Children's home run by The Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education

Inspection report for children's home: 2583028 1 Registered provider: The Exeter Royal Academy For Deaf Education

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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 four children.

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Information about this children’s home

The statement of purpose describes that specialist therapeutic care is provided to children who are deaf and have complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a suitable manager who is registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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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: 21 November 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2583028 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/11/2023 Full Outstanding 06/09/2022 Full Good 07/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 11/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2583028 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children who live in this home are making good progress. Their outcomes have improved since living here. All the children spoke positively about their experiences in this home. They said that they like living in the home, that they get on well with the adults who care for them and that they really like their bedrooms. There was lovely interactions observed between children and staff during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean, warm and welcoming. There are spacious, airy rooms with comfy sofas that help children to feel relaxed. Outside, there is a well-maintained garden for children to spend time in, with a trampoline to play on. There are lovely photos on the walls of children having fun and doing activities with staff. One room has been developed into a sensory room with lights and a booth to support children’s communication needs. Children have personalised their bedrooms in line with their interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children receive good levels of care. They have positive routines and are supported to lead a healthy lifestyle. The home is filled with the smells of lovely home-cooked food, which the children enjoy. The children enjoy being active in their local area. One child talked about going to the gym regularly, and another child has recently taken part in a trampolining competition. All the children are now attending school full time. When one child moved to this home, they had not attended school for several years. With a carefully planned transition, they were able to successfully start school and are now attending full time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have developed positive relationships with people who are important to the children. This includes family, social workers and other professionals. This means that there is a team of people around each child who are all working together to support them and that children feel safe and happy in this home. Staff are respectful of the children; they value their views and their identity. Through listening to children, they adapt the support that is in place for them. They seek children’s views about their experiences, activities and family time. Children are supported to have regular family time and to maintain contact with friends. Staff have supported children to develop safe levels of independence, enabling them to have free time and access to a mobile phone. This important level of support means that children are feeling safe, loved and well cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although the children do have boundaries in place, the parenting and guidance that children receive are not always consistent across the staff team. This means that children are not always clear about what is expected of them. The manager acknowledged this and has plans to explore this with the staff. Inspection report for children's home: 2583028 4

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

Safeguarding incidents have remained low since the last inspection. There are very few incidents, and when these do occur, prompt action is taken to address any worries. Restraint has been used on some occasions and are being reduced. These have been necessary to keep children and staff safe.

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

The manager and staff work hard to tackle any risks that children are experiencing, so the children can learn from them. They provide children with a high level of support and commitment that helps to reduce any risks to them. This includes having open conversations with the children about any worries for their safety. Staff work hard to build positive relationships with children. This means that they know the children well and how to keep them safe.

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

When safeguarding concerns are identified, they are reported promptly. There is good communication between staff and social workers; this helps to keep children safe. Managers have a good understanding of risk, and they are working hard to keep children safe. They talk openly to children about any worries for their safety and respond sensitively to information that is shared with them. When children have raised concerns about staff, these concerns have been investigated appropriately.

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

Staff have not always received clear guidance from their managers about what is expected of them; this needs to be improved so that staff are clear in their roles and responsibilities. Risk assessments and care plans are clear and have only needed some minor amendments. Although safer recruitment practice does appear to be in place now, it needs to be robust in the future to ensure there are no errors.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the children well and is involved in their day-to-day care. She has developed strong and caring relationships with the children. She spoke positively about the children and has high aspirations for their futures. The manager is thoughtful about the next steps for children and strongly advocates for them when this is required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable group of staff who are working with the children. There are some staff vacancies, and the manager is actively recruiting new staff. Although agency and bank staff have been used regularly, these are staff who are familiar to the children. Staff spoke positively about the support that they receive from their manager, saying they receive good levels of support and training. Staff can meet regularly in handovers and team meetings, so they are able to discuss their skills and practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works in partnership with people who are important to the children. She has regular contact with social workers, family members and other professionals. The manager has developed positive relationships with parents and family members. She provides weekly updates, so parents are kept fully informed about their child’s experiences. The manager has been fully involved in promoting family time between the children and their family members. Inspection report for children's home: 2583028 5 There is good management oversight in the home’s documentation. Monitoring and review systems are in place to make continuous improvements, so there are positive levels of reflection and learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers use relevant research and knowledge to improve the experiences of children. They are reflective in their practice and are continually learning from experiences in the home. They liaise with other organisations to share good practice and attend managers’ forums and meetings in other homes. Inspection report for children's home: 2583028 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, 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 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—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, managers need to ensure that safer recruitment practice remains robust and that staff are clear about what is expected of them. 31 July 2024

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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: 2583028 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Exeter Royal Academy For Deaf Education

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Deaf Academy, 1 Douglas Avenue, Exmouth, Devon EX8 2AU

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Inspectors

Sarah Sheffield, Social Care Inspector Polly Soper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2583028 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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