Children's Home run by Central and Southern Homes Limited in Cornwall

Inspection report for children’s home: 2821764 1 Registered provider: Central and Southern homes LTD

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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 is owned and managed by a private provider and registered to provide care for up to two children with social and emotional needs. At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home. The views of both children were obtained by the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a vacancy for a registered manager. The registered individual and a registered manager from another home within the organisation supported this 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 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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2821764 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are looked after by caring staff who take time to understand and value their individual personalities. One child said that the home is ‘their sanctuary’, and another child said that there ‘is nothing they would change’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take time to build trusting relationships and speak affectionately about the children. Children are supported to talk openly about their feelings and worries, and this helps them to understand their emotions and behaviours. Conversations with children cover a variety of sensitive and challenging topics and records carefully capture the child’s views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education and support children to regularly attend school. Staff maintain effective communication with schools and provide regular updates, which ensures consistency for the children. Staff support children to enjoy a wide range of age-appropriate, social and recreational activities, which complement their education. Children have a variety of hobbies including football, surfing, reading and dog walks on the beach.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to maintain healthy routines and sleep patterns. Staff encourage children to be involved in meal planning and preparation and ensure that the children’s favourite foods are included. Staff encourage the children to eat together, but are flexible to the children’s individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to ensuring that children enjoy regular, meaningful time with their family. Family members are welcomed into the home and staff support with the arrangements for children to see their loved ones.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming, with shared spaces for eating together and relaxing. The children’s bedrooms are personalised to their individual tastes and the children are encouraged to become involved in the redesign of shared spaces. The home has photos and pictures on the wall to capture important people, achievements and special events, with more space for this to develop.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to promoting children’s welfare during periods of distress. One child’s time in the home ended in an unplanned way. However, staff remained focused on the child and ensured a positive end to the placement. Leaders and managers undertook a reflective review of this child’s move to inform learning to improve practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, they are welcomed sensitively by staff. However, children’s moves do not always happen in a planned way, which affects staff’s ability to address any anxieties the children may have before they move. Not enough consideration is being given to the needs of other children living in the home or neighbouring homes when making decisions about any new children moving in. Inspection report for children’s home: 2821764 3

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

Safeguarding concerns are well managed. There have been no complaints or allegations made. Action taken to address any issues is robust and timely. When children go missing from home, staff are persistent in their attempts to locate them and ensure that family and relevant professionals are kept up to date. When children return home, they are warmly welcomed back and offered food and nurture.

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

Children are supported to build positive relationships with staff and each another. Staff take time to understand the reasons for any disagreements and carefully consider ways to minimise any conflict or distress. Staff use a variety of de-escalation techniques to support children who are experiencing distress. Restraint is not used.

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

Staff understand the unique vulnerabilities for each child and plans to minimise risk are up to date, clear and concise. Staff support children to take age-appropriate risks as part of their development and learn skills to help keep themselves safe. Children enjoy spending meaningful time with their friends in the community without any unnecessary restrictions.

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

Staff take an age-proportionate approach in relation to monitoring mobile phones and internet use. Staff have open conversations with children about any concerns and there is an educative approach taken.

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

Details of incidents are clearly recorded with debriefs for staff and children. However, management oversight is not used effectively enough to learn from these incidents to prevent them occurring again.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a vacancy for a registered manager. The home is currently being supported by a registered manager from a neighbouring home. There are plans in place to fill this vacancy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that they enjoy their role and feel supported by visible managers. Supervision sessions take place regularly and are used to support staff development and to reflect on practice. Team meetings take place regularly and there is some reflection on practice. Leaders and managers have plans to improve the quality of team meetings to ensure that staff are supported with the emotional impact of the work, so that they are better equipped to support the emotional needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are cared for by staff who have the knowledge and skills to meet their needs. Leaders and managers ensure that staff are up to date with mandatory training and organise bespoke training to support staff to respond to the individual needs of the children. New members of staff receive comprehensive training over a six-month probationary period. Inspection report for children’s home: 2821764 4 Children receive consistent care from adults they know. Agency staff are not used. Leaders and managers fill temporary vacancies with known and trusted staff from a neighbouring home, and there are clear succession plans to fill the manager vacancy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers understand the importance of building relationships with children’s families and the multi-agency network. Professional feedback is positive about communication from staff, the care of the children and the progress being made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement in the home and there are plans for development. External monitoring is used to provide additional scrutiny, and leaders and managers have challenged the quality effectively to ensure children receive high-quality care . Inspection report for children’s home: 2821764 5

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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 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 in 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)) 31 October 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home from internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. In addition, the registered person is responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned to prevent repeat incidents and sustain good practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations’, including the quality standards, pages 55, paragraph 10.24) Inspection report for children’s home: 2821764 6

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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: 2821764 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Central and Southern homes LTD

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Pitmaston House, Malvern Road, Worcester WR2 4LL

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Inspector

Stacey Pellow, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2821764 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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