Children's home run by SW Education & Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2789796 1 Registered provider: SW Education & Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted on 24 May 2024 and is operated by a private provider of social care. It offers 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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2789796 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is a large, cosy and welcoming home. The child has added personal touches to the home environment. This includes changing rooms around and personalising their bedroom. The child was seen for extended periods throughout the inspection and was spoken to alone.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One family member said that a child has made progress in the brief time they have been living in the home. A professional said that the child is making ‘amazing’ progress. They attribute the progress made to the care provided by carers. They have seen the child become settled and build positive and open relationships with carers, which has not happened in previous homes. The family member said that the frequency of risky behaviours shown by the child, such as self-harming and going missing from care, has lessened since they have moved into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers understand the significance of children’s relationships with family and friends. They support children to spend time with people close to them in a safe way. When children have found these relationships unsafe or difficult to navigate and understand, carers have listened to their worries and provided support and guidance. Concerns in respect of children’s time with family and friends are addressed in the multi-agency arena. This has resulted in thorough planning to promote the well-being and safety of the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. Carers have open, honest and educational conversations with them about their physical, sexual and mental health. Carers are proactive in sharing information with and requesting support from mental health professionals for the benefit of children. They utilise the support of the commissioned psychologist, whose guidance benefits care planning for children. Carers are sensitive to children’s past experiences of services and advocate for what they believe is in their best interests. Carers have carried out some monitoring of the impact of a child’s medication. This raised concerns that the medication was not having a positive impact on the child. Concerns were shared with external professionals and raised awareness of the need for updating assessments of the child and their medication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers work with education professionals with the aim of providing children with positive learning experiences. Planning for children’s education begins before they move into the home. Children are engaged in planning for their education. They are encouraged and supported to attend meetings where their views and rights are clearly advocated for. When children do not attend school, carers support them to engage with tutors and take part in educational activities in the home and community. The registered manager has been proactive in advocating for a child’s needs to be assessed for an education, health and care plan. Inspection report for children’s home: 2789796 3 Planning for children to move into the home is robust. Carers gather information from those who know the children well. This has supported analysis and decision-making in relation to their ability to meet the child’s needs. One family member said that they felt

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

very included in the process and that this was beneficial for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved out of the home due to escalating and unmanageable levels of risk. As levels of risk escalated, safety planning was revised, and leaders and managers clearly communicated their concerns to other professionals. Reviews to take learning from this ending have been carried out.

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

The child who lives in the home said that they feel settled and safe. They said that carers spend time talking to and listening to them, which has led to them quickly forming trusting relationships. They are aware of the care planning to keep them safe. They understand why boundaries and safeguards have been put in place. Carers approach sensitive topics, such as self-harm, suicidal ideation and negative thoughts, in a child- centred way. The child said that this has led to them feeling able to seek out carers at times when they are feeling low, particularly at night.

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

Carers have a good knowledge and understanding of the risks that children may experience. This and the child’s experiences and narrative are transferred into clear and informative planning that aims to keep children safe. Conversations between children and carers address risks, which includes alcohol and drugs misuse. Carers have appropriately shared their own life experiences to support and educate children. One professional said that assessing risk for a child has been challenging due to the complexity of their needs. However, despite this, carers have worked with them and the child to gain better understanding of how to support the child.

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

The quality of planning to prevent children going missing from the home is mixed. Plans are regularly updated to include known and emerging risks and contributing factors that may lead to a child going missing. However, they do not provide carers with guidance to prevent a child from going missing in the community when this is a regular occurrence. The response of carers when the child evaded their care was appropriate.

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

Children experience carers who implement consistent boundaries and use therapeutic parenting. Written recordings that detail the actions of carers and children are comprehensive. Carers show resilience and patience in challenging situations. When restraint has been used, it has been appropriate. Children are spoken to following incidents. This supports them to reflect on their actions and behaviours.

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

Safeguarding concerns are logged, investigated and monitored effectively. When necessary, information is shared with external agencies to ensure that a multi-agency response is taken. The child said that the registered manager has dealt with any concerns that they have raised and informed them of the outcomes. Inspection report for children’s home: 2789796 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a calm and reflective manager, who was present in the home throughout the inspection. The positive relationships that he has built with the rest of the leadership and management team, the carers and children are evident. The manager attends daily handover meetings and works to promote the autonomy and development of carers, particularly in relation to decision-making. His oversight, analysis, monitoring and evaluation are evident throughout care planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Carers spoken to are very positive about the home and say that they like working there. They know the children who they care for well. They highlighted the good level of support and guidance that they receive from leaders and managers in relation to developing their practice and their overall well-being. Carers work in shift partnerships designed to complement their individual personalities and skills. They said that this is beneficial for them and for the children they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Carers receive regular formal and informal supervision. Managers ensure that they engage carers in reflective discussions following incidents or challenging shifts. Carers say that they find this beneficial. Managers promote reflection and discussion of practice where learning needs are recognised, and good practice is celebrated. Actions are identified and recorded. However, they are not always reviewed to ensure that they have been completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers manage concerns in relation to the practice of carers appropriately. When a multi-agency response is required, information is shared promptly. Investigations that are carried out by leaders and managers are thorough.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders, managers and carers regularly meet to discuss the home and the children. Written recordings of these meetings do not provide a good insight into the discussions and collaborative decision-making that take place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recruitment practices ensure that checks necessary to determine whether carers are safe to work with children are carried out. When agency staff are used, managers ensure that they have the skills and knowledge they need to support the children who live in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2789796 5

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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.

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Requirement Due date

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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that plans include clear safeguarding actions for carers to take when children are at risk of going missing from the home. 14 December 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that carers 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 team meetings show the discussions and reflection that take place. Any actions resulting from team meetings and supervision sessions should be reviewed to ensure that they have been completed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20) Inspection report for children’s home: 2789796 6

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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: 2789796 7

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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: 2789796 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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