Children's Home run by Solent Child Care Limited in Hampshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1247384 1 Registered provider: Solent 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 owned and run by a private organisation. The home provides care for up to two children who have social and emotional difficulties. The staff are referred to as ‘adults’ in this report.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living at the home at the tiem of inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home does not currently have a registered manager. An application to register a manager is in progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1247384 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/03/2023 Full Outstanding 29/06/2021 Full Outstanding 02/03/2020 Full Outstanding 03/12/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 1247384 3

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outstanding

Children have made outstanding progress while living in the home. They have benefited from the consistent nurturing and caring approach taken by the adults who care for them. Adults provide an environment in which children have lots of opportunities to be inquisitive and explorative while forming secure and trusting relationships. Adults provide children with unconditional love and care, which allows them to feel safe and to begin to explore their feelings and emotions to help them make sense of their experiences and identities.

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outstanding

The exceptional, child-focused approach adopted by the adults gives children lots of opportunities for imaginary and sensory play. This helps them to develop their sense of self while exploring their emotions and feelings in a safe and secure way. This has enabled children to develop an understanding of themselves and their individual journeys. Children are now finding positive ways to express and understand their emotions.

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outstanding

Children have made significant progress with their communication. They are now more able to communicate their needs and wants with adults and with others around them. Adults use a variety of strategies with children to help them to engage with meaningful daily activities and routines. One child said that adults help them make ‘forts and dens’ in which they can play when they feel upset or worried.

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outstanding

Adults know the children exceptionally well and are attuned to their needs. Adults are emotionally invested in the home and refer to it as the family. Adults are focused on supporting children and each other to achieve their fullest potential. The home is welcoming and homely, and decorated with lots of pictures of the children who live there. Children have memory books full of photographs and stories that remind them of their adventures and achievements.

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outstanding

Adults are child-centred, calm, loving and nurturing in their approach with children. Children are supported to develop their self-care, life and social skills in ways that are appropriate to their age and ability. Children are learning to swim, ride bikes, bake cakes, play alongside others and wash and dress themselves. Children are given lots of opportunities to make choices and to have their voices and views known and understood.

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outstanding

The home has a strong ethos that focuses on learning, development and education. Adults promote children’s education at every opportunity, and this is clear in every aspect of the home. Children are encouraged to engage in daily, meaningful education that meets their needs, and they are supported to overcome barriers that may have previously impacted on their attendance and engagement in education. Adults advocate effectively for children, ensuring that they have access to their entitlement of education provision. Adults engage positively and constructively with Inspection report for children’s home: 1247384 4 others to ensure that education provision and support are personalised and meet the children’s needs.

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outstanding

Adults supplement children’s education through a wide variety of activities, experiences, hobbies and interests, and they encourage children to try out new things. Adults are creative and use every activity as a learning opportunity.

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outstanding

Children are supported by adults on a one-to-one basis. Adults are clear about what is needed to best support each child to enable them to grow and flourish. There is careful thought and consideration about how to support children to switch between the home, school and other aspects of daily life. In one example, staff sang with a child to help them to understand changes and the beginning and ending of things.

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outstanding

Children are supported positively and safely to maintain family time that is beneficial to them and that helps them to understand their identity and form a sense of belonging.

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outstanding

Adults in the home have supported positive and effective relationships between professionals, families and others, ensuring that they all work collectively to achieve the best outcomes for children.

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outstanding

Children are well supported to access health services that meet their individual needs and to see the doctor, dentist, optician and specialist health care services when needed. Medicine management is appropriate and robust.

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

The children who live in the home feel safe and secure. They talk and communicate freely with trusted adults about their worries and anxieties. Adults listen and help children to make sense of these worries and to learn how to manage them. Adults are knowledgeable and inquisitive about possible risk and harm. They use this to ensure that children remain safe.

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

Adults have a thorough knowledge and understanding of each child and of what is needed to provide consistent care and support. Adults regularly review detailed plans that provide clarity about what is needed to best support a child to be safe. Children are supported to engage in age-appropriate risk-taking activities, which helps them to develop a greater understanding of themselves and the world around them. Adults provide children with age-appropriate and child-friendly education and advice that helps children to learn how to keep themselves safe.

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

Children are supported on a one-to-one basis by adults who know them very well and understand their needs. Adults have detailed knowledge about each child and know how to best support them when they are anxious or worried. Each adult is trained in the home’s preferred behaviour management approach. They use a variety of strategies to support children when anxious or distressed, which helps children to become calm and to gain insight into their emotions and feelings. Inspection report for children’s home: 1247384 5 Trained adults calmly and consistently support children when they are unsettled, anxious or distressed. Adults give children lots of reassurance and reminders that they are loved and that the adults are there to support them; they provide hugs and affection if this helps children to feel safe and secure.

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

When adults need to support children to stay safe at times of high anxiety and upset, they use the minimum level of physical intervention for the shortest time possible. When incidents have happened, children are given opportunities to talk with trusted adults about why they have been upset or distressed. Children are well supported to develop strategies to help them to self-soothe and to explore their feelings to try to make sense of them. Some recording of less complex incidents lacks sufficient reflection and learning. Leaders and managers identified that their systems could be improved, and they addressed this during the inspection.

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

Children’s achievements and positive behaviours are celebrated. Even if a child has had a difficult day, adults will celebrate their achievements, no matter how small. Children are not routinely given consequences. Children learn through reparation and the natural consequences that occur due to their choices or behaviours. This helps children to understand the impact of their choices and to begin to build a sense of personal responsibility.

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

Children are well supported through education and supervision to remain safe while accessing the online world through their devices.

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

Leaders and managers apply effective and robust safer recruitment practices. The home is well maintained and presented, which helps to ensure that children are safe.

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

Safeguarding matters are reported, referred and reviewed as required. Although there have only been a very low number of concerns, they have been responded to appropriately. There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home; however, adults have detailed plans and strategies to follow if this were to occur.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders are ambitious for children. They strive and succeed in achieving the best they can for the children who live in the home. There have been significant changes in the home since the previous inspection in March 2023. Children who had lived in the home for several years said that they wanted to live closer to local amenities and services in order to develop their life skills and their independence skills. A new house was identified, and the children and their adult team moved to the new home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new adult team was employed, trained and developed to work in this home. The home also has a new manager, who is in the process of being registered with Ofsted. There has been some instability in the home’s team while adults have been Inspection report for children’s home: 1247384 6 supported to learn and develop their skills. However, managers have remained child-focused and have ensured that children continue to receive high-quality care and support to meet their needs. Children continue to make exceptional progress while being supported by a core group of skilled adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s views are regularly sought and considered, and their impact is evident throughout the home. They have influenced how the home is decorated and presented, how the garden will be developed and have improved the range of activities they can do during weekends and holidays. The home is achieving its aims and objectives as described in the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers work effectively with others. They have advocated for children and challenged others to ensure that children are provided with the services they are entitled to or that are necessary to meet their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have robust and effective systems that support them in their monitoring, evaluation and oversight of the home. The manager and adults are aspirational for the home and regularly review and update plans. Clear development plans have been made, and these are reviewed and updated to ensure that areas of weakness are swiftly addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Adults access a wide variety of training and support appropriate to their roles. The regular supervision provided enables them to review and reflect on their practice. Adults also access regular clinical supervision, which helps them to gain a better understanding of children’s journeys, experiences and needs.

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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: 1247384 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Solent Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 9 St Georges Yard, Castle Street, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7LW

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Post vacant, application in progress

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Inspector

Amanda Maxwell, His Majesty’s Inspector, Social Care Inspection report for children’s home: 1247384 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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