Children's home run by SW Education & Care Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2789796 1 Registered provider: SW Education & Care Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted on 24 May 2024 and is operated by a private provider of social care. It offers care for up to two children with social or emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home. Both children were seen and one child was spoken to.

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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: 12 November 2024

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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: 2789796 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/11/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2789796 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend time building open and trusting relationships with children. This has supported one child to make progress. They choose to reach out to staff for emotional support, advice, company and affection. This has improved their mental health and has contributed to their sense of safety, stability and belonging. Staff encourage them to attend important meetings. This has enabled them to share their views with other professionals. Another child has recently moved into the home. Staff have spent time with them to get to know them and are beginning to build relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of ensuring that children’s educational needs are met. Staff attend meetings about children’s education and advocate for them. When children are not attending school, staff support them to complete core subject work at home and to attend educational activities. The child who is not attending school is involved in planning their days. Their wish to re-engage with more formal education has been listened to and planning is in place to make this happen.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by staff who understand their health needs. Children are encouraged to attend appointments, have immunisations and take prescribed medication. Concerns about staff not storing medication safely are promptly addressed. Clinical supervisions are used to consider children’s mental health and plan how staff can provide children with the support that they need. Children are supported to understand their diagnoses and the impact these may have on them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Planning for a child to move into the home was robust. Before they moved in, staff obtained valuable information from people who know them well. They spent time getting to know the child and supporting them to visit the home. The views of the child already living in the home were gathered and considered. Staff understand the potential impact of a new child moving in on a child who is settled. This has contributed to thorough and informed care planning for both children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the complexity of children’s relationships with those people close to them. They support children to spend time with their family, implementing safety planning when it is required. One parent said that staff have formed positive relationships with them and update them on their child’s progress. Children’s relationships with their friends are nurtured.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are valued, loved and wanted by staff. Children’s views in relation to their care and day-to-day life are sought and acted on. This has resulted in children having core staff providing them with more consistency of care and stability. Staff know children’s interests and nurture them. Conversations between children and staff are tailored to the child’s needs at that time. Inspection report for children's home: 2789796 4

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

Children live in a safe home that is warm and homely. Staff understand the unique vulnerabilities of each child and the risks that they face. Documents designed to support staff to manage and reduce risks such as unsafe relationships and behaviours and self- harm are thorough. There is a clear focus on the child as an individual and staff know what to do to keep them safe.

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

One child chose not to speak to the inspector. The other child spoke positively about the home and the care that they receive. They said that they feel safe and described how staff have supported them to think about risk and to make progress. They said they ‘feel listened to for the first time in my life’. Staff approach sensitive topics and discussions about risk in an open and child-centred way, providing guidance, knowledge and advice. They consider the child’s communication needs and how they may be feeling. Incentives are created with input from children and consequences for negative behaviour are natural and proportionate.

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

During incidents, staff are attentive and calm. This supports the child to feel safe and supported at times of anxiety, uncertainty, anger and distress. Staff follow effective planning and use trauma-informed therapeutic care. Managers consider trends and patterns in triggers and behaviours to develop care planning. For one child, incidents have significantly reduced in frequency and length. Reflective conversations with children are thorough and encourage them to consider the incident and their feelings around it. Restraint has been used appropriately to ensure the safety of children and staff.

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

Documents detailing the actions that staff must take if a child is missing from home are clear and concise. The addition of maps which identify known areas of risk enables staff to search for children effectively. Documents include essential information about the child. When children go missing, staff follow guidance and make every effort to find the child and return them home safely. On one occasion, when protocol was not followed by a member of staff, managers took immediate and effective action to prevent this from happening again.

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

Concerns about staff practice are taken seriously. A child’s concerns about staff practice were listened to and prompt action was taken. Investigations are thoroughly planned and action taken is appropriate. Recruitment practice ensures that checks necessary to determine whether staff are safe to work with children are completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a knowledgeable and committed registered manager. He works with an experienced leadership and management team. They build positive relationships with staff and more importantly, the children. The manager knows what is going on in the home and has good oversight of children’s lives and staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers lead by example. They step in to work directly with children, when needed, to limit the use of bank staff and to provide children with consistency of Inspection report for children's home: 2789796 5 care. Staff talked about a positive culture where leaders and managers are present and provide them with the guidance and support that they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children receive care from staff who know them well. Staff enjoy working in the home and are committed to the children who live there. They follow good-quality care planning. This has resulted in positive outcomes for children. Staff feel supported by leaders and managers, who are present in the home. They receive thorough and reflective debriefs following incidents. When necessary, these result in clear action planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff said that supervision is practice based, reflective and meets their overall needs. Written records of supervision detail a level of reflection and support. However, they do not reflect the level of discussion, reflection and learning that both staff and managers say takes place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff work alongside other professionals to meet children’s needs. This builds strong and effective relationships that benefit children. Essential information about children is regularly shared and children’s wishes and needs are clearly and strongly advocated for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are attended by all staff. Children are also invited to attend. This allows them to have a say in the running of the home and to contribute to their care planning. These meetings have a good focus on mapping care for children and sharing information. This was particularly beneficial when planning for a new child to move into the home. The attendance of a psychiatrist at these meetings allows staff to further understand children, their narratives and experiences and their behaviours. Inspection report for children's home: 2789796 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff follow the home’s policies and procedures to benefit the children who live there. There should be clear lines of accountability. In particular, the registered person should ensure that documents detailing supervision show the discussion and reflection that takes place. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20)

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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: 2789796 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: SW Education & Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Higher Barn, Pound Lane, Bishops Lydeard, Taunton TA4 3DN

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Inspector

Carla Simkiss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2789796 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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