Children's Home run by Claybridge Care Ltd in Devon

Inspection report for children's home: 2778047 1 Registered provider: Claybridge Care Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home can provide care for up to two children who may have emotional and social difficulties. At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted on 30 April 2024.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2778047 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are committed to building secure relationships with the children in their care. Before children move into the home, staff liaise with significant people in the children’s lives to understand them as individuals and to support children to have a feeling of belonging as soon as they move in. The staff make sure they know the kind of food the child likes to eat and which people are important to them, to make sure they are supported to spend time with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child was supported to make some progress with everyday routines in relation to their self-care, diet and sleep. Staff have identified areas of need for another child to enable them to make progress with a healthy diet and sleep routine.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers ensure the best possible planning takes place before children move in. The plans are thorough and demonstrate how the home will support children once they have moved in. There is consultation with external agencies and the child’s family to consider how the home can support the child’s needs. Throughout the planning, there is a clear focus on the safeguarding needs of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before children move in, staff create detailed plans for all areas of their life and well- being. The plans focus on the needs of the children and how staff intend to support the children to reduce risk and make progress. They include plans for the children to experience new activities and to give them opportunities to explore new things like horse riding, going to a gym and paddle-boarding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child had an unplanned ending to their time living in the home. Their needs remained paramount and the staff organised goodbye presents, including a photo memory book with positive memories of the time the child spent with them and a letter explaining why they were not able to live there any longer. The home’s staff had worked hard with external professionals to prevent the placement ending. They advocated for appropriate support and interventions for the child in an attempt to stabilise the placement prior to it breaking down.

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

Staff work hard to minimise the risks to children in their care. There is regular planning with the children’s social workers and their families to reduce harm and keep children safe. Risks to the children are understood and identified by staff. Risk assessments are kept up to date to respond effectively to any known vulnerabilities and give staff guidance on the action they need to take to manage the risks.

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

Clear plans are in place to try to reduce episodes of harm when children are missing from home. Staff try to prevent the child from going missing. If they are unable to do so, there is a well-coordinated and timely response. Staff are proactive in taking action to Inspection report for children's home: 2778047 3 prevent further harm by following the child’s plan, contacting police, family and the allocated social worker. After any episode of a child going missing, managers look at their approach and consider how it can be revised to try new approaches to prevent harm from going missing, as well as supporting children with return home interviews.

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

When a child has raised an allegation that they have been harmed, this is properly managed and responded to in a timely way. Records of concern are comprehensive and the home remain in close contact with relevant professionals and family. Children are supported to understand what is happening and supported to meet with police when required. Effective communication with external agencies ensures safeguarding concerns are dealt with without delay.

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

Restraint has been used. The plans around the use of restraint are clearly set out and indicate it is to be used as a last resort. Techniques used in an effort to prevent restraint are detailed in the records. When restraint is used, the incidents are accurately recorded by staff involved. The records are reviewed and monitored by managers. If the manager is the member of staff involved in the restraint, the director provides management oversight.

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

Some language in the restraint records describes how the child was feeling from staff’s point of view and, in places, does not clearly set out the child’s behaviour. This adds a layer of judgement and does not give clarity on what the child was experiencing or how they were behaving. Children are not always supported to explore their feelings after a period of restraint.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate about creating a safe and nurturing environment for children to live in. She recognises the need to continually evaluate care and tracks trends and patterns to monitor the quality of care that is provided. She responds to the changing needs of the children to inform their day-to-day care. This leads to the children having improved experiences and being able to make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Individual plans are in place for each child and comprehensively identify their needs. Plans focus on the child’s safeguarding needs alongside day-to-day care and a clear overview of their identity needs. Plans include child-focused targets with aims for the child to make progress in the short, medium and long term. The manager strives to have a positive impact on the children and their futures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Case records, including daily logs and chats with the children, reflect the work that has been carried out. They are written for the child and allow staff to have an increased awareness of individual children’s needs and allows the manager to have oversight of the care that is being provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works proactively with the local community to understand local risks. They continue to forge relationships with agencies and local businesses to support the children in the home to remain safe while in the community. The manager has demonstrated Inspection report for children's home: 2778047 4 robust and collaborative working with many external agencies to ensure the best support is in place. This is to ensure positive outcomes for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and managers are provided with regular supervision which focuses on the children’s needs and the impact of staff practice, and their own well-being. Safeguarding scenarios are used to support staff to learn and reflect on different areas of safeguarding to enhance learning and practice. Staff feel supported by the management team. They understand what they need to do in their day-to-day practice and why. Any concerns around staff practice have been dealt with appropriately and in a timely way. Staff who have personal development plans understand why and are supported to make progress to address any practice issues and learn from them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are high expectations of staff, with a clear ethos of keeping practice standards high and creating a kind and effective team. Team meetings are used effectively to discuss team approaches and practice and identify areas of need. Research has been introduced to show staff how it can be used to achieve progress and positive outcomes for children. The manager is proactive in identifying and responding to any issues in the team. The manager is clear in their expectations that staff work collaboratively and consistently to achieve the best outcomes for the children in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2778047 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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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

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure all children are supported to explore their feelings and views after episodes of restraint. 14 September 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

understand the impact of 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. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure staff do not record their views about how a child has felt during incidents while undertaking conversations with them about periods of restraint. 21 August 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2778047 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all records about the child are individual, clear and non-judgemental and are written in a way that is helpful to the child. (‘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: 2778047 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Claybridge Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 36 Tyndall Court, Commerce Road, Lynchwood, Peterborough PE2 6LR

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Inspector

Hannah Spencer-Townesend, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2778047 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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