Children's Home run by New Forest Care Limited in Hampshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2785274 1 Registered provider: New Forest Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately owned children's home that is registered to provide care for one child with social and emotional difficulties, up to the age of 18 years.

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Information about this children's home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2024.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, there were no children living in the home. The inspection period covered the care of 2 children: one child moved out almost 12 months ago and another child moved in and stayed until they moved out a few weeks before the inspection visit.

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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: 26 February 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: 2785274 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/02/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2785274 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff love the children in their care. They clearly take great pleasure in caring for the children and seeing the progress they achieve while living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are nurturing and playful in their approach to children, and being in a single- occupancy home allows them to provide the focused attention children may need. Staff fondly recounted experiences they had created for one child to ensure that they had opportunities to enjoy fun activities. These examples included camping in the garden, playing in the nearby woodland areas and having opportunities to try new activities and develop skills and hobbies such as climbing and skiing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

External professionals consistently used the phrase 'above and beyond' to describe the efforts of the manager and the staff team to do what is best for the child in their care. The manager and staff team advocate strongly for children, and one child's headteacher cited the manager's professional challenge as a significant part of the success the child achieved in education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child described their time in the home as 'fun' and that staff are 'friendly'. They noted that they had people in the home they felt they could confide in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Preparations for children moving in and out of the home are well considered and child focused. For one child who moved from a sister home, the staff received training tailored to the child's needs from the company's clinical team, as well as meeting with the previous home's manager to share experiences. To offer the child consistency, 2 staff members from the previous home also moved with the child to work in this home to ensure that the move was as smooth as possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children moving out of the home receive photo albums of their time there and are able to keep in contact with staff if they wish. For the child who has most recently moved out of the home, the manager sent a care package with a further photo album and some treats to let them know they are still held in mind.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported to explore their identity in a gentle way that is led by the child. Their wishes and feelings are heard, captured and acted upon. Children are asked about their reflections on their care and what they would like to be different. Arrangements are changed to accommodate these wishes where possible and appropriate.

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

Children are helped to keep safe in this home. Inspection report for children's home: 2785274 4 The frequency of physical restraints reduced for one child during their stay at the home. Leaders routinely review incidents on a quarterly basis to look for patterns and themes to further understand the child's needs. This analysis is shared with the wider staff team to consider how they may adapt their approach with the child.

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

Children consistently have the opportunity to talk about incidents, particularly when the incident has involved a physical restraint. These conversations are well recorded and non-stigmatising for the child.

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

Adult debriefs are now well recorded and reflective following a physical restraint. This is practice that has improved. The manager has reflected and acted on feedback to improve the recording and oversight of incidents. The manager appropriately challenges, critically reviews and questions practice to develop a deeper understanding of the behaviour and triggers.

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

When children have raised concerns, these are taken forward and managed through the complaints process, even if the child later retracts their statement or says that they do not wish to pursue a complaint. The manager is clear about the importance of these opportunities to scrutinise practice and show the child that their voice is heard and their experiences matter.

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

The manager has reported 2 incidents in the home to the police for information-sharing purposes only, although this is not in line with the company's policy, which quotes the importance of ensuring that children in care are not unnecessarily criminalised. There has been no value for the child in the decision to share information with the police.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is headed by a strong manager and leadership team. They are well respected by the staff team, which describes leaders who lead by example and who are approachable and collaborative in the way that they lead the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers are fierce advocates for the children in their care, whose needs they know and understand well. The decision to end one child's placement with them was borne out of them feeling the need to advocate for the child to be cared for in a highly specialist provision where they can receive specialist therapeutic input, which they hope will have a positive impact on their life through childhood and beyond.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers have appropriately challenged local authorities in their planning and decision-making. In one example, they made arrangements to extend their support for a child to avoid them being placed in an unregistered provision until firmer plans could be put in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The training that staff receive is tailored to the needs of the children in their care. Leaders regularly arrange training days that are bespoke to the team's needs and the Inspection report for children's home: 2785274 5 children's presentation. Training refreshers are offered, even before they are required, in an effort to support and build confidence in the staff team. Staff receive regular supervision by leaders and managers. Staff consistently reported this to be of high quality, reflective and useful in their practice. However, recording of supervision is not always thorough and does not accurately reflect the conversations held. This is particularly important if managers were ever needed to rely on these at a later date. Inspection report for children's home: 2785274 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should make an accurate and full record of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions with staff. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.4)  The registered person should ensure that information is only shared with the police when there is a clear need to do so and the rationale for this is clearly documented, taking into account the potential impact on the child. The registered person should ensure that the police are not used for behaviours that would not similarly lead to police involvement if they occurred in a family home. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 47, paragraph 9.40)

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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: 2785274 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: New Forest Care Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: West Shore House, West Street, Hythe, Southampton, Hampshire SO45 6AA

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Inspector

Katie Ratcliffe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2785274 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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