Children's home run by Seashell Trust

Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 1 SC035518

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to nine children with physical disabilities, learning disabilities and/or sensory impairment. Children live in four houses on a site that includes a school and college. Most children attend the on-site school. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision at this school.

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Information about this children’s home

The new manager has submitted their application for registration.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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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.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was judged inadequate at a full inspection carried out on 7, 8 and 9 May 2024. Compliance notices were issued under regulation 12, the protection of children standard, and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. An urgent Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 2 condition was placed on the home to reduce the number of children living at the home to 12. At a monitoring visit on 13 June 2024, it was assessed that effective action had been taken and the compliance notices were met.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A further full inspection took place on 28 and 29 August 2024 and the home was judged inadequate. Compliance notices were issued under regulation 10, the health and well- being standard, regulation 12, the protection of children standard, and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. An urgent condition was placed on the home to reduce the number of children living at the home to nine. At the monitoring visit on 16 October 2024, it was assessed that effective action had been taken to meet the compliance notices. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/08/2024 07/05/2024 Full Full Inadequate Inadequate 11/07/2023 Full Good 15/11/2022 Full Good 01/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 4

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improvement to be good

There are nine children living in the home. Since the last inspection, two children have experienced planned moves into adult provision. Their moves were supported by staff in the home, who worked collaboratively with adult services. Two children have moved into other houses These have been positives moves, and they are settling in well.

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improvement to be good

Each child has an individual health action plan. These plans are reviewed by the health staff. The plans provide clear strategies for staff to follow to ensure that children’s complex health needs are met. There is a new system in place to remind staff to complete tasks at the required time, and there have been some improvements in the quality of the staff practice and recording. However, one children’s physiotherapy is not consistently reflected in records in order to demonstrate practice is in line with the child’s plan.

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improvement to be good

Some children require the use of visual and audio monitoring due to their complex needs. For one child, there is no consent in place from the placing authority. Therefore, it is unclear if the local authority is aware of this level of surveillance.

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improvement to be good

Each of the houses is well presented, and children’s bedrooms are personalised. However, locks on doors leading to communal areas mean children do not experience a child-centred, family home environment. A recommendation has been made to address this.

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improvement to be good

Staff support and encourage children to understand their culture and heritage. Religious festivals are recognised and celebrated, and one child has lots of displays in their house to support and maintain their religion.

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improvement to be good

Children take part in a range of positive activities, which improves their confidence. There are photos displayed around the home of children enjoying new experiences and activities. Staff promote independence skills through key-work sessions and children take part in meetings with staff. Staff have completed work with children around fire safety and personal hygiene.

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improvement to be good

The input of a speech and language therapist and occupational therapists means there is better support for children’s communication plans. Staff understand each child’s communication needs and use various aids, including social stories and objects of reference, to help children make choices and understand change. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 5

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improvement to be good

Staff understand their roles and responsibilities and know how and when to respond to any concerns. Staff know the children’s risks well, and risk management plans are documented with step-by-step guidance.

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improvement to be good

Managers are working with staff to improve the quality of-care children receive. Since the last inspection, there has been a reduction in medication errors. The on-site health team are completing competency training and assessments with all staff, and managers have implemented new auditing systems. However, there has been some medication that has not been identified within audits. There is an ongoing investigation, regarding some medication errors, in conjunction with the local authority designated officer. One professional said he felt assured by the presence of the new manager and the ongoing learning and reflection that are in place.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, there has been two complaints. Leaders and managers have responded to these appropriately and all necessary action has been promptly taken. One parent spoke about how staff have turned things around following their recent complaint.

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improvement to be good

Staff manage children’s behaviour appropriately. They understand and recognise when children are anxious and upset. Staff work collaboratively with the on-site positive behaviour support team. There has been some improvement in the quality of case records and manager evaluation for incidents when children have been held. Work has begun on ensuring that debriefs are completed for staff and children. However, this is not fully embedded.

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

Since the last inspection, there has been significant changes in the management of the service. There is a new manager and a new responsible individual, who are working cohesively to make improvements. As a result, there are some signs of stability.

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

Leaders and managers have made improvements to the quality of children’s records, including health and individual support plans.

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

Leaders and managers have a full understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. The new manager has produced a comprehensive improvement plan. She is developing monitoring systems to ensure she has effective oversight of the home. The manager has also introduced trackers to understand if children are making progress in line with their education, health and care plans.

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

Staff are complimentary of the new manager and say she has brought a calmness and level of stability to the home. Regular structured team meetings are taking place, which include workshops for staff. There has been an improvement in supervision, which takes place regularly. Supervision records demonstrate a more reflective approach is being Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 6 taken to supervision, and this is focusing on rebuilding standards and expectations for all staff.

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

Staff are suitably trained in a range of areas in line with children’s needs. However, one child has a bespoke plan in relation to pica type traits. but not all staff have received Pica training. A recommendation has been made to address this.

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

Overall, feedback from parents is positive. One parent said, ‘There is now a core group of staff who understand my child’s needs. Staff are good at checking things out any worries about medical concerns.’

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

Feedback from professionals is positive. They spoke about how the staff know children and ensure they have all the relevant equipment to meet their needs. They said communication from staff is good and they receive detailed reports. One professional said, ‘There have been some difficulties, but things are improving with the presence of the new manager.’

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

At the last inspection, there were four requirements issued. Only one of these has been met. Therefore, three requirements are repeated. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 7

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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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

(a) the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(a) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement has been restated. 25 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration, and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them.

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that children receive all their medication in line with the home’s policies and procedures and that all staff are assessed as competent to do this.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement has been restated 25 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 25 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 8 within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline, or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time, and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used, or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that debriefs with children take place with staff.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if— 25 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 9 the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance. (Regulation 24 (1)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. Staff should complete further training in PICA to understand the risks posed by children eating inedible objects. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that all locks are removed from doors in the homes. To ensure that, just as in a family home, children should be able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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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: SC035518 10

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Inspectors

Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Jennifer Quest, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC035518 11 regulates and inspects 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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