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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2509684 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 is owned by a private provider and offers care for up to four children. The provider states in the home’s statement of purpose that it provides care for children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, four children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since November 2021.

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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

Date of last inspection: 16 November 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: 2509684 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/11/2022 Full Good 08/02/2022 Full Good 27/02/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 25/06/2019 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2509684 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress in this home. Children are encouraged to access healthcare services and specialist support, which has helped them to attend their medical appointments and achieve positive outcomes. When children’s healthcare needs may impact their day-to-day experiences, they are provided with the strategies that they need to minimise the disruption to their day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have previously found it difficult to attend school are now attending regularly. Before deciding which school to attend, children visit the potential providers so that they can choose the provision that would be the most successful for them. This allows for children’s views and wishes to be carefully considered, while supporting them to take ownership of their educational achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a range of fun and enjoyable activities, including going to theme parks, having meals out in the community and playing in the garden together. Children are also encouraged to explore their individual interests, from joining local choirs to having regular swimming lessons. Staff said that when their own individual interests align with those of the children, they can use these connections to promote positive shared experiences and joint learning opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the inspection, one child got ready for a Halloween party by dressing up in a home-made costume of their choosing. Another child got ready to go ‘trick or treating’ with their family members. One family member commented that the staff accept their child for who they are and do everything that they can to support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children said that they enjoy living in their home. The registered manager has become an active member of the local community, which has helped children to feel a sense of belonging in their home. One child positively stated that they consider the home to be ‘their home’ and said that they could not think of any way that it could be improved. However, another child raised concerns about their care. These concerns were reported to senior leaders.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has recently moved to the home and said that they are settling in well. Another child has been supported to move out of the home so that they can be closer to their friends and family. This move was an important next step for the child, as they are now ready to develop further life skills.

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

There has been a significant number of missing-from-home episodes, although they have reduced in frequency more recently. Despite this, one child was missing from home during the inspection. When children are missing from home, staff follow the agreed protocols, including looking for the child in the local area and the areas that Inspection report for children’s home: 2509684 4 they are known to visit, trying to contact the child and their friends and family, and reporting the incident to the police.

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

Following missing-from-home episodes, concerns are shared with the relevant professionals so that a multi-agency response can be agreed to try and help the child to keep safe in the future. As a result, strategy meetings are held regularly, and careful consideration is given to concerns of exploitation. This has allowed for external specialist support to be provided to children. Return home interviews are used to help children to reflect on their experiences and their motivations for running away. When the responses of external agencies have not been sufficient in helping children to keep safe, leaders and managers have raised appropriate challenge.

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

When concerns about staff are raised by children, leaders and managers investigate what has happened and identify appropriate outcomes to help keep children safe. Feedback is given to children so that they are provided with a resolution and assurances that they have been listened to.

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

On one occasion, when a child reported harm from a person who is external to the home, but in a position of trust, leaders and managers provided an immediate response to keep the child safe. The concerns were reported to the relevant agencies and the child was offered appropriate support. However, the child was not supported to fully understand the outcomes of external investigations. Moreover, they were not supported to consider their right for review, appeal or advocacy.

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

There have been four incidents involving restraint. This is a significant decrease since the last inspection. On most occasions, staff have used a range of strategies to avoid the use of restraint. However, one report states that ‘early intervention’ was used by staff, which resulted in restraint being used when it was not necessary or proportional to the risk of harm. Leaders and managers were clear that the strategy of ‘early intervention’ is not being used by staff and more recent restraints have been necessary and proportional to the risk of harm. Despite this, children’s plans are not always clear about when staff may need to use restraint.

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

The quality of advice and guidance provided by staff to children is mixed. On some occasions, staff help children to reflect on their feelings, outline the progress that they have made so far and explore the support that staff can offer them going forward. However, there are many missed opportunities for staff to help children identify how they could express themselves in safer ways and practise positive conflict resolution.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good understanding of the strengths of the home and the areas for development. A focus has been placed on developing the skills of the staff team, which has positively impacted the quality of care that is offered to the children. Staff spoke enthusiastically about the individual strengths within the team, which they feel compliment each other and benefit each child that they care for. One Inspection report for children’s home: 2509684 5 member of staff commented that they ‘aim to give the [children] the very best outcomes they possibly can, and also the best memories’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training compliance is generally high. Staff are offered training opportunities that help them to meet the needs of the children that they care for. When staff have not yet received relevant training, or they are required to refresh their knowledge, training courses are identified and booked in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings, staff supervision sessions and clinical consultation meetings provide staff with the opportunity to reflect on the needs of the children, the risks associated with their care and the support that children are offered to keep themselves safe and achieve positive outcomes. Staff supervision sessions and meetings are held regularly. However, meeting minutes lack detail. As a result, it is difficult for staff to refer back to the guidance that they have been provided with or catch up if they were not able to attend the meeting.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s care plans provide staff with an overview of the children’s needs and the support that they require. Plans are clear about children’s aims and the progress that they have made. Children are also provided with a child-friendly summary of their plans, which enables them to share their views, thoughts and aspirations with staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Medication is stored securely. However, when children do not take their medication as prescribed, the reasons for this are not consistently recorded. As a result, it is not always clear why children have not taken their medication or whether additional support and guidance is required from medical professionals. Moreover, some important information about children’s medication is missing from the records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers use safer recruitment checks to help them determine that staff are suitable to work with children. The registered manager explained that, as a result of the support that has been provided to the team, staff retention is high. As a result, children are provided with continuity of care, as the home has not had to use agency members of staff that the children do not know well. Inspection report for children’s home: 2509684 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child; and

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Requirement Due date

is enabled to provide feedback to, and raise issues with, a relevant person about the support and services that the child receives; and

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Requirement Due date

is given appropriate advocacy support. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff help children to understand their options and seek appropriate advocacy support when decisions about their lives are made. Specifically, when the outcomes of external investigations are shared with children, children should be 8 January 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2509684 7 helped to understand the decision that has been made, their right for review and the support that is available to them.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour.

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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

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; and

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff provide children with positive advice and guidance about how to safely express themselves and resolve conflict. 8 January 2024

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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

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)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that children’s plans provide staff with clear guidance about how 8 January 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2509684 8 to support children effectively. This specifically relates to the guidance about when restraint may or may not be used to keep children and others safe.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person should ensure that medication records are accurate. Specifically, medication records should provide staff with the information that they require to safely administer medication and understand its effects. Moreover, records should reflect when children have been offered their medication.

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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: 2509684 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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Inspectors

Martin Brown, Social Care Inspector Nickie Doney, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2509684 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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