Children's home run by Wiltshire Council

Inspection report for children's home: SC032439 1 SC032439 Registered provider: Wiltshire Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide a short-breaks service for up to six children at a time. Children may have physical disabilities, learning disabilities and/or sensory impairment. Wiltshire local authority operates the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since May 2025 and was the deputy manager for several years prior to this.

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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 outstanding

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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: 29 October 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: SC032439 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/10/2024 Full Good 21/11/2023 Full Good 13/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/02/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: SC032439 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The short-breaks service provides care for 23 children. At the time of the inspection, three children were visiting the home. The inspector spent time with the children and observed their interactions with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care from a dedicated team of staff who strive to meet their needs. Staff have developed good relationships with children and their interactions are caring and playful. Children trust staff to provide them with support and reassurance. They are confident, relaxed and happy in staff’s presence. The home is an inviting environment for children and their imagination is stimulated by brightly coloured paintings and themed decorations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have complex health needs and some are non-verbal. Staff pay attention to their behavioural cues and respond in a timely and appropriate manner, showing children that they have been understood. When children have verbal ability, staff encourage their speech by asking them open questions, prompting their engagement in conversations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of children’s needs, vulnerabilities, risks, communication preferences and strengths. They show interest in children’s cultural and religious needs. For example, one child practises Christianity and social story prayers have been created for him. Another child practises Hinduism. Staff are aware of her dietary requirements and have drawn up a list of appropriate foods for her.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to make progress in various areas, for example communication, independence skills, socialisation, managing emotions and decision-making. Managers are reviewing all targets for children to ensure that they are more meaningful to help children achieve developmental milestones. Additionally, managers know that some staff require additional encouragement to ensure that they consistently promote children’s independence and are taking action to address this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work incredibly hard to ensure that children have smooth transitions to adult services. This includes sharing information with new homes, facilitating meetings between the child and their new staff team and providing thorough handovers in relation to children’s medical needs. Parents and external professionals shared positive feedback about the home, highlighting strengthened collaborative working.

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

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of children’s cognitive abilities and how to communicate with them in a manner that reflects their needs. The use of physical interventions is rare because staff use their knowledge of children to devise appropriate strategies that help them to feel calm. Some of these strategies lean into children’s interests, for example, using a teddy to communicate with them. Inspection report for children's home: SC032439 4 Staff are observant and they quickly identify when children present with new behaviours that create risk. They help children to understand appropriate boundaries by using scripted messages that are short and clear, aiding children’s comprehension. When necessary, staffing ratios are increased for individual children to keep everyone safe. Additionally, children’s breaks are sometimes paused until staff can meet with parents to revise plans.

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

Staff have a very good understanding of safeguarding and they attend children’s statutory reviews. When staff identify concerns, such as unexplained bruising or marks on children, they work collaboratively with occupational therapists and social workers to determine the cause. If appropriate, staff communicate directly with parents. However, they recognise when social workers need to take the lead. Staff sometimes attend home visits with social workers, using their knowledge of children to support interventions.

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

Medication errors are rare but when they do occur, staff respond in an open and transparent manner. On one occasion, staff self-reported when they realised they had made a mistake prior to administering the drug. On another occasion, there was a delay in an error being identified, however, when managers became aware of it, they immediately initiated an investigation. They identified a shortfall with the medical administration form and quickly made changes to practice.

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

There have been no complaints or allegations of poor staff practice since the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders have worked incredibly hard to ensure that children receive consistently good care, despite the changes within the staffing team. Leaders have nurtured experienced staff who demonstrate strong knowledge and skills and promoted them to senior residential workers and managers. Leaders have provided valuable support to seniors and managers to ensure their personal development and to boost their confidence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers have upskilled their senior residential workers in relation to safeguarding children. Their practice involves strong critical analysis, thorough consideration of children’s health needs and timely consultation with external professionals. Leaders and managers have encouraged staff to build positive relationships with parents who are apprehensive about their children having respite care. They work with parents to agree phased visits at a pace that is manageable for children and their parents. This approach has instilled parents’ trust in the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders have embedded and strengthened excellent relationships with external agencies and settings, such as schools, the occupational health team and homes for disabled adults in the local area. This makes a positive difference to children’s lives, especially in the context of their health needs and transition to adult services. Staff have organised health-related training for the children’s new staff and have shared important health plans, for example, those related to sleep programmes and seizures. Inspection report for children's home: SC032439 5 Leaders and managers are critically reflective and ambitious; they have a strong understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. They know that some staff require additional support to enhance their practice and they closely monitor this through supervision and, if necessary, with performance improvement plans. Managers have high expectations of the staff and the care they deliver to children. They use direct

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

observations and newly devised quality assurance frameworks to review aspects of service delivery, with the aim of continually improving the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No requirements or recommendations were made during this inspection.

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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: SC032439 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Director of Social Services, County Hall, Bythesea Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 8LE

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Inspector

Tara Webb, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC032439 7 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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