Children's home run by Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in Cornwall

Inspection report for children’s home: SC428956 1 SC428956 Registered provider: Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

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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 managed by an NHS Foundation Trust. It offers short breaks for up to two children with complex health needs and a learning and/or physical disability. Some children have life-limiting conditions that affect their activities and daily living.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 2013.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were having an overnight stay 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC428956 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/07/2023 Full Good 22/11/2022 Full Good 26/10/2021 Full Good 08/10/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC428956 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Six children are having regular stays in this short break home. Two children were seen and spoken to during the inspection. One child enjoyed going swimming with the adults and had fun playing in the jacuzzi. Another child enjoyed chilling out and playing with sensory toys. Children enjoy their short breaks and seem happy during their stays. They enjoy a range of activities both inside and outside of the home. This includes sensory play, going swimming, visiting places of interest or theme parks, and having fun outings to the beach. One child enjoyed going on holiday with staff. The short breaks enable children to spend time with other children so that they can make friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents report that their children look forward to their short breaks and they enjoy their time in the home. They consider their children are well cared for. One parent said, ‘The staff are amazing; we love this home. Our child has such an amazing time. The staff always work together with us, and they are incredibly supportive of our family.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in this home. They are cared for by a stable team of staff who know the children well. The adults have a good understanding of the children’s needs, and they care for children in a way that maintains their privacy and dignity. Staff communicate well with children and give them meaningful choices about things they might like. One child was seen enjoying playing and reading books with staff. The staff sing songs and play games to make children smile.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming, clean and comfortable. There are comfortable sofas to sit on and spacious areas for children to play in. The rooms are bright and cheerful. There are lovely photos on the walls of children having fun. There is a ‘wow board’ in the passageway that shows the positive progress that children have made. Children enjoy sitting with staff to watch television, to read books or to have meals at the dining table. There is a lovely spacious garden for children to play in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly and their health needs are met to a good standard. When concerns were raised for the safety of one child, the staff advocated well for this child and challenged the practice of others. They monitor the health needs of each child, to ensure their needs are being met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported by staff who are provided with detailed information about the children they care for. Care plans are detailed and thorough and ensure that staff are kept up to date about any changes to children’s health needs. Staff maintain regular contact with parents or carers to enquire about their child and ensure that staff receive any updated information. This means that staff are fully prepared with up-to-date information about each child, to ensure they receive the absolute best levels of care during their short break. Parents and external professionals are also provided with regular feedback after children’s stays. Inspection report for children’s home: SC428956 4 Children do not have access to the internet in this home. This means that things that many children take for granted, such as streaming their favourite movies or using an electronic device for learning, are simply not available to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do not receive independent advocacy to support them with making important decisions. This means that they may not always have a say in important decisions about their futures, such as where they want to live or who they want to live with.

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

Safeguarding has been managed well in this home. Staff understand the vulnerability of the children that they care for and place children’s needs at the centre of their practice. They take strong action to ensure that children remain safe. Although there have been a small number of incidents with children, these have been managed well. When staff were worried about one child in another environment, they advocated strongly for the child and took action to challenge the professionals who are involved.

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

Restrictive practices and restraints have been used on some occasions in relation to one child. This has been necessary to keep the child safe. Due to this child’s complex needs, they wear a splint on one arm to prevent self-injurious behaviour. This restriction is closely monitored through restrictive practice review meetings, in which the staff play an important part. One senior carer knows this child well and advocates strongly for them. During these meetings, all other restrictive practice for this child is carefully reviewed by all the professionals. This includes the use of visual monitoring throughout the night. When this child removed their splint during the night, staff acted promptly to intervene to ensure that this child remained safe. Positive learning and reflection were taken from this incident to learn what needs to be in place for this child’s future stays.

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

Staff regularly monitor children’s presentation to observe whether they have sustained any bruising or injuries, and they are curious about how this could have occurred. The adults take swift action when any safeguarding concerns are identified. There is effective communication between staff, family members and professionals. This positive action helps to keep children safe.

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

Children are supported positively to make progress in many areas of their life, such as toileting or receiving personal care. This includes helping children to tolerate different environments, to have new experiences or to be around unfamiliar faces. One child previously struggled to tolerate water but is now able to shower happily and has enjoyed going swimming. Another child struggled with unfamiliar faces and is now happier to be cared for by a wider range of adults.

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

There is positive practice around prescription medication in this home. When worries about medication are identified, this is checked and followed up by staff. This ensures that children are always prescribed the correct medication. There are regular audits taking place, and this supports the manager and staff to ensure that there is good practice in this home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC428956 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in post for over ten years, and she knows the children well. She has good knowledge of the staff and the children in this home. The manager is ambitious for children, the staff and the home. Children’s complex needs are understood and well supported. There is a constant drive from the manager, to support children to have new experiences and to make progress from their starting points.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a stable team of staff who are working consistently with the children. They have a good understanding of the children’s needs and how to care for them. Staff indicated that they enjoy working in this home. They have regular supervision and access to good levels of training. They spoke positively about new training that has been identified to support them in caring for the children. Regular team meetings are held, and these are well attended. This helps to improve practice in this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have good oversight of the arrangements in the home. They understand what is working well, and any areas that need further development. The manager has supported staff to record information about children in an appropriate way, and this is evident in children’s records. There are positive levels of management oversight in children’s records to ensure that information is recorded clearly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Positive feedback was received from professionals about children’s care. One professional said, ‘This is a wonderful and much-needed short breaks home. The team creates a happy and caring environment where children can learn explore and feel safe in a home- to-home environment.’ They described how this is a much-needed service for many families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Independent visits to the home are completed regularly. However, they often take place when children are not present in the home. This makes it difficult for the visitor to fully assess whether children are safe or if their needs are being fully met. This has not been challenged effectively by leaders and managers. Inspection report for children’s home: SC428956 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, 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 ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives, and persons working at the home as the independent person requires; and

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

A visit by the independent person to the home may be unannounced.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5)) 10 December 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children can access advocacy support, and they should consider the use of an independent advocate where necessary. (‘Guide to Inspection report for children’s home: SC428956 7 the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.18)  The registered person should ensure that children have access to a computer and the internet to support their education and learning unless there are specific safeguarding reasons why this would be inappropriate. In such cases, the home should consider whether and how it can support the child to access a computer and the internet safely. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 29, paragraph 5.19)

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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: SC428956 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Trust Head Office, Carew House, Beacon Technology Park, Dunmere Road, Bodmin PL31 2QN

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Inspector

Sarah Sheffield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC428956 9 regulates 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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Inspector

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