Children's home run by What's Out There Limited

Inspection report for children's home: SC465120 1 SC465120 Registered provider: What's Out There Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home is owned by a private company. It can provide care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in October 2020.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC465120 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/06/2024 Full Good 18/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC465120 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. The children were observed to have good relationships with the staff and appeared relaxed and content in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage with a wide range of activities that reflect their individual interests. For example, one child was encouraged to join a sporting club and is now excelling, regularly achieving first place in competitions. One child has taken part in a variety of exciting activities while they have lived in the home, including going to an under 18's rave and quad biking. Another child aspires to start driving lessons, which is also being supported by the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress with developing positive routines, relationships and understanding how to keep themselves safe. Children's achievements are celebrated, and birthdays are marked with warmth. However, none of the children who live in the home have a memory book. One child lived in the home briefly and left without a memory book to capture this period of their life. A child moving on from the home without this time being clearly captured in a meaningful way will impact their understanding of their unique life story.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage with learning that meets their individual needs. One child was out of education and training when they moved into the home. Staff supported them to apply for training and employment. They are now working full time and aspire to progress into an apprenticeship, with staff encouraging this ambition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans contain appropriate background information and clearly set out how each child's needs should be met. Children have short- and long-term goals, which are reviewed and support their individual progress. Staff understand these plans well and meet children's needs effectively as a result.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves into the home are planned. When children move in they visit the home and are visited by staff, in line with their own preferences. This helps children to settle and form relationships. Children are supported to learn and strengthen daily living skills in line with their age and stage of development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved in and out of the home in a relatively short period as a result of staff struggling to manage an escalation in their behaviours. Although professionals were consulted prior to the placement, the manager recognises that the information gathered was not sufficiently comprehensive. The manager has put this learning into practice when considering subsequent children moving into the home. They now make good efforts to speak with all professionals who know children well before decisions are made about children moving in. Inspection report for children's home: SC465120 4

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

There is a good safeguarding culture in the home, which contributes to children feeling safe and secure. Staff understand children's risks well and know how to respond to safeguarding concerns when they arise.

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

Four physical interventions have taken place since the last inspection. Each of these were proportionate to the behaviour being shown. Following incidents, there are follow up conversations with staff and children, and children are helped to reflect on incidents in a meaningful way. Efforts are made to repair relationships following incidents. When a child has raised a concern about staff action during an incident, this has been investigated swiftly by the manager. The manager consulted an external safeguarding agency about the strategies being used to prioritise the child's safety.

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

When children go missing from home, staff respond swiftly. They follow protocols and maintain contact with children where possible. Children receive a warm welcome when they return to the home. There is good multi-agency work taking place, which helps to bring children home safely. However, a lack of consistent management oversight means that opportunities to identify patterns and trends are missed.

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

Significant and meaningful conversations take place with children regularly. These discussions focus on issues that are relevant to their individual lives and help them to make sense of personal difficulties. When sensitive matters are discussed, staff approach them with care and clarity, providing children with factual information to support informed decision-making. When incidents take place in the community that cause children distress, children instinctively seek help from staff, who provide support and encouragement to help them manage difficult situations.

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

When children raise concerns about the practice of staff, these are taken seriously. The manager makes relevant enquiries and ensures that matters are followed up robustly. When children raise concerns about external professionals, these are also escalated appropriately by the manager. This ensures that children feel listened to and valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is effective leadership in the home, provided by an experienced manager who understands the service's strengths and weaknesses. There is a focus on continual improvement, which ensures that children benefit from staff who are nurturing, knowledgeable and skilled.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about the support they receive from leaders and managers. They express pride in the children's achievements and in the progress that children make. Staff say that they are a close team and feel confident that they can express concerns and seek support as needed. External professionals speak highly of the nurturing care provided by the staff. They feel that the effective multi-agency work and advocacy from the manager support the progress that children are able to make. Inspection report for children's home: SC465120 5 Team meetings are undertaken regularly and provide a forum to discuss practice, reflect and learn from recent events in the home. When concerns are identified regarding staff practice, or when gaps in knowledge emerge, these are highlighted and swiftly addressed. The manager takes action to implement additional training when needed, which encourages a culture of continued learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are also encouraged to reflect on their practice, knowledge and skills in supervision. When incidents occur, there is reflection around what staff could have done differently, which further contributes to a culture of learning. When concerns arise around staff practice, the manager responds decisively, implementing development plans to help staff improve their skills and confidence. Inspection report for children's home: SC465120 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the 'Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards'. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children's home that—

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home (Regulation 13 (1)(a) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must have effective oversight over all significant incidents so that patterns and trends can be identified and any weaknesses in staff practice can be highlighted and supported. 26 January 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person must ensure that children's memories are preserved in a way that provides meaningful information about their time within the home. Additionally, the registered person should ensure that there is a record of significant life events that children are able to take with them when they move on from the home. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.5) Inspection report for children's home: SC465120 7

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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: SC465120 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: What's Out There Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Burrow Hill Cottage, Wiveliscombe, Taunton, Somerset TA4 2RN

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Inspector

Minnette Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC465120 9 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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