Children's home run by SW Education & Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2711689 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: SW Education & Care 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 operated by a private provider of social care and was registered with Ofsted on 23 November 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for up to two children. At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home. Both children were spoken to by the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 15 October 2024

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2711689 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/10/2024 Full Good 31/05/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2711689 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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outstanding

The children who live in this home receive highly individualised care. Staff take time to get to know them and understand them. This starts before the child moves into the home through extensive and robust information-gathering, analysis and training. Staff accept children for who they are and practice in a non-judgemental way. They support children’s identity needs and treat them with the utmost acceptance and understanding. The exceptional care that children receive, the experiences that they are provided with and the time that staff spend with them have contributed to the significant progress that they have made.

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outstanding

Children are fully integrated into the home and feel valued and included. They have helped to decorate and design their own bedrooms and participate in keeping the vegetable garden. Creative thinking between staff and a child has led to the creation of a special memory garden. One child’s artwork has been professionally printed out and is proudly displayed throughout the home.

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outstanding

Staff encourage children to ask questions and to learn about their health. This has led to a child researching medication to determine what is right for them. Staff provide children with the education and awareness that they need to make informed decisions about medication, attending appointments and receiving therapeutic support. When it is assessed to be appropriate, they encourage children to take responsibility for managing their medication. This excellent practice ensures that children have a choice and their voices are heard.

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outstanding

Staff sensitively adapt their practice to children’s mood and needs. They understand that children’s experiences and trauma can impact on their behaviours and decision- making. Staff are proactive in seeking guidance and advice from the clinical psychologist. This ensures that planning to support children’s mental health needs is purposeful and considers relevant research and techniques. Planning to secure grief counselling for one child began before the child had moved into the home. Children talk to staff about their physical and mental health and receive a listening ear and thoughtful, knowledgeable and considered advice.

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outstanding

Staff understand the complexity of family relationships and how this can impact on children. They spend time with children, listening to their memories and experiences with family, providing sensitive and therapeutic responses. This helps children to make sense of their confusion and to consider how their experiences impact on their current lives and their identity. Staff encourage positive family relationships and recognise the benefits of family time for children. One family member was unreservedly positive about their relationship with staff and how family time is promoted. Staff have gone above and beyond in supporting one child to research how to connect to a valued family member. Inspection report for children’s home: 2711689 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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outstanding

Staff have relentlessly challenged other professionals and advocated for a child to receive the education that they are entitled to and want. A formal complaint from the registered manager clearly set out the child’s rights and relevant legislation. This led to the child receiving a package of education that meets their individual needs. When children are not attending school, staff provide them with routine, structure and educational activities both inside and out of the home. Staff have worked creatively with a school to support a child who experiences anxiety. Their dedication to achieving the best possible outcomes for the child has allowed them to successfully attend school, gaining an education and building new friendships.

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outstanding

Children’s day-to-day life is planned to meet their needs. Staff encourage them to lead active lifestyles and eat a varied and healthy diet. Concerns about reliance on mobile phones and the extent of internet use are actively addressed. Staff engage children in a wide range of activities and experiences that are aligned with their hobbies and interests and ones that allow them to have new experiences. This has led to one child going from spending all of their time shut in their room to embracing outdoor life. Vibrant, carefully made memory books provide children with a lasting record of their time living in the home.

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outstanding

Staff understand the need for children to develop autonomy and independence skills. Their support for children to do this is entwined into daily practice. Staff strive to be positive role models for children and are highly motivated to support children to develop skills and traits that are essential for adult life. They model compassion, unconditional care for others, strong advocacy skills and the ability to recognise right from wrong. This is all seen and replicated by the children. For example, the children have planned a care package for a member of staff who is off on compassionate leave. The children are also dedicated to caring for their much-loved pets.

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outstanding

Children who live in this home feel safe and are unconditionally accepted by the staff who care for them. They have formed strong relationships with staff and know how to raise a complaint and where to go to for advice and protection if they need it.

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outstanding

Risks for children have significantly reduced. Staff are imaginative in their ways of working with them. Children’s involvement in devising their risk assessments has led to them gaining valuable insight into keeping themselves safe and the need to develop safe coping mechanisms. This allows the children to know that they are valued and trusted to be a part of this vitally important decision-making.

