Children's Home run by Collaborative Care Services Limited in Swindon

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2786775 1 Registered provider: Collaborative Care Services 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 two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since 19 December 2024.

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This monitoring visit

There is one child living at the home. They were not present for the monitoring visit.

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This monitoring visit

Managers have been unable to produce clear and detailed plans on how to stop incidents of the child going missing from the home or reduce the length of them when they occur. A lack of effective engagement with the local authority and the child has led to a superficial understanding of the risks.

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This monitoring visit

There has been a lack of timely resolution to the fire drill procedures, the first one being completed one month after the full inspection without clear recording of it or the involvement of the child.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have not been provided with training in a timely way to impact how they can care for the child, prevent ongoing episodes of the child going missing from home or keep them safe. While there have been discussions on topics during team meetings, this is not adequate to upskill an entire staff team in a way that keeps the child safe and has a positive impact on their well-being.

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This monitoring visit

Managers are not able to challenge the local authority effectively. They have not escalated concerns with the local authority in a timely way to promote the child’s safety.

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This monitoring visit

The use of restraint in the home has not been effective in safeguarding the child. Staff have not been able to include the child’s views of restraints in the home. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2786775 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/02/2025 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2786775 3

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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 with 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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose; protect and promote each child's welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised plans that meet each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the child’s day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iv)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

This directly relates to the registered person ensuring that staff have clear direction and strategies to ensure that the child develops positive daily routines.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that robust plans are in place for carers to fully understand the child’s gaming and social media use to help them learn to be safe online. 10 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2786775 4 The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child overcome such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing local authority to support the child’s education and training to maximise the child's achievement;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv (v)(vi)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that a timetable of educational activities is implemented during the school day while the child is out of education.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person should challenge services effectively to ensure that the child returns to school as soon as possible. 10 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-needs of the children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice; services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and 10 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2786775 5 children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This directly relates to the registered person ensuring the child is supported to receive support for their individual health needs.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person should implement a plan to increase variety and healthier choices in the child’s diet and structure mealtimes.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e)) 16 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2786775 6 The registered person must take urgent action to work with the child and the local authority to understand and mitigate the risks to the child.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must review the safety plan to ensure that staff understand what action they must take when the child is missing from home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make clear and effective plans for returning the child to the home, which must be agreed with the local authority.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must take immediate action to understand the child’s missing behaviour and clarify what action staff must take to keep the child safe. Furthermore, if the safety plan is not being followed by all agencies this concern must be escalated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that fire safety practice safeguards all staff and children and ensures that they know what to do in the event of a fire.

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Requirement Due date

*The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; 16 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2786775 7 demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(a)(b)(c)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must take immediate action to ensure that leaders and managers are in day-to-day control of the home and are present to support the staff to understand the needs of the child in their care.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must take immediate action to ensure that staff have the skills to understand why the child is going missing from home and how this can be addressed effectively.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that when a child is admitted to the home this is done with careful planning and an exploration of how staff will meet their needs is completed. 10 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2786775 8

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2786775 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Collaborative Care Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 25 Pure Offices, Kembrey Park, Swindon, Wiltshire SN2 8BW

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Inspector

Hannah Spencer-Townesend, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2786775 10 to 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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