Children's Home run by Autonomy Plus Limited in Wiltshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1263124 1 Registered provider: Autonomy Plus Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private organisation. It provides care for up to five children with learning disabilities and additional needs. At the time of the inspection, five children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since December 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

Prior to this inspection, anonymous allegations were shared with Ofsted and the host local authority. The inspector was aware during this inspection that the allegations were being investigated. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting and the host local authority in response were considered alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform the inspectors judgements.

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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 for children’s home: 1263124 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/08/2023 Full Good 06/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/05/2022 Full Inadequate 18/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1263124 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children like living at the home. They enjoy spending time with the staff and say they have lots of fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive care and support from staff who know them well and understand the different ways children communicate. Some children communicate verbally while others use symbols and signs. Staff help the children to communicate, and they are making notable progress in their skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between the staff and the children are positive and caring. Staff demonstrate genuine care for the children. This was observed during the interactions between staff and children as there were lots of hugs and laughter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress. Staff are proud of children’s achievements and were able to provide several examples of children’s progress, including increased independence skills and an increased ability to express their feelings. Staff celebrate children’s achievements and help them to learn the skills that will help children in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a range of enjoyable and purposeful activities that provide them with different experiences. Children attend different local youth clubs, which enables them to have a wider social network outside of their peers in the home and at school. Staff arrange holidays for children. During the inspection, children were with staff planning what they wanted to do in the upcoming school holidays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of children’s plans is not consistently good. Some plans provide detailed guidance for staff on how to meet the child’s needs, whereas others do not. In addition, children’s plans are very long and contain a lot of repetition. This could lead to uncertainty and inconsistent care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Improvements are needed to the environment. Some areas are decorated to high standard. However, other areas look tired, worn and institutional, which does not portray a welcoming and comfortable family home. There are some plans in place to address this, however, these need to be progressed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents and social workers are positive about the care the children receive. They said that staff support children effectively to have visits with their families, which can include enjoyable activities.

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

Children feel safe at the home and trust the staff team. The strength of these relationships means that children have felt comfortable and confident to share worries Inspection report for children’s home: 1263124 4 with the staff team. Appropriate actions have been taken when children have made disclosures.

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

Safeguarding arrangements are clear and understood by staff. Responses to allegations are appropriate and include partnership working with children’s social care. Safety plans are devised following exploration through meaningful conversation with children about their concerns. This has led to a reduction in allegations being made recently. Records relating to safeguarding matters are clear and include detailed chronologies.

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

Behaviour is supported effectively. Restraint has not been used since the previous inspection. This is because staff have a good understanding of the children’s needs and their potential triggers. Staff understand each child’s body language, which means that appropriate early intervention is used effectively.

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

Staff recruitment is in line with safer recruitment practice. However, the quality of records held require improvement as they do not provide clear evidence of the rationale to appoint an applicant or not.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and understands most of the strengths and areas for development in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are very positive about working at the home and take pride in their work. They feel well trained for their role and speak positively about the support they receive from their peers and the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of staff supervision is variable, with some lacking a clear reflection of the discussion held. This does not support the development of the member of staff as well as it could. However, staff practice issues are addressed in a supportive and positive way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is monitoring the work carried out in the home. However, some monitoring records lack detail and clarity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are ample staff to meet the needs of the children. There have been periods when agency staff have been used, however the need for this has reduced in recent months. When agency staff are needed, the manager strives whenever possible to use the same agency workers to ensure consistency and continuity of care for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263124 5

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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, The 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

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home.

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(e)(h)) 31 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the records of staff supervision sessions are consistently of good quality to support the development of staff. 31 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s plans consistently provide clear guidance for staff on how to meet each child’s needs. In addition, leaders and managers should review the length of 31 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1263124 6 children’s plans to ensure that they are effective working documents.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing, well-decorated and furnished environment throughout. In particular, explore alternative ways to ensure the television is kept safe while removing the institutional appearance. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that recruitment records evidence the rationale to appoint an applicant or not. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 1263124 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Autonomy Plus Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 67 Roundpond, Melksham, Wiltshire SN12 8EB

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nicholas Faulkner-Elliott

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Inspectors

Wendy Anderson, Social Care Inspector Min Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1263124 8 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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