Children's home run by Five Rivers Chid Care Limited in Wiltshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC362965 1 SC362965 Registered provider: Five Rivers Child Care Limited 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 provider, and it provides care for one child who may experience social or emotional difficulties. One child was living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 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

Date of last inspection: 5 December 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: SC362965 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/12/2022 Full Good 17/12/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 30/04/2019 Full Good 25/07/2018 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: SC362965 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living in the home is making good progress. They benefit from warm and nurturing relationships with staff. Staff provide the child with consistent boundaries and structure to their day. This sense of familiarity is working positively. It is helping the child to trust staff and to feel more secure. Staff create a family around the child and make the home feel like a family home for the child. They eat together as a family, and the child is involved in age-appropriate tasks and in planning the week ahead. This includes choosing favourite meals and activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is generally healthy, and their physical health needs are met well by staff. The child’s emotional health and well-being are understood by staff. The specialist clinician attached to the home spends regular time with the child. All staff are trained to respond to the child with empathy, curiosity and playfulness. When the child is starting to become overwhelmed by their emotions, staff sensitively help the child to unpick, to name and to make sense of these feelings. This is working well and is helping the child to feel less overwhelmed and to settle their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

While the home has a small core group of longstanding and experienced staff members, there have been numerous changes of staff in recent months. This has impacted on the child’s attachments and raised feelings around trust and loss for them. The manager is acutely aware of this impact. Appropriate emotional supports are in place to help the child with this. The manager ensures that the child is always cared for by a member of staff who knows them well and is a trusted adult for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s identity is promoted by staff. They know the child well and understand the child’s worries, fears and what makes them smile, happy and sad. The child receives lots of praise and encouragement from staff. Staff support the child to try out new activities to help increase their confidence and self-esteem. They spend good-quality time with the child through play, painting, crafts, swimming and enjoying fun days out. Special events are celebrated in the home, and key moments and memories are regularly captured in photo books for the child to keep. Staff also support the child to spend positive time with important family members. The manager and staff have been instrumental in improving the quality and frequency of family time for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is now attending school nearly full time. This is positive progress and supports both the child’s learning and social development. The child is learning how to make and sustain friendships, and staff provide reassuring support to the child when friendships are tricky to manage. The manager and staff are working with relevant education professionals to get the right approach, support and timetable in place. They are strong advocates for the child and provide appropriate challenge to ensure the right education arrangements and plans are in place. Inspection report for children's home: SC362965 4

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

The child is supported by staff to feel safe. Daily conversations take place with the child around feelings, safe behaviours and choices. Risk assessments and personalised support plans are regularly updated and provide a detailed overview of the child’s complex emotional and behavioural support needs and vulnerabilities. Plans provide clear advice and guidance for staff to follow. Staff use these effectively to prevent and reduce risk and to inform their responses to the child’s behaviours on a day-to-day basis. The child has their own version of their plan, which is age- appropriate and helps them to understand who is helping them, why and how. There are clear goals for the child, and their progress is captured well by staff using an outcomes tool.

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

The frequency and duration of significant incidents and physical interventions have been greatly reduced. This reflects the trusted relationships between the child and staff and the benefits that consistent care, routines and behaviour support approaches are providing. Incidents involving the use of physical intervention by staff are now infrequent. Staff anticipate the child’s responses to events and read the child’s behaviours well. They use diversion and distraction strategies effectively to de-esclate situations for the child at times of change, increased stress, upset or distress.

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

When incidents do occur, the child and staff are appropriately supported to reflect afterwards. The child does not find talking about incidents easy, and records contain very little details of their views following events. However, the child’s wishes and feelings are captured in detail at other times in key-worker sessions and daily conversations with the child. On every occasion following incidents, staff ensure they positively reconnect with the child before bedtime.

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

Allegations against staff are taken seriously, and appropriate safeguarding processes are followed quickly. Recruitment is safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced and knowledgeable manager. They model the high standard of care they expect staff to provide. They work collaboratively with relevant professionals and regularly evaluate and review the progress the child is making in the short-term and towards the longer-term care plan. Professional and family feedback is overwhelmingly positive about the quality of care provided to the child and the progress that is being made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is furnished to a good standard and is highly personalised for the child. There are lots of photos and the child’s pictures and craftwork throughout the home, which helps the child to feel like it is their home. The manager has a plan for redecoration and minor improvements to further enhance the home environment for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a strong emphasis on openness, learning and improvement in the home. The recommendations from the previous inspection have been achieved, and the Inspection report for children's home: SC362965 5 manager takes swift action to implement any learning raised by the independent person. There are comprehensive systems in place around record management, and most records contain detailed comments from the manager. However, the record of the child’s debrief does not contain management oversight. The manager is not recording their evaluation of these important conversations that provide insight into the child and are an opportunity for learning. The manager has taken immediate action to rectify this and has already identified what is needed to help improve the quality and depth of these discussions with the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Workers receive a high level of support from managers and regular supervision and training. This includes support for their own emotional well-being. Regular team meetings, and integrated care meetings with clinicians, provide the opportunity for staff to reflect and learn. Staff use these meetings well to review how things are working and to explore different approaches. The manager and deputy manager help staff to develop, to reflect on the care they provide and to identify their own learning. They provide appropriate challenge to staff when agreed standards of care fall below their expectations. The responsible individual is also very visible and supportive, providing hands-on support to the manager and staff when needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Core staff members have helped to mitigate the impact of staffing changes for the child. They have gone beyond the extra mile when needed, and they are open about the impact this has had on them as a team and as individuals. New staff members have been recruited, and more will be joining the team in the forthcoming months. Agency care workers benefit from an induction to ensure the care they provide is in keeping with the standards of care, therapeutic approach and ethos of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are caring, passionate and fiercely proud of the child. They are the child’s biggest champions. They are steadfast in their commitment and support for the child and to each other. They are hopeful and positive about new staff joining and see themselves as a family. They feel well supported by managers and value the regular access to training and to the clinician, who helps them in their role. Inspection report for children's home: SC362965 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the child is supported, in a way that helps them most, to express their feelings about their experience of restraint and that there is consistent management oversight of the child’s feelings about their experiences of restraint to maximise the opportunity for learning. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59, and page 50, paragraph 9.60)

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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: SC362965 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Five Rivers Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 47 Bedwin Street, Salisbury SP1 3UT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Timothy-John Matthews

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Inspector

Kendra Bell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC362965 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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