Children's home run by Dwell-In Social Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2724887 1 Registered provider: Dwell-In Social Care Ltd 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 July 2023 and is operated and managed by a private provider. It offers care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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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

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2025.

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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: 3 September 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: 2724887 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/09/2024 Full Good 30/01/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2724887 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector spoke with both children during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The care and love that the staff provide to children is a strength of this home. The manager and staff know the children very well and are ambitious for what they can achieve. Consequently, children experience stability and security and make very good progress in all areas of their lives. One child said, ‘The staff really care about us because they listen and go out of their way to do things for us.’ Another child described the staff as ‘good’ and ‘helpful’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff respect and value each child’s wishes and feelings and encourage them to express their views in various ways. This means that children can actively participate in decisions about their lives where it is appropriate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s right to education and learning is highly valued and championed by the staff. Staff closely collaborate with education providers to facilitate children’s access to appropriate education. This commitment and drive have supported children’s re- engagement with education and excellent progress with their learning. One child spoke with great pride about their school attendance and completing their exams.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s physical health and emotional well-being and ensure that they have access to universal and specialist health services. Staff support children in attending all health appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to participate in various activities in line with their specific interests. They have also taken children on holiday. This not only helps children to experience fun activities and develop new skills but also allows them to build positive memories of their time in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Key events in children’s lives are celebrated by the children and staff. For example, one child was helped by the whole staff team and the other child in the home to attend their school prom. The house was decorated to mark the occasion, an outfit was purchased for the child, and one member of staff took great pride in wearing their best clothes to escort the child to their prom.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children being able to stay in touch with their family and friends. Both children said that the staff help them to see people who matter to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are welcomed into the home in a considered and well-planned way. Other strengths of this home are the manager’s and staff’s support and planning, which are guided by the needs of the child. The manager ensures that staff receive important Inspection report for children’s home: 2724887 4 information about each child, and this helps them meet children’s needs from the moment they move in and assists children in settling in quickly.

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

Children feel safe in the home due to the strong relationships they have with staff. Children have trusted adults they can approach for support and advice. Children are highly confident that staff will help them with any worries they may have. In addition, children know who to speak to if they wish to raise a complaint.

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

Staff have a very good understanding of each child’s individual risks and vulnerabilities and take a proactive approach to promoting children’s safety. The children’s bespoke risk management plans are robust and clearly state what staff need to do to safeguard children. Alongside these plans, staff have regular conversations with each child to help them understand risks and make safer decisions. As a result, safeguarding incidents have significantly reduced, and children have become increasingly safe over time.

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

When children go missing from home, staff take appropriate action. Staff actively search for the child and work in partnership with external agencies to ensure their safe return.

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

High levels of assistance from staff support children in managing their behaviours and feelings safely. Staff have an excellent understanding of children’s experiences, and they respond with boundaries and clarity about what is considered safe and acceptable behaviour. Staff consistently promote positive behaviour in children through incentives, praise and positive role modelling. They work diligently to de-escalate situations when a child experiences distress. As a result, the use of physical intervention by staff is rare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed efficiently and effectively by a permanent and suitably experienced registered manager. The manager is extremely child focused and determined to help children make progress in all areas of their lives. She is extremely proud of her staff, the quality of care they provide to children and the positive impact that this has on children’s progress and safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a shared vision for the home and have high expectations of themselves and the staff. Management oversight of the home is good and enables leaders and managers to continuously enhance the standard of care that children receive. Any shortfalls identified through management oversight and external monitoring are dealt with swiftly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is high, and staff enjoy working at the home. The staff team is cohesive, and staff benefit from learning from one another. They feel supported in their roles and have confidence in leaders and managers. As a result, staff retention is good, which means that children receive care from a happy, committed and stable staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2724887 5 Staff benefit from regular supervision and training, which promotes their skills, confidence and well-being. However, not all supervision records are signed and dated, which weakens transparency and accountability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff do not always keep children’s case records up to date, and information in some records is not accurate. Although these shortfalls have not affected children, they prevent children from fully understanding their time at the home and how they have been supported. Inspection report for children’s home: 2724887 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions is kept and that both the person providing the supervision and the staff member have a copy of that record. The registered person should ensure that all copies of supervision records are dated and signed by the supervisor and supervisee. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s records about each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Children’s records should be detailed, accurate, and signed and dated by the author. This will help children understand how and when they have been supported by staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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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: 2724887 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Dwell-In Social Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 Canberra House, Corby Gate Business Park, Priors Haw Road, Priors Hall, Corby, Northamptonshire NN17 5JG

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Inspector

Shirin Khan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2724887 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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