Children's home run by Somerset Council in Somerset

Inspection report children's home: SC066055 1 SC066055 Registered provider: Somerset County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This small home provides overnight short breaks, shared care and permanent accommodation, where appropriate, for children who have a wide range of needs, including complex health needs, learning disabilities and physical and sensory needs.

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Information about this children’s home

One child who lived in the home since the last inspection has now moved onto their lifelong home. Currently, six children receive support and/or short breaks in the home. One child was visiting during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since December 2014.

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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 children's home: SC066055 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/08/2022 Full Good 08/12/2021 Full Good 24/09/2019 Full Good 04/07/2018 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC066055 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to make this a loving, nurturing home for children to live in and to visit. Strong, positive relationships are formed with children and their families. This in turn enables children to settle well and builds families’ confidence that their children are kept safe in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy visiting this home. Staff welcome children back from school calling out ‘hiya’ with a cheerful smile. Children respond well to this welcome, smiling back and seeking staff out for a cuddle. A parent told the inspector how their child repeatedly calls out the name of the home when they know they are visiting and for several days after their visit. Parents says they know this is their child’s way of confirming they like visiting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s needs exceptionally well. They plan children’s stays carefully to make sure they have the right help and support so that they have positive experiences here and make progress with their individual aims.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are several examples of the very good outcomes and positive experiences for children. The care given to children means that their complex health and physical needs are met very well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A homely and inviting environment is provided for children. Staff work hard to keep the home and garden clean, well maintained and child friendly. Children’s bedrooms are set up for their stay with personal items, photos, toys and soft furnishings demonstrating children’s individual personalities and preferences. The home is well resourced to ensure children’s physical needs are met alongside providing them with good sensory opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Individualised goals are set for children relevant to their needs, for example helping them to develop their communication skills, access a range of activities and communicate their preferred choices. Staff keep records and photos of the experience’s children have in the home and document the progress they make. These records are shared with children’s families and social workers and provide a wonderful record of children’s time in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped very well to move in and out of the home. Moves are carefully planned and involve children and those people who are important to them. Since the last inspection, improvements have been made to the admission process whereby new paperwork is now used that helps managers to assess children’s needs. In addition, staff spend quality time with children in their family homes and schools to understand their routines and start to develop relationships. The same good practice happens when children move out. Information about their needs is comprehensively documented and shared and staff support children to visit their new homes, buy items to furnish it and stay with them after the move for a period of time to help Inspection report children's home: SC066055 4 them to settle in. Positive feedback has been received from families and professionals about how well these moves are managed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans are comprehensive and provide a lot of useful information about children’s individual needs, their likes and dislikes and how they need to be supported. Currently, these plans are written using the first-person narrative, without children contributing their views.

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

Staff understand that children with disabilities and complex health and communication needs are vulnerable and may be at an increased risk of harm. Staff ensure they observe, monitor and support children carefully to make sure they are safe. At times, this careful monitoring has resulted in some staff observing children for short periods via video monitor when they go to prepare medication. While this action is intended to keep children safe, the registered manager is clear it is not commonplace and intends to undertake a full review.

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

Staff quickly recognise when children are feeling unwell or unhappy and take appropriate and swift action in response. Consequently, children demonstrate that they feel safe in the home and are being kept safe. Restraint is not typically used. Breakaway and lower-level interventions have been necessary at times to support one child and to keep them safe. Detailed records and analysis of these incidents are completed so that managers and staff can understand what happened and how to adapt practice in the future.

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

Staff understand how children communicate their needs and help them to make meaningful choices during their stays. Staff use objects of reference, social stories and communication devises effectively to help children. Children and their families are regularly asked for their views about the home and how their next stay can be better than the last. Actions are taken in response to this feedback.

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

Most children have significant health needs which means they rely on adults for personal care, eating and drinking, managing their medication and moving around. Staff are well trained to deliver this care and regularly have their competency assessed and training refreshed. Appropriate action is taken when medication errors have occurred. Staff are supported and retrained and when necessary disciplinary action is taken.

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

Overall, risk is managed well to ensure children have the same opportunities as their peers. Children are helped to enjoy their visits to the home, spend time in the community and participate in a wide range of activities. Staff and managers understand their responsibilities for protecting children and work in partnership with external safeguarding professionals and children’s families.

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

At times children need additional support to stay safe which includes the use of video and audio monitoring. Consent is obtained for using these items and kept Inspection report children's home: SC066055 5 under review. Currently, the use of pyjama’s that zip up the back and a high sided bed are not included in this review.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and responsible individual provide strong and effective leadership of this home. They advocate for children and are positive role models to the staff team. There are good systems to review the quality of care, including oversight by the leadership team and supported by good quality monitoring by the independent person. Consequently, leaders and managers have an accurate understanding of the home and children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers take difficult decisions when needed to adapt the provision of the home to meet children’s specific needs. This year this meant providing a long- term home for a child who at times could not live alongside other children. During this challenging time, staff and managers showed great resilience and determination to support the child. This did impact on the short break provision but was quickly reinstated after the child had been supported to move successfully to their new adult home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team has a wealth of experience at supporting children with disabilities. They are well trained to meet the requirements of their role and to provide children with the right care and support. Staff are inducted into their role and supported to complete key tasks such as keyworking and shift leading. Staff’s practice is regularly assessed to ensure they are competent and have the right skills to support children’s complex health needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Investigations into poor practice, complaints and/or incidents are carried out. Together, managers and staff reflect on these events, identify learning and take appropriate action in response. There is a culture being developed of high challenge coupled with high support. Staff are encouraged to recognise where they can develop and are given clear direction and support to achieve it. Inspection report children's home: SC066055 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should review the practice of writing children’s plans in the first-person narrative to ensure that all information in children’s records is recorded in a way that is helpful to the child and accurately reflects their views. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should review the practice of monitoring children by video when staff complete medication tasks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.44)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any and all approaches used that may restrict children’s liberty are kept under regular review, that the rules for using these items are clearly documented and that plans to reduce their use are identified and implemented where possible. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.42)

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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 children's home: SC066055 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4DY

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Inspector

Paula Lahey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC066055 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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