Children's Home run by South West Childcare Services in Plymouth

Inspection report for children’s home: 1254740 1 Registered provider: South West Childcare Services Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private organisation. It provides care for up to two children who may have needs associated with social and emotional difficulties and may also have experienced loss, trauma and abuse.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home. The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since February 2022.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

Good

How well children and young people are helped and protected Good

p.1

Good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Good

p.1

Good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

Good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

Good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1254740 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/06/2023 Full Good 25/05/2022 Full Good 25/11/2021 Interim Improved effectiveness 09/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1254740 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in this home make good progress across a range of areas. Children’s risk- taking behaviours have reduced, and their self-care skills improved. Children develop some close relationships with staff. One child has made considerable progress with the relationships they share with their family members during their time in the home. This child and her family are now spending regular time together.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to engage in enjoyable activities, such as going to the cinema, bowling and on trips to theme parks. One child has been supported by staff to join police cadets. This means that this child has been able to learn about something which is of interest to them and have a further opportunity to make friends.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff speak affectionately about children and know them well. The children mostly speak about having good relationships with staff. They feel that their views are often listened to and they know how to raise complaints. When there have been concerns about one child spending considerable time away from the home, staff have made clear plans and efforts to develop their relationships with this child.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is well decorated and has a homely feel throughout. Children have a say in how their bedrooms are decorated and they both have various personal items on display.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home this is well planned and thoughtful. They have frequent opportunities to meet with staff and plan their bedrooms before moving into the home. When there are plans to move children on from the home, children develop skills to help them manage this transition.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met, and they are encouraged to take responsibility for self- administering medication when this is in line with their stage of development. Staff engage in sessions with a therapist. These sessions provide helpful advice and guidance around how staff are to work with children. The therapist has recommended that the staff use a therapeutic approach with one of the children, and staff are trained in this approach. However, it is not consistently understood or used.

p.3

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

When children raise concerns about staff practice, these are taken seriously by leaders and managers and are appropriately referred to the local authority designated officer and investigated accordingly. Investigations are timely, outcomes are clear and appropriate feedback is given to children.

p.3

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

During this inspection period, the police have been called by staff on two occasions to manage children’s behaviour. This has been to safeguard other children in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 1254740 4 Following these incidents, management oversight and learning takes place. Staff are booked to receive refresher training to help them manage these situations moving forward.

p.3

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

Children being missing from home is diligently responded to. Staff actively search for children when they are missing and try to maintain communication with them. Staff communicate with relevant professionals to ensure that children are brought back to the home as soon as possible. Children are welcomed home and supported to have reflective conversations with staff following these incidents.

p.4

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

When children harm themselves, staff respond in a nurturing and supportive way. Staff’s nurturing response to children has likely contributed to a reduction in risk-taking behaviours from some children in the home.

p.4

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

Relevant conversations aimed at children’s risk-taking behaviours take place. These conversations are carefully planned each month. Healthy relationships, substance misuse and going missing have all been topics of conversations with one child.The meaningful work carried out by staff means that children have been helped to learn how to keep themselves safe, and this will have contributed to a reduction in some of their risk-taking behaviours.

p.4

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

Care plans and risk assessments outline useful background information about children and how staff should respond to incidents. However, guidance for staff about how to meet children’s needs is not always clear, and language that has an institutional feel is sometimes used.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed and dedicated to her role. There is an established and experienced staff team, which provides stability and consistency for the children in the home. The manager is providing a good standard of care and leading the staff team well.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a clear vision for the development of this home. Staff who work in the home say that they are supported well. They say that they are a close and committed team of staff who work hard to achieve good outcomes for the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Social workers report positively on the quality of care provided at the home. They also feel that there is good partnership working between the manager and say that staff know the children ‘inside out’. Family members speak very highly of the positive relationships they have formed with the staff team and of the way that staff have always welcomed them into the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers take children’s educational outcomes seriously. Where service provision has fallen below expectations, they have appropriately challenged external professionals. Children are helped to meet their educational potential while living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 1254740 5 Team meetings take place regularly and are an important arena to discuss incidents that have happened in the home. Staff are encouraged to reflect and learn from these incidents. Supervision sessions are also carried out regularly and include reflection on incidents which have taken place. Learning is taken from incidents and managers are continually seeking to improve standards of care. Inspection report for children’s home: 1254740 6

p.4

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

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)(b)(iv))

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff training is understood and implemented appropriately by staff as set out and recommended in children’s plans. 9 December 2024

p.6

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: 1254740 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: South West Childcare Services

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 4AH

p.7

Inspector

Min Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1254740 8 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.7

Inspector

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.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8