Children's home run by New Forest Care Limited in Southampton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC402135 1 SC402135 Registered provider: New Forest Care Limited

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to four children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The organisation has its own separately registered schools on different sites, and its own therapy team. The inspector only inspected the social care provision.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2023. The manager has a level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare and is enrolled on the level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management course.

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

Date of last inspection: 13 February 2024

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC402135 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/02/2024 Full Good 07/03/2023 Full Good 22/02/2022 Full Good 26/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC402135 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and each child’s bedroom is decorated to their tastes, reflecting their unique personalities. Some areas of the home are being decorated and areas of the home that required attention were dealt with before the end of the inspection.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have strong relationships with staff, who have worked hard to develop trusting and secure bonds with them. They spend time with them and listen to any concerns they have, taking time and showing an interest in their daily lives. Interactions between the children and the staff are jovial and confident. One member of staff is giving up their time over the festive period to ensure that a child can see their family on Christmas Day. One parent described staff as ‘amazing’ and said they ‘couldn’t ask for a better place’ for their child.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have experienced stability living in the home. However, following an incident, one child left the home in circumstances that were not ideal. This meant that their move on from the home could not be managed as well as it should have been.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are making progress. They are all in education, have good attendance and are achieving good results. One school professional described a child’s attendance record as ‘outstanding’. Any barriers to learning are considered and acted on so that children enjoy going to school. Feedback from other professionals confirms that the home’s staff communicate well with school staff, which encourages children to prepare for the following day. One child is being supported to communicate with their social worker about their school placement, so that their views and wishes are heard.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are being supported to develop their independence in line with their age and level of understanding. Boundaries that are put in place to support children to take manageable risks are realistic. Staff understand that children may not adhere to the plans and are ready to help and guide them when necessary.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to take part in activities, such as dancing, fishing and karate. These have helped children to develop their confidence and build self-esteem, as well as promote friendships.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are registered with local health services and attend regular check-ups and appointments. The staff have sought support from the home’s therapist to manage a behavioural issue relating to one child. Staff are managing the situation sensitively and have plans in place to manage the behaviour and support the child. The home’s therapist attends the home regularly to help staff understand children’s complex needs and works with them to develop strategies to manage any associated risks.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to learn respect for one another. This positive behaviour is role modelled by staff and helps children to understand how to build and maintain Inspection report for children’s home: SC402135 4 relationships in the future. Key-work sessions and children’s meetings evidence the work that staff carry out to enable children to manage living together by talking about their feelings with one another.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend time with their families when this is appropriate, preparing them for returning home if this is their plan.

p.4

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

Staff understand children’s risks and there are systems in place that alert them when risks change. There is an understanding that children need to take risks so they can learn and grow into adulthood. These risks are anticipated and planned for so that independence can be supported.

p.4

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

Incidents are managed well. This is built on the support staff say they give each other, their knowledge of the children and the very good relationships they have built with them. Because of the strong relationships, children are confident to speak to them about any concerns they have. Staff recognise the signs that children’s behaviour may be about to escalate and can intervene to prevent incidents from escalating.

p.4

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

When children have been missing from the home, the staff respond appropriately. Incidents of missing from care are infrequent and short in duration. The manager’s responses are clearly recorded, but the interview carried out by an independent person is often recorded elsewhere in the children’s documents, which makes it difficult to readily identify themes and trends.

p.4

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

There has been one serious incident which involved a child being held and a member of staff being hurt. The manager reviewed the action taken during the incident to identify any learning to improve care. Staff were provided with additional guidance on how to use holds confidently to keep children safe.

p.4

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

Risks relating to the use of ligatures have been responded to appropriately, with training completed by staff to ensure they can manage situations that arise.

p.4

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

Risk management plans are up to date and have identified strategies for staff to follow to reduce risks. Plans are individualised to children and staff understand and follow plans to keep children safer.

p.4

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

The provider follows safer recruitment processes to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Routine verification of why a person has left a previous position working with children or vulnerable adults is not evidenced. However, during the inspection, a check was made by the responsible individual on a new member of staff, and those checks are in place across the company.

p.4

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

A review of the premises has taken place recently. It identifies any risks posed by the location of the home. It is not evident whether the strategies in place to reduce those risks are effective, as no further rating is applied to the risk once the measure is in place Inspection report for children’s home: SC402135 5

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager was due to leave the home in December 2024, and a new manager has been appointed. The home went through a period of instability earlier in the year. The team is now more stable and is suitably staffed for the number of children in the home. Vacancies have been advertised.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a culture of reflecting on what could be done better, and the manager has carried out detailed analysis of incidents to identify any learning and improve care.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children understand how to raise concerns, and have done so. These have been carefully considered and shared with social workers. Investigations have been completed and children have been involved in discussions to understand fully what their concerns are and how they can be resolved.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision for staff takes place regularly, and more frequently for staff who are working through their induction. Staff feel very supported and are encouraged to make decisions confidently. Staff use supervisions to reflect on their practice and feel they can discuss anything openly, describing them as a ‘safe space’, knowing that they will be given guidance and support. Staff also have expectation workbooks which provide targets to develop their skills and support progression.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers understand the home’s strengths and areas for development. A workforce plan is in place which supports the home to meet the statement of purpose. Children and staff are anxieties around changes in management and the new manager is aware of the need to manage this carefully.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are appropriately trained. The manager has access to a matrix which is updated centrally. This helps to identify when staff have completed the provider’s mandatory training and when training needs to be regularly reviewed.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records relating to when children have been held are inconsistent. Some incidents are recorded as a restraint, when this level of control has not been necessary. In addition, the context of the behaviour leading up to the use of the measure is not always clear, which wrongly gives the impression that a measure is punitive.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The requirement from the last inspection has been met. Inspection report for children’s home: SC402135 6

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are kept that enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice. This includes recording the context of the steps leading up to the use of the measure and whether incidents have required the use of any measure and if they need to be recorded. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should ensure that the home is suitably located so that children are safeguarded effectively and can access services to meet needs identified in their relevant plans. The registered person should review the effectiveness of any steps that have been identified to reduce risks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)  The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being

p.6

Recommendations

missing, the opportunity for them to have an independent return home interview is clearly recorded so that this information can be readily taken account of when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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: SC402135 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Forest Care Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: West Shore House, West Street, Hythe, Southampton, Hampshire SO45 6AA

p.7

Inspector

Mark Broomhead, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home: SC402135 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 children looked after, 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