Children's Home run by Next Step Independence Ltd in Somerset

Inspection report for children’s home: 2785307 1 Registered provider: Next Step Independence Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home opened in April 2024 and is owned and run by a private organisation. It provides care for up to two children who experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, the manager had been in post for two weeks.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2785307 2

p.1

improvement to be good

The inspector spent time with both children during the inspection, children were spoken to individually, however one child chose to have a member of staff accompany her for this discussion. It was not possible to effectively observe the quality of relationships between one child and the staff due to them spending lengthy periods in their bedroom. One child was observed to have a close and warm relationship with at least one member of staff.

p.2

improvement to be good

Children in this home do not make good enough progress. One child’s time in the home ended, following a brief and turbulent period, in an unplanned way. This child was not helped by staff to have a positive ending, and no clear efforts have been made to continue to offer on ongoing relationship with them. Children’s moves into the home are quick, with only one visit being offered to tour the home and meet the staff working that day. This may impact on how valued and important children feel when moving in.

p.2

improvement to be good

Staff are not supporting children’s need for routine. Some children are spending long periods in their bedrooms, playing on games consoles. This indicates a lack of care and nurture. It is, at times, accepted that children will spend lengthy periods alone, when this is not necessarily the right choice for supporting their welfare. Positive changes have however been noted in the two weeks before the inspection, such as children spending evenings playing games in the living room with staff, which is the result of input from a new manager.

p.2

improvement to be good

Care plans are too brief and do not include important information. This means that when new or bank staff come into the home, they are not clear on children’s backgrounds or how to support them in a meaningful and consistent way.

p.2

improvement to be good

When children are not at school, they are not provided with planned and structured learning activities. For one child, there are no clear plans for staff to support to children with increasing their confidence and re-enter the classroom environment. There is a plan for one child to re-engage with education on a full-time basis. However, the current lack of structure to their days will mean that this will be a considerable challenge for them.

p.2

improvement to be good

Children in the home say that they have nice experiences and that they like the staff. Children know that their views are listened to and they know how to make complaints. Some children engage with extra-curricular activities, such as football. However, this is not consistent for all children despite one child being very keen to make friends. One child had a recent birthday trip, and considerable efforts were made by staff to ensure that they had a memorable experience. The child and their parent both expressed how happy they were with this. Inspection report for children’s home: 2785307 3

p.2

improvement to be good

Several significant incidents have taken place involving a child who has now left the home. Staff did not consistently use a caring or nurturing approach to try to de-escalate situations or to greet the child when they returned home following incidents. A lack of care and nurture shown towards this child around these incidents may have contributed to their behaviours escalating and staff eventually feeling unable to respond to incidents effectively. When significant incidents take place, management oversight is limited, and learning from incidents is not clear. More recently, this has seen improvement with a new manager starting in the home. With clear records reflecting how staff can adapt their practice to manage situations.

p.3

improvement to be good

Plans around children’s risk-taking behaviours are not always in place, which will impact on staff’s ability to respond to incidents safely and consistently. There is little evidence of meaningful work being carried out with children with regards to the impact of their behaviour or learning about risks that they expose themselves to. This has contributed to concerns reoccurring.

p.3

improvement to be good

Over recent weeks, when low-level incidents have taken place where children have walked off from home, staff have responded appropriately by following them and encouraging them to return home. Therapeutic techniques are used to encourage the child to return home, and there is clear and effective management oversight. When children misuse substances, medical attention is sought as needed.

p.3

improvement to be good

Medication is stored and administered safely. Medication errors are appropriately investigated, and plans are implemented to avoid future incidents taking place.

p.3

improvement to be good

Regular team meetings take place, and time is taken to reflect on the children in the home and some significant incidents which have taken place. Staff do not receive regular supervision and are not always encouraged to reflect on their practice or how they engage with children in the home. Therefore, opportunities to try alternative strategies are missed.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Vulnerabilities in leadership and management are having a negative impact on children’s overall experiences and progress, and this undermines the well-being of the children in the home.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers are aware of some of the issues that have occurred at the home because of poor management. Despite there being concerns around the previous manager, no clear plans were implemented to support them, and supervision sessions were considerably inconsistent.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers recognise that there has been a child who left the home following a brief and turbulent period. Leaders and managers have reflected on issues with staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2785307 4 training, multi-agency working, and the home’s admissions process. However, there has been limited reflection on how staff failing to meet the child’s basic needs for love and nurturing care has impacted on that child’s progress and behaviour. Following the end of this child’s time in the home, two children have since moved into the home in close succession, which has not put this learning into practice.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

When staff have become unable to manage a child’s behaviours, this has resulted in the child having to move on from the home in an unplanned way. Leaders and managers have discussed the need to upskill staff to enable them to manage difficult situations and to prevent this from happening. However, numerous staff have various gaps in their training. Additionally, no specific records are kept around bank staff reading information about children before taking them out on their own. This raises concerns around staff’s awareness of children’s risks and their ability to work with them effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: 2785307 5

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.5

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.5

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;

p.5

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

p.5

Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

p.5

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff have the skills and knowledge to help keep children safe. There must be clear plans and risk assessments which address all risks that children present. Additionally, the manager should ensure that 4 February 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2785307 6 there are clear plans for direct work to be carried out to help children learn how to keep themselves safe.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i))

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that when children are not attending school, staff work closely with the placing authority so that children are supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. When children are not in full-time education, they should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. 4 February 2025

p.6

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.6

Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that the complexities of children’s risks and how these risks will interact with one another are carefully thought out. When placements break down and learning takes place, this should be clearly implemented before additional children move into the home. 4 February 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2785307 7 The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.7

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must have effective oversight of staff practice to ensure that staff are adhering to children’s plans. Additionally, the registered person must have effective oversight of incidents taking place in the home to ensure that they know what leads up to them and how staff respond so that learning and reflective practice can take place. The registered person should strive for all children in the home to have good routines and ensure that strategies to achieve this are reviewed when they are found to be ineffective. 4 February 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2785307 8

p.7

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: 2785307 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Next Step Independence

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Wellington House, Queen Street, Taunton TA1 3UF

p.9

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Bridget Drew-Spyer

p.9

Inspector

Min Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2785307 10 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.9

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.10

Inspector

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

p.10

Inspector

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

p.10