Children's Home run by Plus One South West Ltd in Somerset

Inspection report for children’s home: 2830603 1 Registered provider: Plus One South West 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

This home is operated by a private company. It provides care for up to two children who may have social, emotional or learning difficulties. At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home.

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2830603 2

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improvement to be good

Three children have lived in the home. Staff supported one child to move on successfully to independence and still maintain positive contact with them. The child said they enjoyed their time in the home, felt safe living there and had good relationships with the staff. The inspector spent time with both children currently living in the home. One child has recently moved in. The child has already started forming positive relationships with staff and was seen enjoying fun activities around the home, such as playing pool and board games. The child said he liked the home and talked about how he wanted his bedroom decorated. The other child has lived with the staff team for over a year, moving into this new home with them when it opened. They have secure and trusting relationships with the staff and talked about some of the fun things they have done, proudly showing the inspector their memory book.

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improvement to be good

Children’s day-to-day experiences are mixed, and they do not always have positive routines. Staff understand the importance of routine and structure; they are working hard to embed this for one child who has recently moved into the home. Routine for another child is poor. They have an inconsistent sleep pattern and are often awake until the early hours of the morning. Staff do make efforts to wake the child, but this is not always successful.

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improvement to be good

One child has been registered with necessary health professionals since moving to the home. Health actions for another child are not incorporated into care planning, meaning staff do not know what they need to do to ensure these are met. Records of health appointments made, attended or declined are not kept, so it is not always immediately clear what action has been taken to support children to ensure their health needs are met. Records of conversations supporting areas of health are lacking and identified referrals for external support have not been made.

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improvement to be good

Staff have worked proactively for one child where an education placement has not yet been confirmed. They have implemented structured activity to provide a routine. Education is currently an area of concern for another child, who is not receiving their statutory education hours. The child has a blended timetable of six hours a week but frequently does not engage with this, meaning their attainment is low. Staff are not always able to encourage the child to attend.

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improvement to be good

Staff are caring and compassionate. They speak warmly about the children. Children are encouraged to enjoy a range of social and recreational activities that reflect their hobbies and interests. Activities have included bike rides, walks on the beach and visiting theme parks. The home has created a games room which has a pool table, and they have purchased a swimming pool for the garden. The children enjoy using this to cool down in the warm weather. Inspection report for children’s home: 2830603 3 Supporting children to maintain positive relationships with family is a strength of the home. One child has been able to see their family regularly, progressing to more independent time with them. Another child has spent time with their sibling and clear plans are in place for them to have regular time with family over the coming months. The manager ensures that children are involved in decisions regarding their lives.

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improvement to be good

Children are offered independent advocates.

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improvement to be good

Some of the care provided supports children to be safe due to the positive relationships they have with staff and the staff’s understanding of children’s previous experiences. Risks for children are identified, but there is a lack understanding of the potential impact of these risks. As a result, responses to risk do not always adequately safeguard children.

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improvement to be good

Both children get on well with each other. However, consideration of the potential impact of them living alongside each other is not robust. Assessments did not consider both children’s individual risks, and therefore guidance on how staff can support each child to minimise any impact is not clear.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour is generally well managed, and there are few incidents. Staff provide consistent support when there have been strong emotional and physical reactions from the child. Incident reports are well written, and staff have reflective conversations with children. However, the manager does not always review these or consider staff reflections about what happened.

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improvement to be good

One child shared information with staff about substance misuse. Staff did not take appropriate action to ensure the safety of the child and did not identify this as a potential safeguarding concern. As such, the information had not been shared with the wider professional network and had no management oversight. All staff spoken to were able to share the appropriate steps to take in relation to an incident of this nature.

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improvement to be good

With support from staff, one child has been able to reduce their antisocial behaviour in the community. However, their use of a mobile phone remains a concern. Staff recognise the harm the child could be exposed to online and the risks of their online usage. Regular phone checks are carried out, but action taken following phone checks does not safeguard the child effectively. Concerns are not shared appropriately or acted upon. Staff do not consistently provide support to help the child gain an understanding of how to be safe online.

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improvement to be good

Agency staff have been used since the last inspection to cover staff supporting in other homes in the organisation. The manager and wider organisation do not have suitable methods in place to assure themselves that safer recruitment processes have been followed for these staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2830603 4

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

The manager shows an ambitious vision for the children in her care and has high aspirations. The staff respect the manager and feel supported in their roles. External professionals for one child speak well of the manager and staff and compliment them on the care that they give to the child. Professionals say that communication is good and they are regularly kept informed and updated.

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

The manager understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home and has clear ideas of how to improve and develop it further. However, management oversight of the home is inconsistent. There remain concerns around the education for one child; this has not been formally challenged or escalated by the manager. Care planning does not clearly outline the strategies for staff to take in response to risk and behaviours. Plans contain a lot of historical and out-of-date information, making them difficult to follow. The manager has identified this as an area for their own development.

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

The staff team is stable and its members are committed to the home. All staff benefit from regular, reflective supervision that focuses on staff well-being and safeguarding. Team meetings are held regularly and are well attended by the team. The staff receive regular training, and the manager ensures that mandatory training is kept up to date. Inspection report for children’s home: 2830603 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager should ensure that concerns about delays with education are formally escalated to the local authority. 3 August 2025

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The health and well-being standard is that—

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

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children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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that staff help each child to— 3 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2830603 6 achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs; and

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being;

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children should receive support to have good dental hygiene.

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Children should be supported to lead a healthy lifestyle to include diet, exercise and good sleep hygiene to form part of their daily routine.

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Requirement Due date

Support should be provided to the child around areas of concern in line with professional advice and it should be clear how staff are to do this.

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Requirement Due date

Any referrals to other agencies to support children’s health and well-being should be made in a timely way and followed up quickly.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; help each child to understand how to keep safe; 3 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2830603 7 have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager should ensure that they identify and understand potential risks for the child and that clear plans are in place to help to reduce risk of harm from mobile phone use, ensuring they are working in line with statutory guidance around safeguarding of all children.

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Requirement Due date

The staff should be clear on their roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children and record and report concerns in line with safeguarding policy and procedures.

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Staff should support children to understand how to keep safe.

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The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 3 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2830603 8 In particular, the manager should ensure they have effective oversight of the home.

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The manager should develop care planning that offers clear guidance to staff on how to support the children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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the individual is of integrity and good character;

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the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager should ensure that systems are in place to assure them that the agency has completed the checks required under schedule 2 for agency staff used to provide support in the home. 3 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2830603 9

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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: 2830603 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Plus One South West Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C/O Milsted Langdon Llp Winchester House, Deane Gate Avenue, Taunton, Somerset TA1 2UH

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Responsible individual:

Registered manager: Ana de Lamo Galletero

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Inspectors

Carly Parry, Social Care Inspector Clare Nixson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2830603 11 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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Inspectors

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