Children's home run by Five Rivers Child Care Limited in Wiltshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC059753 1 SC059753 Registered provider: Five Rivers Child Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately operated by an organisation that has several other children’s homes in the region. It provides care for up to two children who experience social and emotional difficulties, but it usually supports one child. Three children have lived in the home since the last inspection. The report refers to staff as adults in line with the home’s ethos.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager who led the home from March 2022 left in August 2024. In November 2024, the home recruited a new manager, who is currently absent. The registered manager of a nearby home provides support to the deputy manager. The responsible individual changed in June 2024; they were present for the inspection.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: SC059753 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/06/2023 Full Good 13/03/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/11/2021 Full Good 28/08/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC059753 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living in the home was seen and spoken to by the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, three children have lived separately in the home, with one child still living there. One child experienced inconsistent care and a lack of stability, which led to a high number of incidents and contributed to their unplanned move from the home. Despite this, they and the other children have made progress and had positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The adults have built and maintained positive relationships with each child. They use their relationships with children effectively to engage them in new activities in line with their interests. For example, adults encourage children to participate in social clubs and hobbies, such as paddleboarding and fishing, highlighting the importance of fun and enjoyment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is personalised to meet the child’s needs. The child’s bedroom is a well- decorated, safe space. The home includes a sensory room and a spinning egg-shaped chair in the kitchen, which provides the child with moments of reduced sensory disturbance. Decorated foam flooring and a rocking chair allow the adults to comfortably soothe the child during sleep struggles.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is filled with photos of the child participating in activities and spending time with their family. The nurturing, trauma-informed care provided by the adults includes giving the child attention, hugs, space and time. The adults are heard chatting, encouraging and supporting the child, who moves freely around the home. The large trampoline in the garden is a favourite activity, no matter the weather. Everyone simply dresses appropriately to bounce. When the adults’ interactions elicit a joyful, baby-like giggle from the child, it brings smiles, joy and pride to the entire household.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s neurodiversity and communication needs are well understood and supported. Their health needs are comprehensively addressed, from routine appointments to more complex specialist referrals. Communication is facilitated using visual aids, such as pictorial routines, star charts, and photo prompts. However, these are not consistently updated. A clinical practitioner provides weekly therapeutic support, triangulating this with training and advice to the child’s carers during a weekly team meeting. They also collaborate on developing and overseeing plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s educational needs are met, with attendance continuing at the same specialist school. Adults drive the child to school and plan the hourly journeys to support them. The child's communication and interactions, including their engagement in the class morning routine, have significantly improved. The child now happily selects and places their photo in front of them. Inspection report for children’s home: SC059753 4 The adults and managers work with the wider professionals to maintain the child’s family relationships in line with their plans. They facilitate virtual and planned time, including welcoming the parents to the home for Christmas Day celebrations. The adults create memory books showcasing the child’s experiences and activities, including with family. A parent said they feel that their child is making a lot of progress, and they feel informed.

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

Leaders and managers comprehend and deliver their safeguarding duties. When they receive complaints, including from children, they carry out thorough investigations. They share this information effectively with relevant parties, documenting the circumstances, any applied procedures, and their outcomes in detailed records.

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

Investigations carried out in response to complaints have occasionally compromised the previous child's care. The need for unfamiliar adults to support the child disrupted the consistency and quality of care they received. On occasions, the home environment has felt unsafe, with risks not adequately addressed. This resulted in reactive rather than attentive care at that time.

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

The children living in the home since the last inspection have had very different needs, risks, and experiences with the frequency of restraint. Overall, the use of restraint has been proportionate and necessary to ensure safety. For the child who currently lives in the home, the managerial oversight is effective, noting learning and ensuring the application of body maps, discussions after incidents, and considering plans. However, the previous child’s records do not consistently demonstrate this same effective oversight.

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

There has been one incident of a child going missing from the home, and the response was in accordance with the expected protocol. The manager identified and responded to lessons learned, and relevant authorities were notified.

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

Adults and managers ensure that children’s intimate care needs are met with appropriate strategies to support their dignity and privacy. They set objectives in plans to enhance the child’s independence skills, taking into account their age and stage of development. Some plans contain organisational objectives rather than specific and measurable actions from adults.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that moves from the home are thoughtfully planned, even when the endings are unintended. Carers focus on sharing the child’s progress and ensuring a positive conclusion. For one child, this involved a virtual tour of the new home to support discussions about the move. With support from the child’s most trusted adults, a detailed schedule was created that allowed the child to become familiar with the new home and adults. The planning also engaged the family, provided opportunities to celebrate, and allotted time for goodbyes.

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

Leaders and managers have effective oversight of safer recruitment. Employment processes are now carried out effectively to ensure safety in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC059753 5

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

Since the last inspection, there are noted changes to the responsible individual with the position permanently filled. Additionally, the leaders are finalising actions to address the absence of the manager. The interim arrangements have been effective, and the adults have found the interim manager to be supportive and present.

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

One child’s experience of living in the home has been difficult, and their time ended sooner than planned with notice being given. The adults struggled to consistently meet the child’s needs, which affected the child’s behaviour. As a result, challenging incidents and complaints increased, which prompted investigations and reduced the availability of the workforce. Although actions to address workforce sufficiency were responsive, the patterns of behaviour were not adequately addressed to prevent the child from regularly being cared for by unfamiliar adults.

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

Leaders and managers have not provided regular supervision or consistently prioritised their attendance at training and team meetings. The managers’ oversight and effectiveness were reduced. These issues are now being addressed, and effective oversight and systems are in place, but the improvements are very recent.

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

Leaders and managers have undertaken a debrief and learning event, gathering and using anonymous feedback from adults to inform future practices. This is contributing to the learning culture, and several lessons have come from the exercise, including the importance of the home’s location and wider community needs assessments when making referral decisions. Leaders and managers have used this learning to assess whether the current child’s needs can be met.

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

The home’s current leadership has identified its strengths and weaknesses. Efforts to ensure staffing stability and sufficiency are progressing, and leaders are making a positive difference by developing a supportive, safe environment. The leadership champions the aim of fostering a positive team culture and high aspirations for the children. The adults communicate openly, sharing tasks with the goal of understanding and addressing each child’s needs. They take pride in the children’s progress and in their collaborative efforts to support them.

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

The changes planned, although positive, are not yet embedded. The managers have identified the inconsistency in recording and responded to the requirement from the last inspection, but there is still more to do. Plans still lack personalisation in areas and do not routinely capture how the child is engaged, which is especially important for children with limited verbal communication. The child’s voice is not yet fully evidenced or captured. Inspection report for children’s home: SC059753 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a record of supervision is kept for adults, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)  The registered person should ensure that the language used in all documents and in discussions is child friendly and reflects the language used in a home environment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC059753 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Five Rivers Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Five Rivers Child Care, 47 Bedwin Street, Salisbury SP1 3UT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Timothy-John Matthews

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Inspector

Ashley Arkless, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC059753 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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