Children's home run by Evolve Childcare Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2623790 1 Registered provider: Evolve Childcare Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home can provide care for up to four girls with social and emotional difficulties. It is part of a larger organisation. At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since March 2022.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2623790 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/05/2022 Full Good 24/01/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2623790 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well presented. Children have large, personalised bedrooms and adequate space to undertake educational or leisure activities. Outdoor spaces are well maintained. There are plans to further develop the outside space to benefit children. Children feel settled in the home and like their bedrooms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home feel safe. Carers have developed positive and trusting relationships with children. When children have worries, they talk to carers. Children feel listened to and value the opportunities that they are offered. One child told the inspector that the home is the next best thing to living with their family. One parent and one social worker spoke positively about the care children receive when living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress. Two professionals and one parent said children have made positive progress. One child said they feel more confident and able to voice their views. Carers provide children with nurture, stability and consistency. They build relationships with children; this has enabled them to provide care that is tailored to the individual needs of the child. Children are supported to reflect and have a voice. When a carer writes about a child’s day or experiences, they write to the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. When a concern is raised, prompt action is taken to make appointments or seek advice. One child is due to have a psychological assessment, funded by the home. Educating and supporting children in relation to sexual health is a primary focus. When concerns in relation to vaping, smoking and drug use have been identified, referrals are made to relevant services. When children have decided not to engage with external services, carers have worked with these services to expand their knowledge and skills. This has allowed carers to have conversations with children that are educational and in line with those that would be provided by external services.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is prioritised by the home. When carers attend meetings, they are prepared. Children’s views are obtained in advance and these are presented to meetings. When necessary, carers advocate for children. Carers are proactive in securing the right education provision for children and challenge other professionals when appropriate. To provide one child with a consistent approach, the decision was made to share the home’s support plans with their school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers support children when they move into or on from the home. Research and planning completed before children move to the home is comprehensive and considers the needs of all children, carers’ skills and the location of the home. Children already at the home are supported to adapt to new children moving in. Lessons have been learned from a review into difficulties in meeting the needs of a child who previously lived in the home. When planning for children to move out of Inspection report for children's home: 2623790 4 the home, carers provide excellent guidance and support, challenging other professionals when required.

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

Plans and risk assessments devised to support carers to care for children and keep them safe are clear and informative. Plans are regularly updated with important information. Urgent updates are emailed directly to carers. Updates are highlighted and dated. Children’s progress and achievements are regularly monitored. Plans provide good insight into the child’s personality, needs and behaviours. However, several documents present information in the first-person narrative from the child’s perspective, when the children did not create these documents.

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

Incidents in the home are rare. Carers’ records of incidents make clear what was going on for the child and the actions that carers have taken. Restraint has been used for minimal periods on five occasions during this inspection period. Carers are aware of the content of children’s plans and use the guidance provided when working with children. During incidents, carers remain focused on the child and their safety.

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

When children go missing, carers follow clearly defined processes. Missing from home guidance is clear and informative. Carers liaise with other professionals to obtain and share information. Their actions help locate the child and return them home safely. On their return home, children are spoken to by carers. They are supported to reflect on the reasons for going missing and their actions. Management oversight of children’s and carers actions is consistently reflective and robust.

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

Carers support children to have positive and safe relationships with their family. Concerns around risk are shared and, when required, risk assessments are requested from the local authority. When necessary, carers work with other agencies to keep their focus on the child when supporting and building these important relationships.

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

Concerns about practice are appropriately and promptly considered and responded to. Children are aware of the complaints process. When children have made complaints about practice, managers have provided informative, considered and sensitive responses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager of the home is conscientious, knowledgeable and fun. She has good oversight of the home and has built positive relationships with the children, carers and other professionals. Her hands-on approach with children has allowed her to form positive and trusting relationships with them. The registered manager and deputy manager have a positive working relationship. This allows them to run a busy home with a large team of carers effectively. Inspection report for children's home: 2623790 5 Carers feel supported by their leaders and managers, who are visible in the home and form positive relationships with carers and children. Carers value the managers’ open-door policy, which enables them to seek ad-hoc guidance and support. They say that leaders and managers support their learning and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers consistently support carers with debriefs after incidents. Records of these meetings are thorough. Managers promote learning and reflection, which is welcomed by carers. If concerns are raised in relation to carers’ practice, managers deal with this in a supportive and fair manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers provide carers with good-quality reflective supervision. There is a clear focus on children and how carers are meeting their needs, as well as team and house dynamics and the well-being and development of carers. Carers report that supervision and debriefs are beneficial in informing and improving their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are regular and inclusive. Managers and carers discuss all aspects of the home and the children. The manager has invited other professionals to the meetings with a focus on developing knowledge and improving practice. Before a child moved into the home, the team meeting focused on sharing information about the child and ensuring that carers were aware of the child’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recruitment is safe. When concerns are raised in relation to a potential employee, managers carefully assess their suitability to be employed and complete comprehensive risk assessments.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Planning is under way to employ a clinical psychologist. Leaders and managers hope that this will provide additional support to the care team and that the expertise of a clinical psychologist will underpin care planning. Inspection report for children's home: 2623790 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. In particular, carefully consider the appropriateness of recording the child’s information using first-person narrative if not using the child’s actual words. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2623790 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Evolve Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite B, Blackdown House, Blackbrook Park Avenue, Taunton, Somerset TA1 2PX

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Inspector

Carla Simkiss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2623790 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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