Children's Home, Residential special school run by Thornleigh Camphill Communities Limited in South Gloucestershire

Inspection report children's home: 1226971 1 Registered provider: Thornleigh Camphill Communities Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home provides care for up to nine children. Some children stay until they are 19, as part of their agreed care plan. All the children have a wide range of special educational needs and/or disabilities and education, health and care plans.

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Information about this children's home

Care is currently provided in one of the two available homes, which are located near the school building. At the time of this inspection, three children were living here. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision at this school.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2023 and is suitably skilled and experienced. The previous registered manager became the responsible individual.

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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: 1226971 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/08/2022 Full Good 09/09/2021 Full Good 10/03/2020 Full Good 09/01/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children's home: 1226971 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children appear happy to live in this home which is on the same site as their school. They each have their own personalised space within their home which is suited to meet their individual needs well. Staff welcome children home after school and have everything prepared that children might need, including snacks, their favourite things and a plan for the evening. Children relax after school and also enjoy the vast gardens which have many swings, benches and fun outdoor areas.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the previous inspection, one child has come to live at the home. This was well planned and the child, their family and a wide range of professionals were consulted about the move to ensure staff had all the information about the child that they needed. Staff were well prepared to support the child which meant the move went smoothly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in many aspects of their life. Staff know children well and the important things they are working on that will help them to make progress. Staff were eager to tell inspectors about the many ways in which children have made progress, such as, setting the table independently, integrating more widely into the community and trying new activities. One child has been busy preparing for her part in the Christmas play which is a huge achievement for them. When there are barriers to making progress, managers and staff work hard to overcome these.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a joined-up approach between home and school staff. Staff know the type of day children have had, so they can support them and prepare for their evening. The integrated approach across care and school means targets are shared and worked on consistently. When children might need extra support in school, care staff quickly offer this to ensure children have positive educational experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to keep in touch with their families. Families are always welcome to visit their child and staff understand the importance of these times. Families have good input into the care of their child. One parent said ‘They [staff] value my opinion and respect that I am still his mum’. Staff keep in regular contact with families and share photos and videos of their child’s time here.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Written plans are clear and provide staff with sufficient information to meet the needs of children. Action was taken following the previous inspection to review some plans and the previous requirement is met.

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

Staff are attentive to children and treat them with the utmost dignity and respect. Communication is a strength. Staff confidently communicate with children using Inspection report children's home: 1226971 4 their preferred methods helping children to make meaningful choices, share their feelings and expand their worlds. Social stories are embedded in day-to-day life here so children are well prepared for their day.

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

A good multi-agency approach to ensure staff have the information, knowledge and skills to meet children's complex behavioural needs is embedded. Staff build positive relationships with children. As a result, children trust staff to support them when they feel anxious or upset. Staff respond well to these feelings and confidently support children in the least intrusive way. When restraint has been used, it has been proportionate and necessary to manage the risk.

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

Staff always talk to children after an incident to seek their views and feedback. Staff also reflect together as a team about what they could do to support children in a different way. They seek external support to build a specialist team approach around the child.

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

Leaders and managers embed a positive safeguarding culture. Staff understand their role in safeguarding children and why the children they care for are the most vulnerable. Managers have good oversight of safeguarding arrangements and make appropriate referrals when necessary to statutory agencies.

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

Staff have a positive can-do attitude to managing risk. They do not hold children back and do their best to support children to have new experiences while mitigating any potential risk. Children are therefore having vast positive opportunities because of living here. When children might find things challenging, such as visiting a shop or tearoom, staff think creatively of solutions so children can still enjoy those things.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a strong advocate for children. She spends quality time with children and has good relationships with them. The manager joins children for mealtimes and activities. Children spend time colouring with her, telling her jokes or telling her about their day. The manager uses social stories to communicate any changes for children and seeks their views using their preferred communication tools.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have high aspirations for children, they embed an assured culture and ethos that positively impacts on children's progress and experiences. This is seen in the commitment and enthusiasm of the staff team who want the very best for children. Staff speak of children with warmth and a positive energy. One professional agreed and told the inspector, ‘I have observed lovely relationships between [child] and staff. The staff speak highly of him and have a good insight into his needs. They include him in all the planning and support him to make the right choices’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have high expectations of the staff team. They role model good care to staff so they are well supported to provide children with good quality consistent care. Inspection report children's home: 1226971 5 Monitoring systems are effective. Managers have a good understanding of the service, the care provided and the areas for development. For example, managers are realistic about their next challenge which is their desire for more children to move in. They have thought through carefully how they will plan to achieve this goal. They also recognise other areas for development such as improving the quality of written supervision records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Changes in the management team since the previous inspection were managed well. The previous registered manager resigned to become the responsible individual and has maintained good oversight. The new registered manager has developed well in her role. Staff feel supported and receive good training and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

No requirements or recommendations were made at this inspection. Inspection report children's home: 1226971 6

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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: 1226971 7

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Children's home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Thornleigh Camphill Communities Limited

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Nicolas Sialelli

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Inspectors

Nicola Lownds, Social Care Inspector Tara Webb, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1226971 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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