Children's home run by Somerset Council in Somerset

Inspection report for children's home: SC066055 1 SC066055 Registered provider: Somerset Council

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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 provides short breaks for children with complex health needs and special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about this children's home

Five children are currently receiving a service and have short breaks at the home. One child was visiting during the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

This inspection was brought forward following a complaint. The information in the complaint was considered at this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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outstanding

The children's home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children's home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 15 November 2023

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC066055 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/11/2023 Full Good 31/08/2022 Full Good 08/12/2021 Full Good 24/09/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC066055 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Five children are having regular stays in this short-breaks home. One child was seen and spoken to during the inspection. Children enjoy their short breaks and make exceptional progress because their needs are prioritised by the adults who care for them. Children have been supported exceptionally well to express their wishes and feelings more frequently. They are consulted regularly and are encouraged to be involved in decisions that are made about them. They are encouraged to be more independent through making choices and being more involved in their day-to-day routines. Children can choose and engage in different activities both inside and outside of the home. They are involved regularly in making choices about the things that they would like to do or the places they would like to visit.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children appear happy and settled during their stays, and they look forward to their short breaks. All the parents spoke positively about their children’s experiences and considered their children to be well cared for. One parent said that their child is excited several days before their stay and will talk about this at home regularly. Another parent commented that they would not hesitate to recommend the home to other parents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have access to a wide range of opportunities during their stays. They can do activities that they would not usually do at home. Children enjoy taking part in activities both inside and outside of the home. One child had an extended stay at the home for a week, so their parents were able to have a holiday. The child was very involved in choosing the activities that they did each day, many of which they pre-planned. The child was able to travel into the city to visit museums, take part in laser tag and see giraffes and zebras at an animal park. Once back at the home, they also enjoyed water play and had a movie night with the adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children make excellent progress in the home, and they respond well to the routines and boundaries that are in place for them. They enjoy being involved in preparing their own food or making plans for special occasions. Children are involved in activities to help raise money to improve their local area. During the summer, the children, staff and family members all took part in a sponsored walk in the local park to raise money for a new pond for the garden. Family members are regularly invited to the home to spend time with the staff and children. There is a plan for the staff, children and family members to go bowling at Christmas and to have a Christmas party. The staff are developing a grotto in the home so the children can all be involved in this during the Christmas period.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The adults take an interest in the experiences that children have outside of the home, and they put bespoke plans in place for each child. They have visited children’s schools to spend time with children in their classrooms, or visited the children at home with their families. All of this support helps to develop strong working relationships between the staff and other adults who are caring for the children. Inspection report for children's home: SC066055 4 When one child is not able to attend their short breaks due to regular stays in hospital, the staff visit the child at the hospital and spend time with them there. There is positive communication between the staff, families and professionals. Staff contact parents and carers before children’s stays to ensure that they have up-to-date information about children’s health needs. This means that staff are always fully prepared with up-to-date information about each child to ensure that children receive the absolute best levels of

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

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 is a spacious garden for children to play in. Children’s bedrooms are personalised before their stays, and this helps children to feel relaxed and at ease. There are lovely photos on the walls of children having fun and smiling during activities. Children enjoy sitting with staff to watch movies or to do craft activities. When one child’s interests changed as he developed, staff made changes to the décor in his bedroom so that he could enjoy a room that is more suitable for a teenager.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The adults have a strong understanding of the children’s needs, and they care for them in a way that maintains their privacy and dignity. They listen to children’s views and ensure that any changes to children’s care, fully consider their views. They provide lovely photo diaries and updates about children’s experiences during their stays. This ensures that families and professionals are up to date about children’s experiences.

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

Safeguarding has been managed well in the home. Staff understand the vulnerability of the children who they care for, and they place children’s needs at the centre of their practice. They take strong and decisive action to ensure that children are safe and well cared for. The adults work hard to identify any potential safeguarding concerns, and take prompt action when this is needed.

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

There has been one safeguarding concern raised since the last inspection and concerns were raised about staff practice. Appropriate action was taken by leaders and managers to follow their safeguarding procedures and refer to appropriate agencies.

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

Communication with families, social workers and other professionals is timely and effective in helping to keep children safe and promote their welfare. Staff know the children well and can interpret children's communication and behaviour, so they understand when children are not well or unhappy. When this happens, the adults take prompt action to address any worries for the child, and seek advice from health professionals in a timely way.

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

There is positive practice around prescription medication in the home. When worries about medication are identified, these are checked and followed up by staff. There are regular audits taking place, which support the manager and staff to ensure that there is good practice in the home. When one medication error was identified recently, there was Inspection report for children's home: SC066055 5 a delay in action being taken by staff. This was recognised by the manager, who took prompt action to ensure that it was followed up in a timely way. Managers address any concerns about staff practice during supervision and at team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and knowledgeable. She knows the children well and can talk about them in detail. The manager is ambitious for children, the home and the staff who work there. She has developed a strong, open culture in the home. When children need input from specialist health professionals, this is identified by the manager and requested. Children’s complex needs are understood and well supported. There is a constant drive from the manager to support the children to have new experiences and make progress from their starting points.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Positive feedback was received from professionals about children’s care. One professional said that the staff are ‘amazing’ and very child centred in their practice. They are always looking at what is best for each child and involve the children in decisions that are made about them. They will regularly challenge others when needed. Communication with parents and family members is fantastic. This all supports the children to make good progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a stable team of staff who work consistently with the children. There is one vacancy, and a new staff member is being recruited. There are sufficient staff in place to meet the needs of the children who are staying in the home. There are good relationships observed between the staff, which impact positively on the care that is provided to children. The manager has high expectations of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff have a good understanding of the children’s needs and how to care for them. Staff said that they enjoy working in the home. They feel well supported by their managers and find them to be approachable. The staff said that 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 in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers know what works well in the home and any areas for development. They spoke openly about the ways in which they want to develop the home so that there is more space for children to play. A sensory room is being developed, and there are plans for a paperless system to be developed. Managers are thoughtful about ways to develop levels of staff training, so they are constantly gaining new skills. Inspection report for children's home: SC066055 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: SC066055 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Taunton, Somerset TA1 4DY

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Inspector

Sarah Sheffield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC066055 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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