Children's home run by Beaufort Care Group Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 1246831 1 Registered provider: Beaufort Care Group 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

The home is operated by a private provider that has several other homes in the area. The home provides care for up to three children. There was one child living in the home at the time of the inspection. Four children had moved out during this inspection period. The home had given notice on two children, and two others moved due to their maturing age on to independent living.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2023.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1246831 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/08/2023 Full Good 10/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/06/2021 Full Good 20/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1246831 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained, homely and welcoming and benefits from a stable and consistent staff team. This lends itself to the home being well run, with staff working well as a team. Staff are jovial and this adds to the positive atmosphere in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff enjoy working at this home. They speak with great fondness about the children in their care. While staff can be challenged by the work, they also commented on the privilege they feel caring for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This level of care was recognised by the children’s parents, who ‘could not fault’ the manager and staff team in their caring approach with their children. Staff have a positive relationship with children’s families and keep them informed on all matters. Parents further described the staff team as being ‘friendly and approachable’ and wanting the best for their child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience personalised care in this home. Despite the short time the child had lived in the home, their photographs were already hung around the house. The child has been supported to become part of the local community with membership to a gym and enrolment in local clubs, aligned with the child’s interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have been supported well when moving in and out of the home. When possible, children have visited prior to moving in and the manager has visited family to gain further information and establish a positive working relationship with the family. For children who have moved out of the home, this has been well managed. Whether this was planned or quicker than expected, children have had a positive experience with staff wishing them well, helping them practically, as well as sending them on with gifts and memory books and photo albums of their time in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have been given opportunities to learn independence skills prior to moving out of the home. One professional spoke highly of the home’s approach with children reaching independence, as well as sharing all relevant information to assist a smooth transition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s engagement in education has been a challenge for the manager and staff team. Staff have struggled to motivate and engage children in their education and attendance has been poor. However. the staff team has worked well with education professionals to try and overcome the barriers. In some cases, however, this has not always been enough to make a meaningful difference.

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

There has been a prolonged period when staff have not had to use physical restraint with children living in the home. However, when restraint is necessary, it is used Inspection report for children’s home: 1246831 4 proportionately and as a last resort to promote children’s safety. Children are spoken to after restraint is used as are staff members to consider if anything could have been done differently.

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

Safeguarding concerns are recognised and well responded to, increasing children’s safety. Furthermore, there is a mechanism for leaders and managers to have an overview of concerns and identify when there is an increase to highlight and review this promptly, to identify any emerging patterns and take action where necessary.

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

While safeguarding practices are generally of a good standard, details of the actions staff need to take to manage the assessed risks are not always clear in the documents.

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

When children have left sooner than originally planned, the managers and staff team hold a review to look at what lessons can be learned from the experience. This has led to feedback to the wider network, as well as looking internally at processes and practices.

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

Feedback from professionals is consistently positive. The manager has a good working relationship with the wider professional network and his communication was often cited as a strength. One professional commented on how much the manager and staff had achieved with a child in a short space of time.

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

Children are routinely part of house meetings, which is a culture the manager supports. Feedback through these channels is responded to and children see actions being taken as a result of their feedback.

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

Some documents are written in the first person from the child’s perspective, even though they have not been consulted on the document in its entirety. This lessens the impact of the document, as evaluations and analysis of the information are diluted to fit into this format.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a stable and capable manager and deputy manager. Staff spoke highly of their management style and the trust they have in the managers to lead the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy manager are very supportive of the staff team. Supervision is delivered regularly and is of good quality, with clear and accurate recordings. Similarly, team meetings are prioritised and information about referrals is discussed as a team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When there have been instances of poor practice, investigations are timely and thorough with robust policies in place to manage such instances.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers consider the suitability of staff to work in the home. However, in one example, leaders had not completed overseas checks as part of safer recruitment Inspection report for children’s home: 1246831 5 practices. This is being addressed by the provider, with a delayed start date for that staff member while the issue is rectified. Inspection report for children’s home: 1246831 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that a certificate of good conduct is obtained when a prospective employee has worked and/or lived overseas. 14 October 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. In particular, the registered person should Inspection report for children’s home: 1246831 7 carefully consider the appropriateness of recording the child’s information using first- person narrative. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that children are in full-time education while they are of compulsory school age, unless their personal education plan contained within the care plan or other relevant plan states otherwise. The home must aim to support full-time attendance at school, unless the child’s relevant plan indicates this is not in their best interests. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality

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Recommendations

standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.14)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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: 1246831 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Beaufort Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2 Hollygrove Business Park, Verwood Road, Ringwood, Dorset, BH24 2DB

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Amanda Goodenough

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Inspector

Katie Ratcliffe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1246831 9 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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