Children's Home run by 1848 Ltd in Somerset

Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 1 Registered provider: 1848 Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider and offers care for up to three children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2023.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/08/2023 Full Good 13/07/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 3

p.2

improvement to be good

While there are many positives in this home, and overall, children are making progress, the shortfalls in how well they are helped and protected impact negatively on their day- to-day experiences. Staff have not consistently responded to children’s high-risk and self- injurious behaviours. This includes supervising children appropriately, not removing items and allowing children items that pose a risk of physical injury to them. This has meant that some incidents of self-harm could have been prevented because of poor staff practice.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children at this home have trusting and open relationships with staff. Staff provide warm and nurturing responses to children, which helps them to feel comfortable. Staff support children to express their cultural and personal identities. The children did not raise any concerns about their care and said they are happy living at this home. They love their pet cats and are pleased with their vegetable patch, where they have grown fruit and vegetables over the summer. Children like their large bedrooms, which are decorated in the children’s own individual styles. The home is decorated to a good standard throughout, including with inspiring and vibrant art that has been created by one child.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children’s care plans are comprehensive and include information about children’s past experiences and progress. However, one child’s individual behaviour support assessment does not provide clear guidance for staff about how to respond to the child’s behaviours and risks effectively. This has affected the consistency of care provided to children by staff. Some records, including of significant incidents, are not always well recorded, and key information, including staff actions and the rationale for responses to children, is missing. The registered manager has not ensured that some significant incidents have been reported to Ofsted. However, these incidents have been appropriately responded to by the registered manager.

p.3

improvement to be good

The registered manager is ambitious for children and has ensured that she strongly advocates for children to access local, full-time education where it is in the children’s best interests. One child has received support from a tutor provided by the organisation, while a school place was awaited. Staff praise and celebrate children’s achievements and efforts. One child has recently moved into the home and has been declined access to a local school. The manager is challenging this and working closely with professionals to resolve this.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff help children to meet their basic and wider health needs. Managers and staff work collaboratively with professionals, including practitioners from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), to best support children. Children are assisted to access advocacy support, to independently gather their wishes about their care. Staff help children to understand their emotions and learn from their behaviours through sensitively held ‘wellbeing discussions’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 4 Children benefit from a range of hobbies and interests such as art hub, socialising with friends, shopping, cycling and horse riding. Children have enjoyed holidays abroad to Lanzarote and Copenhagen, which has enhanced their experiences. Staff ensure that family time is promoted and encouraged to help meet children’s emotional needs.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children have made four complaints about staff responses to them and the quality of facilities in the home since the last inspection. The manager has reassured children, and responded effectively to the complaints to ensure that children’s views are acted on and resolutions achieved.

p.4

improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, staff have not consistently acted in children’s best interests to ensure that their safety and welfare are promoted. Some staff have not adhered to children’s plans in meeting their day-to-day needs and supervision levels. Staff have not shown professional curiosity in their care of children, or consistently ensured that items that pose a risk of self-injury are avoided and removed from children. This has meant that children are at risk of emotional and physical harm. Managers ensure that concerns about staff practice are promptly responded to and are thoroughly investigated.

p.4

improvement to be good

Staff demonstrated an understanding of safeguarding procedures to inspectors. However, some staff are not applying this understanding effectively in practice. Some staff have failed to promptly report concerns from children, including of historical harm and threats made online to them. The manager has responded effectively through her monitoring of incidents and identified areas of learning to strengthen staff responses in future.

p.4

improvement to be good

There have been no incidents of children going missing from home. There have been three incidents of physical restraint to support children when at risk of physical harm. The registered manager has properly reviewed the use of physical restraint to ensure it is necessary, and children are promptly spoken with afterwards to ensure their well- being.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced for the role, and she has high aspirations for children in her care. The registered manager shared that they are well supported by the responsible individual. Since the last inspection, several new members of staff who have not previously worked in residential care have joined the home. The manager ensures that there is close oversight from her and a well-paced induction. Staff said they feel highly supported by the registered manager and that children’s views are central to their care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 5 The registered manager provides regular and reflective supervision to staff. Some staff said they value supervision and the wide range of training provided. Supervision notes are comprehensive and identify actions for further development.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has completed an evaluative review of the quality of care provided to children. This highlights the range of progress children have made and includes children’s positive views about the care and facilities at this home. The report does not include areas for development to help strengthen the quality of care for children. The statement of purpose has not been updated to reflect the current staff changes.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff employed by the organisation undergo robust recruitment and identification checks. This includes a review by the registered manager of gaps in employment. On some occasions, agency staff are used during the night to assist permanent staff. The manager has not ensured that references and the verification of references are properly checked to ensure that agency staff are safe to provide care for children.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive training in self-injury, attachment and trauma-informed care. However, it is not evident from manager records that all staff are currently up to date with medication training to safely support children. In addition, registered manager records of significant incidents and concerns relating to staff is disorganised. This can make it difficult to identify patterns and understand staff practice to strengthen the quality of care provided to children.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager escalates her concerns to professionals appropriately and in the best interests of children, including to support them to access education provision. Social workers and a family member were positive about the quality of care afforded to children at this home. They shared that children have made progress with their education and are accessing therapeutic help. Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

p.6

Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

p.6

Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iv))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, that the registered manager should ensure that all children’s plans clearly identify actions to help staff meet children’s needs and that staff understand their responsibilities, follow children’s care plans and consistently act with professional curiosity to prevent unnecessary risk to children. 13 December 2024

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 13 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 7 that staff—

p.6

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;

p.7

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

p.7

Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

p.7

Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them harming each other;

p.7

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

p.7

Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12(1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff promptly report concerns for children and ensure children’s safety by taking effective action to remove objects that may cause a risk of self-injury or other significant harm. The registered manager should also complete robust reference and verification checks for agency staff.

p.7

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—

p.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 13 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 8 ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.8

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the registered manager makes sure that training records are updated to ensure that all staff have received medication training and that there is clearly recorded oversight of all safeguarding incidents and concerns relating to staff, to enable effective manager monitoring and review.

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

p.8

Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

p.8

Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

p.8

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that incident records and day-to-day recording by staff accurately captures concerns, staff actions in response to incidents to reduce risks to children, and rationale for decision-making. 13 December 2024

p.8

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they notify under regulation 40(4) Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a)-(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious (40(4)(e)). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)  The registered person should ensure that they develop and keep under review a statement of purpose (regulation 16 and schedule 1). The home’s statement of purpose should be child-focused, indicating how the home provides individualised care to meet the quality standards for the children in their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, pages 14-15, paragraph 3.5)

p.8

Information about this inspection

Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 9 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: 2491059 10

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Old Bank Buildings, East Street, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0AJ

p.10

Inspectors

Anna Gravelle, His Majesty’s Inspector Ashley Arkless, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2491059 11 and inspects 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.

p.10

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.11

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.11

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.11