AJ

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Inspector

Janet Jauregui, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 9 regulates and inspects 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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