Children's Home run by 1848 Ltd in Somerset

Inspection report for children’s home: 2592531 1 Registered provider: 1848 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 provides care for up to two children who may have emotional or behavioural difficulties. It is operated by a private provider. At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home, having moved there in August 2020 and November 2023. The inspector was able to spend time with both children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2020. The manager was on leave. The responsible individual and deputy manager were available throughout the inspection.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 28 February 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: 2592531 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2024 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Good 11/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2592531 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy, supported and making progress. Chattiness, laughter and fun can be heard throughout the home. When the children need support, they receive responsive, compassionate and nurturing care, with attuned sensitivity from staff who know them well and have developed positive relationships with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to pursue their interests and participate in fun activities. One child was supported to attend the cadets and to achieve their ambition to volunteer with St John Ambulance, helping to develop their confidence and skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make good use of the rural location and support the children by using the large outside areas, including for reflection outdoors. There is a polytunnel that is used to grow vegetables in the summer months, and outbuildings are used for paddling pools, parties and celebrations. The children enjoy walking and connection with animals; there are two house cats, and nearby there are goats and horses. The children enjoy walking, especially when the staff bring their dogs on the walk.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff have high ambitions for children and understand the importance of education. They support children who are not in formal education to access tutoring and engage in educational activities during the school day. Staff have worked with the multi-agency team to address drift and delay in the allocation of a school for a child. As a result, both children are now attending school. One child’s placement is new and in a new provision. Consequently, staff are currently collaborating with a school governor to plan how the home and school can work together to reduce the risk of educational breakdown.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported to have positive experiences and time with family, friends and significant people. Arrangements are well supported and planned with clear consideration of risk. One child has been encouraged and supported to progress their family time in a way that supports their independence plan and move on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One parent told the inspector that staff have supported them and the child with family time, giving advice and guidance to them both. Consequently, they have an improved relationship with their child. They reported positive communication and felt the relationship with the manager and staff at the home was positive but they were worried how their child would cope with the ending of all the relationships. The staff and manager had not shared the planning or proposals of outreach support or explained the ‘connected bond’ ethos of the home.

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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2592531 4 Children are supported by staff who are attuned to their needs. Staff provide personal care sensitively to preserve the child’s dignity and safety. One child has received significant support from staff to teach them life skills. As a result, the child can now independently shower, dress, wash their hair and brush their teeth. This significantly reduces their reliance on adults to meet their needs and decreases their vulnerability to harm.

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

Managers and staff ensure that children are involved, prepared and supported during moves in and from the home. The two children are at different stages. One child is about to celebrate their one-year anniversary at the home and is being encouraged to make choices about the party. Another child is imminently planning a move to semi- independence after living in the home for four years. They have been supported to develop important life skills, including cooking and budgeting, and have learnt how to keep themselves safe. These actions are helping the children to become more confident and independent.

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

Children’s bedrooms reflect their interests and are decorated in their chosen colours. One child’s bedroom has few items or belongings due to their sensory needs. Staff communicate the home ethos well and speak about the use of physical restraint as a last option. They confidently talk about positive care strategies that they use as alternatives. When physical restraint is used, leaders and managers review the records and provide oversight and debriefs and take action to improve care when areas of improvement are identified. Staff are responsive to learning from these.

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

Leaders, managers and staff are sensitive to the needs of children who self-injure and are reflective of how they can support the child during and after episodes. For one child, the manager and staff with the hospital practitioners have developed an admission plan. This plan provides hospital staff with the information they require to understand the child’s emotional, social and behavioural needs, promoting effective responses that reduce the stress for the child.

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good

Leaders and managers know the children and their needs well and understand the challenges within the home. The staff team is celebrating the achievements of the child moving on and emotionally processing this huge change. The responsible individual plans for the staff to have the opportunity to reflect on the change and to think about learning before another child comes to live in the home.

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good

Managers ensure that supervision is taking place regularly for all staff. Staff feel supported and enjoy the process. There are examples of quality reflective practice taking place; however, this is not consistently captured in the supervision records.

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good

The home’s statement of purpose sets out the training and skills that staff will acquire to assure quality of care. The manager is not effectively overseeing this, so some staff have not completed all mandatory training in reasonable timescales. The responsible Inspection report for children’s home: 2592531 5 individual is not assured that the workforce is appropriately skilled in line with theirs and the organisational expectations.

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good

Leaders, managers, and staff are committed to continuing the relationship with the child who is soon to move on, to provide an additional support system. The concept of ‘continued bonds’ is set out in the statement of purpose. Currently, what this looks like in practical terms has not been set out in writing for the child or their family. This creates ambiguity and avoidable stress has been caused.

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good

Leaders and managers have not adequately ensured that the communication needs of one child are fully responded to. Although specialist assessments are complete, there is not a plan that sets out effective communication options, for example Picture Exchange Communication System, social stories and other nonverbal communication supports. There has also been significant delay, drift and discharge from a service because of poor oversight and inaction. The negative impact of these delays on the child is accepted and understood by the responsible individual, and action is being taken.

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good

Leaders and managers ensure that appropriate safeguarding processes are followed, and children are fully supported, including when staff are involved. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592531 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that each child is provided with support, appropriate to their age and understanding, to communicate their views, wishes and feelings and participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. This may include the use of and support to use communication aids, equipment and/or any necessary language support. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)  The registered person should ensure that a record of supervision is kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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Recommendations

 The home has an important role in supporting each child leaving the home in the period immediately before their departure. The registered person should work with the placing authority to ensure that each child’s transition is planned and help each child to prepare for leaving both practically and emotionally. The relates to the need for the “connected bonds” approach to be embedded in practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.9)

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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: 2592531 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Old Bank Buildings, East Street, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0AJ

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Inspector

Ashley Arkless, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2592531 8 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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