Children's home run by Dwell-In Social Care Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2724887 1 Registered provider: Dwell-In Social Care Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a registered manager.

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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: 30 January 2024

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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: 2724887 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/01/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2724887 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure children develop a sense of belonging and stability. They see themselves as a family around the children, in a family home. The environment is welcoming and is decorated and furnished to a high standard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff show emotional warmth to children. Staff encourage one child’s love of writing. They help the child use this method of communication when they struggle to communicate their wishes and feelings verbally. Therefore, children can identify trusted adults to talk to using their preferred method of communication. When a child raises a concern, staff listen to them and respond appropriately.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with education providers to help the children make good educational progress. They advocate on behalf of children to support their attendance. One child has successfully completed their GCSEs and staff have supported them to identify a college provision to continue their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy good health. Staff support children to attend all their medical appointments. Staff liaise with professionals involved in the children’s physical and emotional health and advice and guidance are followed. This helps to maintain the children’s physical and emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with the people who are important to them. Staff make sure that time children spend with their family and friends is positive. Staff also use this opportunity to increase the children’s independence skills. They have supported the children to use public transport independently to travel to spend time with family and friends. This is a skill that can be taken into adulthood.

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

Children receive help and support to manage their feelings and behaviours safely. They are not physically restrained. Staff focus on using effective de-escalation techniques and strategies with the children. Alongside this, staff use their knowledge and strong relationships with the children to understand their behaviours. Therefore, children receive swift and well-coordinated responses from staff to keep them safe.

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

Staff know the risks the children can be exposed to. Risk assessments are regularly reviewed, updated and shared with staff. This provides clarity and direction for staff when any incidents occur, and staff follow these plans consistently. The manager and staff have developed strong links with family members, local authorities and key agencies, which allows consistent professional input into risk management plans. This contributes to a coordinated network of support for the children. Inspection report for children's home: 2724887 4 Children have developed trusting relationships with staff. This helps them to have discussions in regular key-work sessions to talk about areas of concern. As a result, the children have the right support in place from staff and external services to help them.

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

Staff undertake training in safeguarding and child protection, alongside more tailored training, to gain an understanding of the children’s life experiences and their current needs. Risks are explored in monthly team meetings, enabling a shared learning culture. The manager ensures that additional training that may benefit staff is identified and provided swiftly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager leads by example and is very proud of the children. She is ambitious and has high expectations of the staff team. Staff are enthusiastic and spoke highly of the manager, saying that they are happy at work. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of children’s needs and commitment to care for, help and protect the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff express a willingness to learn and take responsibility for their own learning and development. The manager organises specific training to meet the children’s needs and the learning needs of staff. Alongside this, staff receive regular and reflective supervision. One staff member said, ‘I have the space to talk about things,’ and ‘I am able to reflect and grow.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has increased her oversight in the home and taken action to strengthen some areas previously identified for development. However, improvements are not yet embedded throughout practice and some areas are still to be developed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are robust recruitment procedures in place that ensure staff working with the children are suitable to do so. The manager has effective systems in place to monitor and review their continued suitability. Inspection report for children's home: 2724887 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should actively seek to make best use of information to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties, reviewing incidents, and learning from them. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: 2724887 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Dwell-In Social Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 Canberra House, Priors Haw Road, Corby Gate Business Park, Corby, Northamptonshire NN17 5JG

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Inspector

Caroline Coop, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2724887 7 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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