Children's home run by SW Education & Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2711689 1 Registered provider: SW Education & Care Ltd

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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 of social care and was registered with Ofsted on 23 November 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for up to two children. At the time of this inspection, one child was living in 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

Date of last inspection: 1 and 2 June 2023

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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: 2711689 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/06/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2711689 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a large home that has a warm and inviting feel. It meets the needs of the child who is currently living there. The child’s artwork and photographs decorate the walls in communal areas. The child’s bedroom has been personalised with their choice of paint colour and lighting. The home is full of the child’s belongings and houses their pets, which also have use of a large run, built by the child and a carer in a communal area. During this inspection the child was seen and spoken to both alone and with carers present.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences while living in the home. Carers take time to get to know the children, their likes, dislikes and life experiences. Children enjoy activities in line with their interests. This includes baking, art and visiting stables and animal centres. Their experiences are documented in comprehensive written logs and bright, detailed memory books. Carers gain children’s views and act on these. One child is supported to choose how to spend their time out of the home and to choose which carer they want to support them during this time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are engaged in planning for their education. When appropriate, children are supported to attend meetings. The registered manager was instrumental in getting an education, health and care plan for a child, acknowledging that this was essential in securing the right opportunities for them. When children do not attend school carers support them to engage with tutors and to complete educational activities in the home and community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers meet children’s physical health needs. They are supported to attend appointments and to understand why they take medication. Planning is underway to support a child to attend appointments independently with the aim of promoting their independence in line with age-appropriate development. Ongoing support to help a child to stop smoking is in place. This is being done delicately due to the child’s expressed reliance on smoking to support their mental health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers show awareness and understanding of children’s mental health needs. The response to a child’s experiences of loss and grief was child-focused and led to the creation of a memorial sunflower garden. Children receive therapeutic parenting and considerate, accepting and warm responses at times of upset and crisis. In recognising a child’s previous negative experiences of mental health services, carers sought their views in relation to which services they would engage with and appropriate referrals were made. The organisation played an integral part in commissioning an up-to-date psychiatric assessment for a child. However, this service was unable to meet the child’s needs. This left the child without support that was essential to their well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers acknowledge the importance of family relationships for children. Children talk to carers about their family and important relationships. This allows carers to assess what Inspection report for children’s home: 2711689 4 support and guidance children need. When necessary, prompt action has been taken to implement safeguarding measures. Carers carefully plan the time that children spend with their loved ones, helping to make this time fun and memorable.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A social worker said that carers had gone ‘above and beyond’ with the planning for a child to move into the home and the standard of ongoing care provided. They praised carers’ ability to be creative in their thinking. This has led to the child forming trusting relationships and feeling more able to talk about their feelings.

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

The child said that they feel safe and happy living in the home. They described positive and open relationships with carers who listen to them. The child said that this is the most settled they have felt for a long time. Carers support the child to care for their pets, which are very important to them and encourage the child to do educational activities. There is a lot of laughter, fun and jokes between the child and carers.

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

Carers have a good knowledge and understanding of risk. They talk openly, honestly and knowledgably to children about their concerns. This has included discussions around safe relationships, suicidal ideation, self-harm, mental health and going missing from care. When appropriate to do so, the child is involved in the safety planning that takes place. This aims to bring the child on board and reduce risk. When the child has harmed themselves, they inform carers, allowing them to provide the assistance and support they require. This shows the depth of the trust that has been built up over a period.

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

Responses to children leaving the home are immediate to prevent them from going missing or coming to harm. Carers recognise the vulnerabilities of children who live in the home and follow informative plans. They remain attentive to children, using different techniques to deescalate situations and to support children to feel safe and loved.

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

There are rarely incidents in the home. However, when incidents do occur, most of them have been significant. Carers use their knowledge of children, their triggers and experiences when supporting children through these challenging times. The child said that carers help them when they are feeling angry or upset. Minimal restraints have taken place. No concerns were identified regarding the practice at these times.

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

Children and carers are spoken to following incidents. The conversations that take place are structured and reflective, supporting children to consider their own actions and the action of others. The well-being of children and carers is the priority of managers who lead these conversations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report for children’s home: 2711689 5 The home is led by an experienced and committed manager. His presence in the home and his style of working has allowed him to form positive relationships with the team and children. He has good oversight of practice. His ethos of openness and transparency has led him to involve children in their care planning. This is linked to positive outcomes for the child who lives in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Carers said that they like working in the home. They described a cohesive team of staff whose strengths are communication, openness, honesty and having a clear focus on the children who live there. Staff spoke positively about the registered manager and the support that they receive from the senior managers, who are visible in the home and are approachable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers provide carers with regular supervision. Carers said that supervision is reflective and full of discussion that supports them to develop their practice. However, most written records detailing the content of supervision does not reflect this. Similar to this are the recordings of team meetings and team clinical supervision. Carers say that these are inclusive, discuss their practice and the children. They said that they take learning from these meetings. However, this is not reflected within the written records. Written records of clinical supervision do not reflect the clinical aspect of these important meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Complaints and concerns raised by children about carers are dealt with swiftly. Managers seek guidance and advice from external professionals. This has promoted transparency and shared decision-making for the benefit of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recruitment practice ensures that checks to determine whether carers are safe to work with children are carried out. When concerns have been raised, a risk assessment has been completed. However, the risk assessment has not been reviewed. Neither the concerns raised during the recruitment process nor the risk assessment have been addressed with the carer during supervision. This provides no assurances that the carer has reflected on previous practice concerns.

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. 17 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2711689 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children receive appropriate support to address poor mental health. If a child chooses not to engage with a service, the registered person must, without delay, consider and implement other avenues of support to prevent further deterioration of the child’s mental health.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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 and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare.

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Requirement Due date

That the care is delivered by a person who—

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Requirement Due date

has the experience, knowledge and skills to deliver that care. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(ii) (3)(c)(i)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when concerns have been raised in relation to a carer’s practice and 17 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2711689 7 requires a risk assessment, this is regularly reviewed to ensure reflection and learning.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that supervision addresses any practice concerns so that children are not at risk of harm through poor or unsafe practice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff follow the home’s policies and procedures to benefit the children who live there. There should be clear lines of accountability. In particular, the registered person should ensure that documents detailing supervisions and team meetings show the discussion and reflection that take place. Also, that any actions resulting from team meetings and supervisions are reviewed to ensure that they have been completed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20).

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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: 2711689 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: SW Education & Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Higher Barn, Pound Lane, Bishops Lydeard, Taunton TA4 3DN

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Inspector

Carla Simkiss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2711689 9 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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