Children's home run by Five Rivers Child Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2723209 1 Registered provider: Five Rivers Child Care Limited

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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 privately operated by a provider of several children’s homes in South West England. It offers care for one child who experiences social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home, who was present and spoken to.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2024. The manager was not present during the inspection.

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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: 28 January 2025

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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: 2723209 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/01/2025 Full Good 27/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2723209 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are nurturing, caring and sensitive towards the child’s needs. Staff have formed strong relationships with the child and have helped them to grow and develop in the time the child has lived in the home. Staff know the child well and fully understand how they can get the best out of the child. Staff use this knowledge to ensure that the child achieves positive outcomes and makes good progress in all areas of their life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of contact with people who are important to the child and help the child to maintain precious time with their loved ones. Staff are mindful of the positive and negative impact this can have on the child’s emotional wellbeing and understand what they need to do to support this. Staff work positively with families and professionals to ensure the child enjoys valuable and meaningful time with their family. One family member commented that they have no concerns, and that they receive very good communication from the team, who do an amazing job.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote good health, and the child is being supported to improve and manage specific areas of their daily routine that could have an adverse impact on the child’s health. An in-house therapist has worked with the child to meet their health needs effectively. They have also worked alongside staff to help better inform their practice around the child’s specific needs. As a result, staff are able to have delicate and sensitive conversations with the child to support them without them feeling shamed. This support has helped the child to make significant progress from their starting point.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of the child attending and doing well in their education. Managers and staff have built positive working relationships with the child’s school and together they have ensured that the child’s rights are upheld, and they receive a full educational provision that meets their needs. Staff take opportunities to regularly engage the child in meaningful informal educational activities to aid their learning and development. For example, they have supported the child to join a gym, which also promotes their physical health. The child has made very good progress and has good attendance at school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home feels warm and homely. The child’s identity can be perceived throughout the home. The child’s bedroom is decorated to reflect their individual hobbies and interests, with their artwork displayed on every wall. The vast, well-maintained garden provides a safe and enjoyable space for the child to play and have fun.

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

The child said they were happy and felt safe living in their home. Staff maintain established boundaries to help keep the child safe and protected from harm. The child agrees with the boundaries in place and adheres to them to keep themselves safe. Staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2723209 4 treat the child with dignity and respect. Staff understand when they need to respect the child’s privacy and personal space and when they need support.

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

Significant incidents involving the child are rare. For example, the child has not gone missing from the home, has not been involved in any significant safeguarding incidents and physical restraint has not needed to be used. This is a positive testament to how staff have supported the child to keep themselves safe and protected from harm.

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

Staff are aware of the child’s individual vulnerabilities and risks. Risk assessments are detailed and reviewed appropriately to ensure that they are up to date. Records provide staff with clear guidance, enabling them to determine what action they need to take to address the current risks and help keep the child protected from harm. However, the child has some recorded risk assessments in place for risks that are no longer relevant to child’s needs. This has the potential to hinder staff’s understanding of the child’s current risks.

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

Staff take a positive approach and understand the importance of encouraging the child to take age-appropriate risks. Staff are flexible in their approach and adapt their practice to enable the child to spend important and safe time with their friends and family in the community, without any unnecessary restrictions.

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

When new staff join the team, thorough safer recruitment checks are performed to help the registered manager determine whether staff are suitable to work with vulnerable children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is well managed by passionate and caring leaders and managers, who focus on the child’s aspirations and work positively with external professionals to achieve them. This ethos is embraced by the staff, who share the manager’s vision and put the child at the heart of everything they do. An independent reviewing officer commented that staff are responsive, consistent and understand the child’s needs, adding they have seen firsthand the progress the child has made in their resilience, confidence and emotional maturity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are happy in their roles and love working at the home. Lots of fun and laughter was observed between staff and the child during the inspection and different enjoyable activities took place. Staff speak with genuine pride and joy about how the child has developed and progressed while in their care, and the positive difference they have made and continue to make in the child’s life.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers take the time to listen to the child, respect their wishes and involve the child in the decisions they make. For example, the child has written questions about what is important to them for the manager to ask potential new staff during their interview. The child’s voice shines through in their records and is used to inform staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2723209 5 Staff benefit from regular supervision and have access to an in-house clinical practitioner to support their development and enhance their mental wellbeing. Training to further develop practice is of a good standard. Staff are encouraged to attain qualifications to aid their professional development so they can provide the best care to the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2723209 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to keep them safe. In particular, the registered person should ensure that the child’s risks and vulnerabilities are assessed appropriately and proportionately. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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: 2723209 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Five Rivers Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 47 Bedwin Street, Salisbury SP1 3UT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Timothy-John Matthews

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Inspector

Gary Turney, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2723209 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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