Children's Home run by New Forest Care Limited in Hampshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1246449 1 Registered provider: New Forest Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in February 2017 and provides care for up to five children. The home typically provides short stays of approximately three months for children in crisis, with extended stays available when necessary. The home is based in a semi-rural location.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since December 2024.

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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

Date of last inspection: 22 January 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1246449 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/01/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/03/2024 Full Outstanding 28/03/2023 Full Good 08/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1246449 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the children’s backgrounds and current needs well. Staff have formed strong relationships with the children. The children are beginning to open up and speak about their feelings. Staff have regular and meaningful conversations about important issues with the children. Repair and rebuild sessions with staff have been important for one child. These sessions have helped staff gain the child's trust and support them with their emotions related to past trauma. The children speak very highly of the care and support they receive and say that they feel safe and well looked after.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a great understanding that both the children’s challenging behaviours and presentations often stem from past traumatic experiences. This has enabled staff to accept each child and provide them with a high level of nurture and patience. The children enjoy spending time with the staff and managers. The staff have created a warm family atmosphere that allows the children to safely be themselves without judgement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children freely express their views, wishes and feelings. Staff listen to children and consider their views when planning their care and activities. Staff encourage children to be brave and explore new activities. This helps build the children’s confidence in their own abilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff treat children with respect and understanding according to their individual needs and experiences. Staff provide consistent boundaries and transparency in their practice. This enables children to feel safe and understand that there are natural consequences to their actions. Children are encouraged to step outside of their comfort zone with every activity they do. Children’s achievements, however small they may be perceived to be, are celebrated. This helps build children’s feelings of self-worth and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has been redecorated and is immaculately presented, resulting in a homely feel. The children’s bedrooms have been furnished with new furniture and have been personalised according to each child’s taste. The children are proud of their bedrooms, which makes them want to keep them clean and tidy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s healthcare needs are managed very well. Staff work closely with external agencies and healthcare professionals, including child and adolescent mental health services, so that children receive the most effective care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are fierce advocates for the children. This has enabled one child to successfully move back to their family home. Another child has remained in the home longer for additional assessments to be carried out in a place where they feel safe and able to engage. Inspection report for children’s home: 1246449 4

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

Children’s safety is at the core of staff practice. Incidents are well managed by staff, who appropriately attempt to de-escalate situations and only use physical intervention as a last resort. When used, physical intervention is reasonable, proportionate and necessary, and records are shared with the child’s social worker to ensure transparency and best practice. Following incidents, staff deliver support for the child in an empathetic way, giving the child the opportunity to reflect on the incident and how they were feeling at the time. The managers carry out detailed reviews of the incidents. They have created a culture of continuous learning and improvement, focusing on enhancing future practices for staff and children.

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

Children rarely go missing from home. When they do, staff follow missing-from-home protocols and liaise with relevant professionals to facilitate the child’s safe return as soon as possible. Staff are committed to supporting children’s understanding of how to keep themselves safe.

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

Staff understand the risks and vulnerabilities of the children and respond to any concerns swiftly. Individual support plans clearly outline strategies to keep children safe and are regularly reviewed. Furthermore, detailed safety plans help children identify their own behaviours and triggers, as well as how staff can help them feel safe. Staff adhere to safeguarding policies and procedures and escalate issues to professional networks, including police and other specialist services, to provide children with wraparound care and support.

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

Children feel safe to raise complaints or concerns. One child makes regular allegations about staff when they are upset. These allegations are handled well by the manager. On one occasion, staff did not identify a child’s allegation following an incident, resulting in a delay in this being managed appropriately. The manager identified the allegation and took prompt action to inform the wider safeguarding agencies.

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

The administration of medication is robust. On one occasion, staff did not update the administration record appropriately, resulting in a recording anomaly. This was remedied by the manager. There was no negative effect on the children’s safety or well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A manager has been appointed, and they are preparing their application to register with Ofsted. The manager and staff have high expectations and ambitions for the children’s futures. They speak passionately about providing good care to achieve the best outcomes for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual is providing effective support to the new manager. The responsible individual oversees the manager and provides continuous support through open communication and visits to the home. The manager receives regular formal and informal supervision to help them understand their new role. Inspection report for children’s home: 1246449 5 The manager knows the home’s strengths and areas for development. The manager uses their monitoring systems well and has oversight of key records relating to the children’s care. They have identified the need for improved recording of medication administration and better management of allegations. The managers are clearly committed to enhancing staff practice to ensure the best outcomes for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works effectively, proactively and consistently with professionals. This has resulted in an excellent collaborative effort to provide the best outcomes for the children. One social worker reported how well the staff support their child. They said that the staff’s efforts to really get to know the child and work with them at their pace, together with their effective communication with the placing authority to keep them updated, have been ‘incredible’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel very well supported by the manager, and they are actively encouraged to advance to more senior roles. Regular supervision sessions, team meetings, and reflective debrief sessions at the end of each day provide support to the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are appropriately trained. Therapeutic input plays an integral part in enabling staff to support children effectively using an individualised approach. Staff can incorporate their training and knowledge into daily practice. This ensures that children are cared for consistently by experienced and informed staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One child’s transition into the home was planned collectively with the staff team. The staff considered the views, wishes and feelings of the other child in the planning. The manager carefully considered the needs of the children, and the move was successful. The child has made considerable progress since moving in, and the staff have been responsive when the children have not always got along. Inspection report for children’s home: 1246449 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are listened to and that any allegations are promptly reported. Staff should report any allegations of abuse immediately to a senior manager in the home. Any allegations of harm or abuse must be addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.17)  The registered person should ensure that good-quality records are kept of all medications administered, which includes occasions when prescribed medication is refused. Regulation 23 requires the registered person to ensure that they make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medications. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)

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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: 1246449 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Forest Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: West Shore House, West Street, Hythe, Southampton, Hampshire SO45 6AA

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Inspector

Emma Haskell, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1246449 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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