Children's home run by What's Out There Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: SC465120 1 SC465120 Registered provider: What’s Out There Limited

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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 is owned by a private company. It can provide care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC465120 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/05/2021 Full Good 11/09/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC465120 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have strong relationships with carers, who know them well. Efforts have been made to create relationships with the children’s family, friends, colleagues, and wider professionals to help support and protect them in a holistic and nurturing way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s friendships are supported and encouraged. One child has had a friend to sleep over and visit the home for tea. This helps the child to maintain friendships, but also encourages her to stay at home, as she has previously gone missing to spend time with friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children are in education or work and are making good progress. One child has been in a settled work placement for almost a year, which is a huge achievement from her starting point. Education and work placements are reviewed with other professionals to ensure that they are meeting the children’s respective needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good-quality, nutritious meals. They get involved with planning and cooking meals. The meals cooked during inspection were wholesome and fresh. Records show that the children are offered a healthy, balanced diet. Snacks are available and boundaries around having snacks are clear and proportionate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers provide proactive support for children around the topic of sexual health. Carers help children to attend sexual health clinics, and discussions about contraception and sexual health take place between carers and children routinely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Planning for one child’s move into the home was considerate and thorough. Lots of information about the child was gathered and careful thought was given to how to support her. One child is currently experiencing uncertainty about the plans for them to move on from the home. Plans to support this child to independence lack detail. For example, conversations about managing money have taken place, but there are no strategies or clear targets for how to achieve this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There has been improvement to the physical environment. Sharp objects are no longer locked away without a reason to do so. However, there are areas throughout the home that need repair. One child’s bedroom has a broken curtain pole, stains on the carpet, and loose skirting boards. The child has reported how upset she is about this and that she wants the damage to be repaired.

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

Children are supported to understand risky behaviours and why carers are worried about them. There is a nurturing response from carers when incidents happen, and there is encouragement to seek appropriate medical attention. Children’s plans are thorough documents, with clear steps for carers about how to manage risks. Inspection report for children’s home: SC465120 4 There has been an increase of missing incidents for one child. Carers thoroughly search the local area when the child is missing and make regular attempts to contact them. Carers have formed relationships with children’s friends and family members, and contact details are updated in plans to help carers know who to contact when children go missing. The manager has sought guidance and support from the police and external agencies to assist them. The manager is proactive in seeking meetings with other professionals and gaining their advice to try to reduce these incidents.

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

For one child, incidents of self-harm have significantly reduced and the relationships she has built with carers are a factor in this progress. However, uncertainty about her future led to an incident of self-harm recently. While this was responded to appropriately, the learning from this has focused on the child’s behaviours and not what the adults around her could have done differently to prevent this.

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

One of the children vapes and has recently started to smoke cigarettes. She has been supported by carers to reduce this, who frequently encourage her to access stop smoking appointments. Conversations about harmful behaviours take place between carers and children. However, alternative strategies are not explained. For example, carers suggest using other ways to manage stress, rather than vaping, but do not detail what these methods could be. A robust approach to reducing these harmful behaviours is lacking.

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

Children are listened to and supported to make complaints. One child was supported to report an incident to the police. Carers worked closely with the police to follow up this concern and considered how to prevent similar situations reoccurring. Individual sessions with children help them to understand the dangers of social media and internet use, to reduce the likelihood of future incidents.

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

Thorough processes are in place for safer recruitment, which reduces the risk of unsuitable people working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the children well and has systems in place to review their care. When incidents happen, there is a quick and appropriate response from the manager and carers. The manager shares information with other professionals in a timely and proportionate way. This enables consistent approaches and risk assessments to be made. The manager is ambitious for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable team of carers. Carers talk about feeling supported by senior leaders The rotation of the team means that carers get to work with different colleagues, which helps the whole team to work together. No agency workers have been needed. This means that children experience more-consistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision takes place regularly and provides reflection on children’s needs as well as carers’ needs. The manager considers why children have responded or behaved in Inspection report for children’s home: SC465120 5 particular ways. However, reflection on what carers could have done differently is limited. Carers’ training needs are identified by the manager. For example, specific training to meet one child’s needs has been planned.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is open to feedback and asks other professionals how improvements can be made. There is a more homely feel, with fewer doors being locked and sharps being locked away. This is learning that the manager has taken on board from previous inspections.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s records have improved. They are more child friendly and are written in a clearer way. The manager has been open to further improvements in this area and regularly reviews the language used. Inspection report for children’s home: SC465120 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the necessary repairs are made in a child’s bedroom, and that small improvements are made in the home, such as repairing loose fixtures and fittings and repainting marked or damaged areas. 29 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 9 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC465120 7 that staff help each child to—

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Requirement Due date

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs; and

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children must be supported and encouraged to attend all medical appointments. In addition, a robust approach should be put in place to address vaping and smoking to help reduce unhealthy behaviours.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the 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 the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

the child is, or has been, persistently absent from the home without permission; or

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Requirement Due date

the child requests a review of the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(e)(i)(ii)(iii)) 9 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC465120 8 In particular, children’s plans for moving on from the home should be reviewed regularly with other professionals and challenged when they do not meet children’s needs.

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Recommendations

 The registered person must 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 particular, the manager should ensure that staff understand each child’s needs and are able to meet these needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5)

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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: SC465120 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: What’s Out There Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Burrow Hill Cottage, Wiveliscombe, Taunton, Somerset TA4 2RN

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Inspector

Nickie Doney, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC465120 10 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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