Children's Home run by Dorset Council in Dorset

Inspection report for children’s home: 2682502 1 Registered provider: Dorset Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is located in a large town and is close to local amenities. The home provides care for up to three children between the ages of 12 and 18 years. These children may have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

A manager has recently started their role. They have yet to submit their application to be registered with Ofsted. They were present throughout the inspection.

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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 outstanding

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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: 2682502 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/05/2024 Full Good 11/04/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2682502 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive individualised and well-planned care. Prior to them moving in, staff spend time with them, with the aim of building positive, trusting relationships. One child has made exceptional progress. Incidents, including going missing and self-harm, have reduced. Their resilience and understanding of relationships have increased and they are making better and safer decisions. Repeated below

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite thorough planning for a child to move into the home, they lived here for a short period. Staff recognised that they were unable to keep the child safe. They listened to the child’s wishes and feelings and advocated for their best interests. When considering whether the home is right for a child, children who already live in the home are consulted and their views are considered during the decision-making progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their families. They have worked closely with family members and professionals to ensure that family time is in the child’s best interests and put necessary safeguarding measures in place. Where there is a plan for reunification, staff build relationships with, and provide support to, children’s families through outreach services. Two professionals spoke about the high levels of time, patience and support that staff gave to one child to further their understanding of their family dynamics and relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to engage in learning and develop independence skills, acknowledging that these are essential for children. Five professionals spoke positively about staff’s commitment to securing appropriate learning and education opportunities for children. One child has progressed from not engaging with any education to attending and enjoying learning. Their skills and talents are also nurtured in the home environment. Staff have been creative in working with children to offer and provide educational activities when they have not been attending school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met by staff. A child’s request to have more autonomy over the administration of their medication has been listened to. They now self-administer some of their medication. This has helped the child to develop essential independence skills. Staff work closely with the in-house clinical psychologist and speech and language therapist to consider children’s needs and request vital assessments. The information gained is shared with the teams around children and informs care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children choose to talk to staff about their lives. Staff adapt their communication style to the circumstances and children’s needs. This can be inquisitive, sensitive, informative or fun. Inspection report for children’s home: 2682502 4

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

Both children who live in the home were seen and spoken to. They both chose to have a staff member present with them. They openly voiced their wishes and feelings. One child said that they feel safe and like living in the home. They named staff who they can talk to and were positive about the home and the care that they receive. Children spoke about the good relationships they have formed with staff. One child said that staff have had a positive impact on their life. One child raised that they initially did not feel listened to by staff; however, they are aware that the manager is addressing their concerns. Relationships observed between children and staff showed staff’s ability to listen to and support children.

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

When incidents take place, staff are reactive to children needs. They follow the planning that is in place, using known and tested techniques to support children to calm and feel safe. Recordings of children’s and staff’s actions allow the reader to know what happened.

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

Restraint has been used on one occasion. While this was a low-level restraint and necessary to protect the child from harm, the staff member had not completed training on how to restrain a child safely. Prompt action was taken to address this concern and enrol the staff member on training and provide the whole staff team with refresher training.

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

When children go missing from care, staff follow clear and informative protocols. Staff search for children, make attempts to maintain contact with them and share information with other professionals.

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

Staff talk to children about risk. Following incidents and when children return home after being missing from care, staff have thorough, reflective conversations with them. They are curious about the child’s experiences and educate them about the consequences of their behaviours and associated risk. The depth of these conversations has supported children to reflect on the reasons for the incidents and how further incidents can be avoided. One document setting out how children should be cared for placed the responsibility for managing risk on the child. This was rectified during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A registered manager and responsible individual have recently left the home. Extensive handovers were completed with their new counterparts. The new leadership and management team is knowledgeable about the home and children and have begun to form positive relationships with staff. Staff said that they were fully informed and consulted throughout the process of change. Direct work with children has given them the opportunity to ask questions, adapt to the changes and begin forming new relationships. For one child, the potential negative impact of the loss of a safe and secure relationship with the previous manager was considered and planned for. Planning is in place to support an ongoing relationship between the child and manager. Inspection report for children’s home: 2682502 5 The model used by the home provides opportunities for children to receive continued support from staff after they move out of the home. Several children have received

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Six external professionals spoke highly of leaders and managers, staff and their commitment to children. Children are seen as individuals. Staff were described as non- judgemental people who work tirelessly, no matter the circumstances, to meet children’s needs. Concerns for and about children are promptly escalated, necessary professional challenge is made to other professionals, and the quality of multi-agency working is exceptional. They spoke of excellent communication. They reflected on the consistency and stability that children receive, which encourages children to invest in the relationships that they form within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff spoke positively about their colleagues, the children, leaders and managers and the working environment. They value the expertise of their managers and the consistent, supportive team. They highlighted the benefits of the collaborative learning and decision-making that takes place and how this has resulted in positive outcomes for children. One staff member likened working in the home to ‘having an imaginary arm around me at all times’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff said that they receive good-quality, reflective and timely supervision that meets their overall needs. They said that leaders and managers are always available to them. The in-depth, reflective discussions that take place during supervision and team meetings are reflected in the written recordings. The collaborative approach to understand children’s narratives and their needs through learning and reflection is evident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is an ethos of learning and development in the home. The process of learning lessons through review, research, reflection and analysis is commonplace. Good practice is celebrated. When learning and improvements are required, prompt planning is completed and required actions are shared with the team. All staff complete mandatory and additional training. In addition, staff benefited from a well-planned and informative learning week to boost their skills and knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers have excellent oversight of the home. They monitor all areas of children’s lives and use analysis and evaluation to review their progress and determine where they need additional care and support. Managers talk to children to gain their views and include them in their care planning. Where appropriate, children are encouraged and supported to attend meetings that impact their lives. Planning to care for and protect children is comprehensive and robust.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

When children raise concerns about the care that they receive, or when there are safeguarding concerns, managers respond quickly and appropriately. Investigations are thorough. Leaders and managers value the relationships that they have with other professionals. They share information and seek advice to inform their planning and decision-making. Outcomes of investigations are shared with children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2682502 6 The process of recruiting staff ensures that checks are completed that are necessary to ensure that they are safe to work with children. When recruiting staff, leaders and managers acknowledge that they need a robust, experienced and resilient staff team. This is at the forefront of their recruitment processes and decision-making. The retention of staff has significantly improved. Inspection report for children’s home: 2682502 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: 2682502 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Dorset Council, County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester DT1 1XJ

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Inspector

Carla Simkiss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2682502 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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