Children's Home run by Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in Cornwall

Inspection report for children’s home: SC432404 1 SC432404 Registered provider: Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is managed by an NHS Foundation Trust. It offers short breaks for up to two children with complex health needs and a learning and/or physical disability. Some children have life-limiting conditions that affect their activities and daily living.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were having an overnight stay at the home during 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 good

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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: SC432404 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/08/2024 Full Good 14/12/2023 Full Good 17/01/2023 Full Good 17/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC432404 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Twelve children are having regular stays in this short-break home. Two children were seen and spoken with during this inspection. The children appeared happy during their stay and seemed to be enjoying their short break. One parent said that their child always seems happy to go for their short break. Their child is more comfortable about being cared for by other people from outside of their family and they said that it is nice for their child to spend time with other children. The parent said that they feel confident that they can step away and that their child is happy and being well cared for during their stays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities during their short breaks, and they also benefit from being able to mix socially with other children. Children enjoy fun activities such as going to the park, going for walks or going to the seaside. They also enjoy doing crafts or cooking. Children are supported well to be more confident when being cared for by other adults, and this helps them to develop their levels of independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well cared for in this setting. The stable staff team know the children very well. The staff understand children’s communication and behaviour, so they can understand what children’s wishes and views are. One child communicates using their eyes to respond to questions and staff seek the child’s views about the plans that are being made. Staff communicate well with children and give them reassurance. Children benefit from having good routines and boundaries in place for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Detailed care plans provide valuable information to staff about children’s health needs. Staff communicate with parents and carers before children’s stays to ensure they have up-to-date information about children’s medication and health needs. In some areas, children’s care plans have not been updated to accurately reflect this information. Records for the children are not always consistent and do not always provide sufficient detail about children’s stays. Managers are reviewing this to ensure that improvements are being made to practice in this area.

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

Leaders and managers have strengthened staff focus on safeguarding. Staff are curious when children present with unexplained bruises or marks, and they try to understand how this might have happened. Appropriate action is taken by staff to report concerns to social workers when children have presented with unexplained bruising that is of concern. For one child, this led to changes being made to their care plans when being cared for by other organisations. This ensures that children are being kept safe in this home and in their wider community.

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

When there are concerns about children’s health, there is prompt communication between staff and healthcare colleagues to obtain advice and to ensure appropriate Inspection report for children’s home: SC432404 4 medical intervention is provided. When managers identified concerns in relation to children’s medication, these were addressed and an investigation was started. Staff were offered further training, support and supervision to ensure that practice improved. There was no impact on children from the medication errors that were identified.

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

When worries have been identified about the safety of children, investigations have been completed in a timely way to understand what has happened. There has been effective communication with external agencies regarding this. Managers and staff have taken positive action to learn from these events and to improve practice in the home. This has ensured that constant improvements are being made to improve the care that children receive, and to ensure that preventative action is being taken where possible.

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

During one investigation, it was identified that records about children need to be more factual, with more attention to important detail. Although this was discussed with staff during a team meeting, changes in relation to this have not been fully embedded. More work is required to ensure that records about children are detailed and thorough.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced manager in place who knows the children well. She has a good understanding of what is working well in this home, and any areas for improvement. The manager has a strong drive to ensure children have positive experiences during their short breaks and can make progress. The manager speaks positively about the children and has strong aspirations for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about the manager and say that they feel well supported. They have access to regular support, supervision and training. They enjoy working in the home and being able to care for the children. They say that there is a stable team of staff in the home who are all working together for the benefit of the children. They find that the nurses and the manager are very approachable. If any issues are identified, they can talk openly to the manager about what has happened.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a satisfactory level of management oversight in this home. When the manager identifies any worries around staff practice, these are then investigated and addressed. Learning is taken from events to make continuous improvements to children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals are positive about the care for children. They say that staff meet the complex needs of children well. They appreciate the feedback they receive following children’s stays and say that communication with them is positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Independent visits to the home are completed regularly. The independent person now ensures they see children regularly during these visits. However, they do not always provide a detailed level of evaluation of how things are progressing in the home. Leaders and managers are reviewing this to consider improvements that are required in this area. Inspection report for children’s home: SC432404 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should review care plans and how information about children is being recorded to ensure this is consistent and up to date. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there are detailed conversations about children’s health when they are arriving for their short-breaks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.20)

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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: SC432404 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Trust Head Office, Carew House, Beacon Technology Park, Dunmere Road, Bodmin PL31 2QN

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Sebastian De Gange

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Inspector

Sarah Sheffield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC432404 7 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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