Children's Home run by SW Education & Care Ltd in Devon

Inspection report for children’s home: 2694804 1 Registered provider: SW Education & 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 provider of social care.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for up to two children. At the time of inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of the home is registered with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 29 November 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2694804 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2694804 3

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from a home that is adapted to meet their individual needs. Artwork made by the child who currently lives in the home is displayed throughout, giving it a personalised feel.

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improvement to be good

Carers have advocated for a child to receive the education that they are entitled to. In addition to tutoring, the child is provided with a variety of informal educational activities and encouraged further to develop their independence skills.

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improvement to be good

A social worker who has been working with carers say that they receive good communication about children’s needs. Observations of carers with the child living in the home were positive. They gave them time, showed patience, humour and warmth. Affection shown by the child was reciprocated.

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improvement to be good

The child living in the home said that they can talk to carers, but they do not feel safe. They could not verbalise why they feel this way, however, they said that they had not felt safe in their previous homes. The child has been living in the home for a short period of time and is in the process of building relationships.

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improvement to be good

Carers have mixed responses to incidents. A child who previously lived in the home was settled and carers had developed trusting relationships with them. This allowed the child to make good progress in relation to their starting point. Incidents were rare and strategies to support the child were effective. There have been several incidents involving the child currently living in the home. Two significant incidents, which led to police intervention and caused the child distress, escalated further due to carers actions and could have been avoided. One of these incidents occurred due to safety planning not being followed.

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improvement to be good

One child who has moved on from the home made significant positive progress and moved on in a planned way. This was achieved though effective multi-agency information sharing and facilitating and supporting introductions between the child and their future carers.

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improvement to be good

Care planning is clear and focused this helps carers access important information easily. The narrative is also child centred which helps to make this information accessible for children also. Plans include information about risk and clear guidance for carers in relation to meeting children’s needs and keeping them safe. For example, the child living in the home has some awareness of the safety and care Inspection report for children’s home: 2694804 4 planning that is in place. Carers supported them to develop essential skills such as stranger awareness and personal safety prior to their move.

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improvement to be good

Action has not been taken following a child reporting that they were harmed by carers in a previous home. Management oversight of this recording does not acknowledge that the concern was raised by the child. However, a previous concern raised by the child was effectively managed. The child has experienced an inconsistent approach which could impact on their ability to build trusting relationships.

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improvement to be good

Restraint has been used 10 times since the last inspection. Some instances of restraint have led to successful de-escalation of incidents. On one occasion, a child was held in a floor hold which lasted for two minutes. Use of this restraint was not warranted. Carers are not trained to complete this type of hold. A recording states that attempts to use restraint during an incident were unsuccessful. However, there is no reflection or analysis of why it was unsuccessful or what could have been done differently.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are a focus. For example, dietary needs are considered and planned for in line with the individual needs of children. Regular visits to and consultation with dentists led to a child receiving essential treatment to preserve their teeth. Carers supported a child to complete daily exercises; this led to the child doing them without the need for prompting. Carers listen to children when they talk about their health needs and worries, arranging necessary appointments and supporting them to attend.

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improvement to be good

Records that detail children’s day-to-day lives are generally written well. They provide a rounded view of their day, conversations with carers and activities that children have completed. Conversations with children can be kind, caring and supportive. They aim to address risk and educate children. On one occasion, language used about the child is derogatory.

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good

The registered manager presents as passionate about achieving positive outcomes for children. Her commitment to children is shown through the relationships that she builds with them and the large amount of time she spends in the home with children. She builds positive relationships with an array of external professionals and shares essential information. She has shown her ability to be reflective about her and the team’s practice, recognising the need for improvement.

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good

Carers like working in the home. They speak about children with warmth and fondness. They have good knowledge of children and are positive about the level of support they receive from leaders and managers. Carers value supervision and say that they can talk to leaders and managers openly about any concerns they may have. Supervision supports carers to reflect on the quality standards and how they Inspection report for children’s home: 2694804 5 use these in their practice.

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good

Managers talk to carers and children after incidents. Some of these conversations are beneficial and provide them with reflection and learning. However, management oversight of incidents does not identify when carers have acted inappropriately or when practice needs to improve. Therefore, conversations with carers about these incidents do not focus on practice improvements that are required. In addition to this, reflective conversations with children may reinforce or ignore poor decision making and practice.

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good

Decision-making for a child to move into the home was not robust. Concerns in respect of poor planning and preparation by external professionals were appropriately and consistently raised. Information that was necessary for decisions to be made was received and recorded. However, evaluation and analysis of how the needs of the child would be met in relation to the experience and skill-set of the team is brief. In particular, the team’s inexperience in caring for high-risk children was not explored, nor was the level of staffing required to safeguard the child.

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good

Team meetings are held regularly and are well attended. Discussions that take place are reflective and focus on the child who is living in the home. Learning points and actions are clearly documented. Carers are provided with a wide array of training, covering general and specialist subjects.

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good

Recruitment in the home is in line with safer recruitment practice. Both employed and agency carers are suitably vetted prior to working in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2694804 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, 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

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all other methods of supporting a child and keeping them safe are attempted before restraint is used.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that any restraint used is appropriate and proportionate.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that floor holds are not used by carers who are not trained to use them and that use of these holds are a last resort. 15 April 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child, and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. 15 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2694804 7 (Regulation 13 (1)(b)(2)(a)(c)(d)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that decision making in relation to whether the home is right for the child is robust. They must complete a full analysis of the child’s needs alongside the skill-set and experience of carers who work in the home.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that full consideration is given to the amount of carers needed to keep children safe. Sufficient numbers of carers should be in place before the child moves into the home.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that their oversight of incidents and carers practice is thorough and robust at all times.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that following their robust review of carers practice, reflective and constructive conversations are held with carers, aiming to improve practice and protect children.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that responses to and management of incidents by carers is appropriate. That carers follow plans designed to support them to care for children and keep them safe at all times. 15 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which—

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Requirement Due date

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect. 15 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2694804 8 The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

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Requirement Due date

provide for the prompt referral of an allegation about past abuse or neglect in relation to a child to the placing authority and, if different, the local authority in whose area the alleged abuse or neglect occurred. (Regulation 34 (1)(b)(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all allegations of abuse made by children are reported to the local authority to be investigated.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should, where appropriate, let children’s know what planning is in place to provide them with care, support and manage risk. Where appropriate, they should involve children in their care planning. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should ensure that carers understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. It should allow the reader to gain a full picture of carers and children’s actions. Language used to talk about children should not be derogatory. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2694804 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: SW Education & Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1, Enterprise Road, Barnstaple, Barnstaple EX31 3YB

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Inspector

Carla Simkiss, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2694804 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 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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