Children's Home run by South West Childcare Services in Plymouth

Inspection report for children’s home: 1277304 1 Registered provider: South West Childcare Services Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to two children with social and emotional needs. At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home and was present at the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a suitably qualified manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1277304 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/08/2022 Full Good 21/12/2021 Interim Improved effectiveness 21/04/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 29/08/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1277304 3

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improvement to be good

Until very recently two children were living in the home. Some serious incidents have occurred which have had a detrimental impact on children's experiences and progress.

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improvement to be good

One child has remained living in the home. The other child moved out, this move was not in line with his plans but as a result to ensure their safety and to respect and act on their views. Staff ensured that the welfare of the child during this move and sensitively helped the child to settle into their new home. The child’s placing social worker commented that staff managed the move seamlessly and that the fantastic work that staff did with the child cannot be underestimated.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the importance of the current child engaging in education. However, current plans are not sufficient and at the time of this inspection the child had no formal education in place. Managers did not escalate this quickly enough. However, they have recently taken more action to liaise with the local authority and virtual school. As an interim measure, the manager has recently put in place a timetable for staff to carry out informal educational activity with the child, which mirrors a school week.

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improvement to be good

The child currently living at the home has started to build trusted relationships with staff. Staff are getting to know the child through listening to them and investing time in them. Staff give the child every opportunity to voice their thoughts and wishes and are using this to provide the child with a range of positive experiences. The child is beginning to make progress in some aspects of their life.

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improvement to be good

The child enjoys spending time with their family. Staff promote this and have formed positive relationships with the child’s relatives. Staff understand how important the child’s family members are to them and do all they can to ensure that the child continues to experience meaningful contact with them, often inviting them to spend time in the home.

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improvement to be good

Some serious incidents have occurred in which staff failed to intervene quickly enough and ensure the welfare of children. This resulted in children having negatives experiences because staff did not have the skills to manage poor relationships between children. Leaders and managers have since taken action to address this. The new interim manager has reviewed practice and implemented changes to benefit the safety of children . Inspection report for children’s home: 1277304 4 Staff have not consistently helped the child to manage their behaviour and feelings safely. The inexperience of some staff has meant that they have not always responded to incidents effectively or set clear boundaries to help the child develop an understanding of what is acceptable. Staff have not challenged behaviours effectively so that the child can be supported to learn how to treat others with respect. The manager had identified this and put in place a plan to ensure that staff

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improvement to be good

receive additional training and support.

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improvement to be good

The child expressed that they felt safe living in the home and protected by staff. Staff are working hard to gain the experience and skills needed to proactively reduce the risk of harm to the child. Staff have regular contact with the child’s placing social worker to inform their practice and ensure that the plans in place to keep the child safe are effective.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good understanding of the risks associated with the child and how these might impact on the child’s safety and well-being. Up-to-date risk assessments identify the child’s individual vulnerabilities and clearly set out what action staff need to take to minimise the child’s exposure to such risk.

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improvement to be good

When the child goes missing from home, staff promptly follow a clear protocol and take well-coordinated action to reduce the risk of harm to the child. Staff inform all relevant professional bodies and the child’s family to proactively help to protect the child. Learning takes place after each missing-from-home episode. The manager evaluates each incident effectively, and staff practice is revised to help keep the child safe in the future.

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good

The current manager registered in April 2022, she was not present during the inspection and is leaving her post from 1 September 2023. An interim manager from within the organisation is overseeing the management of the home while a new manager is appointed. The responsible individual is also providing regular support to the home during this unstable period.

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good

Managers ensure there are sufficient number of staff required to meet the child’s needs. Safer recruitment practice is followed. However, due to a high turnover of staff, not all staff have developed the necessary experience that would ensure they consistently deliver high-quality care to the child.

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good

The leaders and managers have identified the weaknesses in the quality of care provided to children. They have implemented development plans to address the identified issues and have taken necessary action to provide consistency and stability to start to improve outcomes for children.

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good

Effective relationships have been built with the child’s family and placing social worker. A service manager from the local authority stated that, overall, the staff and Inspection report for children’s home: 1277304 5 their management team have a good relationship with them and are very welcoming to communication and discussion.

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good

Staff receive regular and effective supervision that focuses on the child’s progression and experiences. Staff say that they are supported to develop their skills and have opportunities to progress. Lots of fun and laughter was observed between staff and the child during the inspection. Staff spoke with genuine pride about how they have supported children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1277304 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to leaders, managers and staff engaging with the placing authority and the virtual school to ensure that there is a robust educational plan in place and the child’s educational needs are met. 6 December 2023

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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

that staff— 6 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1277304 7 assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to leaders and managers ensuring that staff have the skills to manage risk and relationships between children effectively, to keep children safe and prevent them from being harmed.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to leaders and managers ensuring that there are sufficient experienced staff to provide consistent safe care to the child. 6 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1277304 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: 1277304 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: South West Childcare Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Second Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 4AH

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Inspector

Gary Turney, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1277304 10 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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