Children's home run by New Forest Care Limited in New Forest

Inspection report for children's home: SC480502 1 SC480502 Registered provider: New Forest Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private organisation. The home provides care for up to four children aged up to 18 with complex emotional, behavioural and educational difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There has not been a registered manager in post since December 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 requires improvement to be 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: 31 January 2023

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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: SC480502 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/01/2023 Full Good 25/10/2022 Full Inadequate 19/01/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC480502 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from nurturing, child-centred care and support. Staff build trusting relationships with the children. As a result, relationships between the staff and the children are warm, good-humoured and caring.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure good routines are in place to support school readiness each day. Staff work closely with the children’s school to ensure that children receive consistent messages and that education is tailored to their individual needs. Consequently, the children enjoy attending school, have good attendance and are making good progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience care that is understanding of and responsive to their identity and family background. The staff support the children to maintain relationships with family, friends and other people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children well to develop independence and learn life skills in preparation for their adult life, at a pace that is right for them. This helps the children to develop confidence and enhances their ability to navigate daily tasks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff sensitively welcome children who are new to the home, with careful planning, while also considering the needs and feelings of the other children living in the home. When children leave, positive endings are given a high priority.

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

Staff understand the risks that the children may be exposed to in the community and online. Risk assessments and risk management plans are relevant and detailed. They set out what the staff need to do to help keep the children safe and, as a result, risks are reduced.

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

The staff help the children understand positive behaviours. The routines and structure in the home help the children to know what is expected of them. While the emphasis is on praise and encouragement, poor behaviour is addressed and challenged. The staff draw on an attachment and trauma-informed approach, which involves empathy and curiosity. This helps the children to learn about the impact that their behaviours may have on themselves and others.

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

When the children leave the home without discussing their plans or where they are going, staff anticipate potential risks and take action to reduce the risk of any harm. High levels of incidents for one child who regularly went missing from home have significantly reduced since they have been living at the home.

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

Staff work positively and confidently with the children and find the least intrusive way possible to support and empower them to make positive choices. Staff recognise that the positive relationships that they build with the children are the Inspection report for children's home: SC480502 4 strongest protective factor in helping the children when they become distressed. Consequently, the children experience a sense of containment and safety.

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

The staff and managers have not received training in the ‘Prevent’ duty. As a result, the staff do not have the most up-to-date information about their duty to prevent the risks of children becoming radicalised.

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good

There has been no registered manager at the home since December 2021. The current acting manager has been in post since June 2023. The changes to the management of the home have led to a period of instability for the children and the staff team. As a result, leadership and management have been judged as requires improvement to be good.

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good

Changes in staffing and management unsettled the staff and children. However, the core team of long-standing staff members provided stability and consistency to the children as well as they could. This reduced the negative effect for the children of the changes.

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good

Children live in a welcoming and homely environment. There are lovely large canvas pictures of the children across the home. This sends a positive message to the children about their value and belonging in the home.

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good

The manager provides staff with a supportive environment to develop, while ensuring high standards of individualised care are provided to the children. Staff say they feel well supported and that they enjoy working in the home. They spoke with pride about how they are making positive changes to the lives of the children they care for.

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good

Induction for new staff is effective and well planned, with a strong focus on ensuring that the staff can meet the specific needs of the children. Careful recruitment prevents unsuitable adults from being recruited.

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good

Care planning by managers and staff is strong. Each child’s progress is closely monitored by the leadership team. This means that interventions and strategies can be quickly adapted and changed if needed. However, some relevant local authority plans were missing for one child. In practice, staff have a good understanding of the needs of the children but the missing plans mean that staff may not have all relevant information.

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good

The manager has ensured that the requirements and recommendations set at the last inspection have been met. Leaders and managers and staff promote a respectful and inclusive ethos at the home. Inspection report for children's home: SC480502 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that ‘Prevent’ duty training is provided. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12)  The registered person should ensure that the home has copies of the children’s relevant local authority plans and annual health assessments. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 30, paragraph 6.1)

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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: SC480502 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Forest Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: West Shore House, West Street, Hythe, Southampton, Hampshire SO45 6AA

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Inspector

Anne-Marie Davies, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC480502 7 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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