Children's Home run by South West Childcare Services in Plymouth

Inspection report for children’s home: 1277304 1 Registered provider: South West Childcare Services Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to two children with social and emotional needs. At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home and were both present at the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a suitably qualified manager.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 13 November 2024

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1277304 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/11/2024 Full Good 30/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/08/2022 Full Good 21/12/2021 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1277304 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children living in the home are making good progress. Care and support plans are individualised, well structured and comprehensive. This enables staff to understand each child’s goals and how they can support them to make continued progress. Staff talk about the children’s progress with pride, and individual achievements are celebrated.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff know the children well, they listen to them and support them to explore their feelings and understand their emotions and behaviours. One child said they can talk to staff if they are worried and the staff help and support them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have high aspirations for children and place great importance on education. As a result, children enjoy attending school, are making good progress and have goals and aspirations for their future. Staff advocate effectively for children’s educational needs. For example, additional tutoring was sourced for one child in preparation for upcoming exams, and this has resulted in a marked improvement in their grades. For another child staff worked with school to adapt their timetable and the child’s attendance has improved.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff maintain highly positive relationships with education providers. Feedback has been consistently complimentary, reflecting the strong partnership working that ensures children’s needs are met holistically.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff place a strong emphasis on supporting children to maintain meaningful relationships with their relatives, friends and other significant people in their lives. They understand the importance of these connections for children’s wellbeing and identity. Staff work closely with children, families and professionals to ensure that the time together is safe and positive and in line with the child’s wishes.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive social time with their peers. They regularly have sleepovers both at home and at their friends’ homes. Staff perform regular checks on children when they are away from the home to ensure this time is safely managed. These opportunities promote children’s sense of belonging and are important for their future independence.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively promote children’s understanding of healthy relationships. Staff have regular and meaningful conversations that provide guidance and positive role modelling to help children learn the skills to communicate effectively and manage conflict in a constructive way. Because of this, children have an increased awareness and confidence within their personal relationships and can better manage these.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff offer children a wide range of activities that support their hobbies and interests. Examples have included theme park visits, snowboarding, pottery and adrenaline-fuelled activities. One child attends drumming lessons, and another child has expressed an interest in guitar lessons, which are currently being explored. Inspection report for children’s home: 1277304 4

p.3

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

Staff understand the risks for children. These risks are continually assessed and provide staff with clear guidance on effective strategies to support children. This helps to ensure a consistent approach from a skilled team of staff and contributes to a feeling of wellbeing and security for children who say they feel safe living at the home.

p.4

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

While some risks around substance misuse are still present for one child, the members of the team are attuned to the child and recognise the signs of this and respond appropriately. The manager has made the necessary referrals for specialist support and works and ensures that information is shared with all relevant professionals.

p.4

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

Staff talk to children to support their understanding of risk. Their approach is non- judgmental, creating a culture of honesty and minimising feelings of shame. Children feel safe to make mistakes and are supported to learn from these.

p.4

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

Managers take a proportionate and individualised approach in relation to monitoring mobile phone and internet use. Parental controls and monitoring systems are in place for one child to ensure they are not exposed to risk online. When concerns arise, staff take appropriate action to safeguard the child and to help educate them.

p.4

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

Approaches to monitoring mobile phone and internet use in the home are proportionate and individualised. Parental controls and monitoring systems are in place for one child to ensure their online activity is safe. When concerns arise, staff take appropriate action to safeguard the child, and staff have educative discussions to support their understanding.

p.4

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

There has been a reduction in incidents of self-harm for one child; this reflects the relational support from staff and the strong trusting relationships they have formed with the children. When children self-harm, staff follow agreed procedures to ensure that children are safe and receive the right help. Multi-agency consultation needs to improve to ensure that approaches are helpful to reduce risk and provide children with emotional containment. The manager reflected on this during the inspection and has already made steps to strengthen this.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is inspirational, confident and ambitious for children. He creates a culture of high aspiration and positivity, which is embraced by a team of skilled staff. The manager has successfully maintained high standards of care for children and has demonstrated commitment and dedication that is recognised by all professionals.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are passionate and committed to caring for the children. The manager has created a supportive, empowering environment for staff that allows them to develop and be creative in their approaches. The staff enjoy working in the home, take pride in their roles and feel valued by the management team. They describe the manager as caring and child focused, and one staff member said, ‘He is the best manager I have ever had.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 1277304 5 Staff benefit from high-quality supervisions, child-focused training and informative team meetings. These help to ensure that staff remain reflective and provide opportunities for learning that support staff to be confident in their roles. The manager is committed to the individual development of all members of the staff team, which is central to the retention of the team. This provides consistency and stability for children and contributes

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager understands the progress children are making and is creative in ways to demonstrate this. He has excellent relationships with the children, who feel well supported and listened too.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has a strong presence in the home and provides high levels of oversight, with excellent monitoring and review systems in place to regularly assess the quality of care. He leads by example and embeds an ethos of achievement and stability that is underpinned by strong and trusting relationships. He understands the strengths of the home and areas for development, always striving for continuous improvements.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Where responses from other professionals are not child centred, the manager professionally challenges with confidence. He is a strong advocate for children and has been instrumental in ensuring that children’s voices are heard and central to decisions made.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

An overwhelming strength of the home lies in the professional relationships with external agencies and schools. Professionals are highly complimentary about the care children receive and the progress they are making. These strong partnerships enhance the quality of care provided to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1277304 6

p.5

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: 1277304 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: South West Childcare Services Ltd

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 4AH

p.7

Inspector

Carly Parry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1277304 8 regulates 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8