Children's home run by Willows (Devon) Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2724884 1 Registered provider: Willows (Devon) Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to three children who may experience emotional or social difficulties. At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is currently on maternity leave. The deputy manager has applied to Ofsted to register.

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Information about this children’s home

Staff in the home are referred to as adults. This is reflected in the report.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2724884 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/03/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2724884 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have secure relationships with the adults who care for them. Children seek out adults to support them. The inspector spent time with all three children, and one child said how much they like the adults and described how they help them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children attend school on a full time basis. There are good working relationships between the adults and the education providers. Adults contribute to education meetings when there have been difficulties for children to help promote school attendance. Adults have high ambitions for the children and encourage them to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is being supported to develop independence skills. They have a weekly budget and are encouraged to plan and cook meals. The adults have a good balance of supporting the child to cook independently and continuing to include them in family meals. Often children and adults come together to eat even when meals have been prepared separately.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are supported well. Children are encouraged to be involved and take responsibility for their own self-care. Where appropriate, children are encouraged to manage their own medication and health appointments Adults are proactive in supporting one child with personal care. The adults have been recording daily events and noting changes to see if there are any patterns or links. This helps the adults to better understand the child’s needs. This information was shared with the appropriate health professional

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make special memories, with activities and events being celebrated. However, memory books are not kept up to date, which limits how meaningful they are for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is a beautiful family home with lots of small touches like soft furnishings and pictures to make it feel homely. However, the number of doors and cupboards that are kept locked, without assessed need, detracts from the homely feel. The rationale for door alarms and window restrictors is not always clear and there are no clear strategies for when such restrictions could be reduced or removed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some snacks are locked away and, while there is a clear rationale for this, it does not help children to learn healthy eating strategies. Adults talk to children about food choices and sharing treats but then lock some snacks away, which does not support these discussions. A requirement in relation to this was made at the last inspection and is repeated.

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

Inspection report for children's home: 2724884 4 Adults know the risks to children well and make great efforts to keep them safe. One child said they feel safe living here. Processes are clear in children’s plans and adults know the steps to follow.

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

A significant medication error occurred which placed a child at risk of harm. The child received medical attention immediately and robust action to address the practice concerns was taken. Furthermore, the learning from this was shared with the team and policies for the wider organisation were improved. Additional medication training was also put in place for the team.

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

Overall when allegations about adults have been made, there has been a quick and effective response. Learning is shared across the team quickly and the adults are also supported during the process.

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

Protocols are followed when children have been missing from home. Adults search for children and make efforts to contact children and their friends or family, as appropriate, to help find them. Learning from one incident identified the need to have voice calls with family members and not accept text messages. This ensures that children are where the adults think they are.

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

Children can talk to adults about their worries. Children have chosen to tell adults about self-harm. A nurturing approach is taken in the way adults interact with children, which is also reflected in the records.

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

When a child made a complaint, this was taken seriously, and the child was spoken to about the next steps. A child centred response was given to the child and was accepted. When a family member made a complaint through a third party, the response from the home was lacking. The manager spoke to the adult initially and outlined the complaints process. However, they did not fully acknowledge the feedback provided.

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

There has been one incident of restraint since the last inspection. This was not effective, and both the adult involved and the manager were able to review this as ineffective. The learning from this is not yet embedded as it happened recently but there are plans to reflect on this as a team and with individuals.

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

Safer recruitment is in place so that only suitable adults are employed in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Efforts have been made to ensure consistency for the children during the registered managers absence. The team of adults is stable and the deputy manager has been consistent. The deputy manager has strong relationships with the children and they approach her for support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a high level of oversight of care. The deputy manager has good knowledge of what is happening for each child, and they track and review patterns. Serious incidents Inspection report for children's home: 2724884 5 are reviewed by the deputy manager, responsible individual and a director and learning is taken.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are reflective and open to suggestions for change. The deputy manager is able to think about her own practice and when ideas are shared there is a willingness to think more broadly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal investigations have been thorough, with clear chronologies showing when processes have been followed. Learning is highlighted and shared with the wider team or individuals, as appropriate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Adults say they feel supported and like working at the home. Team meetings and supervisions take place regularly. Children’s needs are considered carefully to ensure consistency of care. Specific training was arranged to meet the identified needs of some children. Close working relationships with a specialist team were built to support one child moving into the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from professionals highlighted the good communication the adults have with external agencies to ensure children’s needs are met. Inspection report for children's home: 2724884 6

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this means that certain foods should not be locked away from children. There must be consideration of why restrictions or locks are in place, with strategies to remove these when safe to do so. 31 March 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should seek to involve and create strong working relationships with those people who have parental responsibility for a child placed in the home. In particular, this means that managers should ensure complaints processes are made clear and any complaints are responded to. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.5)  The registered person should ensure children’s memory books are kept up to date, to ensure the detail of events and outings is not lost. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5) Inspection report for children's home: 2724884 7

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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: 2724884 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Willows (Devon) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Old Farm House, Gussage St Michael, Wimborne BH21 5JE

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Inspector

Nickie Doney, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2724884 9 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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