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outstanding

Staff have a good knowledge and insight into the risks that children are exposed to. Planning to consider risk and how it can be managed and mitigated is unquestionably thorough. Staff collate information about risk and children’s behaviours and analyse this to look for patterns of behaviours. They strive to understand children’s triggers and use trauma-informed practice to aid their understanding and scaffold the care Inspection report for children’s home: 2711689 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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outstanding

and support that children receive. Staff talk openly with children about risks such as going missing, self-harm and the use of alcohol or drugs. Children respond positively to these conversations and are eager to converse and debate with staff.

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outstanding

Children have not gone missing from home during this period. However, planning for the event that they do is comprehensive. Staff have built up knowledge and understanding of children’s behaviours and follow clear and directive planning.

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outstanding

Incidents rarely happen in the home. When they do occur, the length and severity of them have significantly reduced. Children’s views on how to support them in times of upset and crisis are sought. This has allowed staff to adapt their practice and use known and effective techniques to support children. Where restraint has been used, it has been appropriate.

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outstanding

Following incidents, children are engaged in meaningful reflective conversations. Staff are inquisitive and supportive, seeing the child and not the behaviour. Children are supported to reflect on their triggers, actions and the outcomes of these to think about what support they need. This is fed in to planning for children and links to ongoing meaningful conversations for children to embed reflection and learning.

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outstanding

Concerns about bullying behaviours have been promptly and thoroughly addressed. Staff have listened to children’s views and perspectives. They directly challenge possible discrimination and educate children about individuality and kindness. Reparative work is completed to ensure a calm and settled home environment for the children. This work has resulted in relationships between the children improving.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is led by an incredibly dedicated and highly experienced and valued leadership and management team. The registered manager, who was present throughout the inspection, is incredibly reflective and runs a homely home where the children are the centre of everything that is done. He knows the home, the children who live here and the professionals who he works with, all who provide very positive feedback about him. Leaders and managers are unquestionably committed to the home and highly motivated to provide exceptional care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers have excellent oversight of children’s journeys. They closely monitor the interactions between staff and children and provide inquisitive and reflective feedback. This highlights positive practice and areas for discussion. Comprehensive chronologies allow for thorough monitoring, evaluation and review of children’s progress and experiences. Collaborative discussions between leaders, managers and staff inform ongoing practice to further improve children’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff enjoy working in the home and continuously reflect on their practice and the impact that their actions have on children. They are exceptionally positive about leaders and managers and the support that they receive. They choose to remain working in the home, which affords children the stability and consistency they need Inspection report for children’s home: 2711689 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

and the ability to build the safe and secure relationships that are visible within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive high-quality, planned and reflective supervision sessions that help them to understand children’s experiences and to continuously improve practice. Managers and staff devise clear and purposeful actions that support staff development and the progress and safety of the children. The culture of learning and reflection within the home expands to team meetings, where staff and managers jointly plan how children’s needs should be met. All staff are provided with training essential to their role. Additional to this, staff have received more bespoke training that allows them to meet the individual needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Other professionals who work with the children and staff provided exceptionally positive feedback about the cohesion within the staff team, particularly the registered manager, and the care that children receive. Professionals value the quality of communication from staff and their creativity and ability to have respectful and robust conversations to inform decision-making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The quality of planning for children to move to the home is excellent. Effective information-gathering, assessment of risk and collaborative working from a highly motivated and proactive team results in considered and robust evaluations of the ability to meet each child’s needs. The views of children are gained and considered during two-way conversations that aim to support them to feel more at ease with the substantial changes that are due to take place. Meticulous planning and evaluation of staff knowledge and skills in relation to meeting children’s needs results in successful moves.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers take concerns regarding staff practice seriously. Within a planned and structured investigation, the experiences of the child and the high standards of practice expected by the home are at the forefront of decision-making. Children are informed of the outcome, which makes them feel heard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No recommendations or requirements have been made following this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2711689 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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: 2711689 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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: 2711689 9 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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