Children's Home run by Plus One South West Ltd in Somerset

Inspection report for children's home: 2830603 1 Registered provider: Plus One South West Ltd

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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 operated by a private company. It provides care for up to 2 children who may have social, emotional or learning difficulties. At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home. The inspector spent time with the child.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2830603 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/07/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2830603 3

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Summary of findings

The child is safe and they are happy living at the home. Staff know the child well and support them to spend quality time with friends and family to help develop their confidence. This has enabled the child to maintain a strong sense of belonging. Leaders and managers demonstrate a genuine commitment to the child and provide good support for staff, who say they enjoy working in the home. The child is making steady progress. The staff continue to have positive and trusting relationships with the child. Families and external professionals speak highly of the home and the positive impact it has on the child's progress and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Time with friends and family is carefully planned and assessed to ensure that this remains meaningful and safe. The staff have welcomed friends to spend time at the home and support these friendships to ensure that they are positive. A strength of the home is the relationships that staff have with the child's wider family who are important to the child. There has been sustained progress with these relationships because of the ongoing support from staff. Family members are happy with the care provided to the child. One family member referred to the team, saying, 'they are like family to us'.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has made some progress with education. There have been periods of improved attendance and engagement, with positive feedback received from education providers. The manager continues to have strong communication with all key professionals, and education for the child is kept under regular review. The staff have regular conversations with the child about their education and future aspirations and are curious at times when the child's attendance declines. When the child has not engaged in planned education, the staff have offered alternative educational activities that support their interests. However, this is not proactively planned, and it is not always clear what has been done.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff know the child well. They listen to them and invest time in conversations about topics of importance, with curiosity and empathy. Conversations are educational and supportive. However, at times, the language used in records is not child friendly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys a range of social and recreational activities that reflect their hobbies and interests. Activities have included bike rides, walks on the beach and visiting theme parks, and the child has recently joined a gym. The child has a better sleep routine and improved diet since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the child to become more independent. They are exploring creative ways to do this to maximise engagement. The child keeps their bedroom tidy, brings down their dishes and does their washing with support. Inspection report for children's home: 2830603 4

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

The manager and staff understand the risks for the child. The child feels safe living at the home and they can identify a trusted adult who they can talk to about any concerns. Staff talk to the child about risk and educate them on topics such as internet safety, substance misuse and vaping.

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

The staff know the risks that the internet may pose for the child and ensure they are following agreed safeguarding measures and protocols. Where there have been concerns regarding online activity through the child's use of mobile phone and gaming consoles, these have been identified quickly and robust action taken in response. Referrals have been made for additional support to further help their understanding of these risks.

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

Staff hold appropriate boundaries, which has contributed to a reduction in the frequency and duration of incidents. When incidents have occurred, the strategies used by staff have been effective.

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

Consequences are used to address negative behaviour. The use of these is not always restorative in nature, therefore does not help the child to recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others. These consequences also lack management oversight and review to determine their effectiveness.

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

Staff working in the home take appropriate action when responding to risk or concerns about a child's safety. However, the plans in place do not always reflect current risks for the child and therefore do not provide guidance for staff on the steps they need to take to ensure the child is safe and responses are consistent.

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

The manager carries out safer recruitment for permanent staff. On 2 occasions, the manager had not verbally verified references for staff members before they started working in the home. This shortfall was addressed during the inspection and verifications have now been obtained.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is well managed by an experienced and caring manager, who has high aspirations for the home. The manager knows the child well and is responsive to their needs. She is a strong advocate for the child and professionally challenges and escalates where necessary. An example of this is in relation to the child's education. The child has now had a full review of their needs and been awarded additional funding alongside an increase in hours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides a positive environment for staff, who say they enjoy working in the home and feel supported. When new staff start working in the home, they benefit from a good induction and spend time building relationships with the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular team meetings and receive supervision that focuses on the care and support of the child and safeguarding. The manager also sends weekly updates to the Inspection report for children's home: 2830603 5 team to ensure that they are fully informed of any changes, to promote consistency. However, reflective discussions are not recorded in detail and key learning from incidents is not shared to identify lessons learned and support wider learning for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the progress the child is making and the experiences that have supported this progress. She understands the home's strengths and can identify clear areas of development. However, the quality of care reviews do not include feedback from professionals or the child, which would further strengthen the effectiveness of the review.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professional feedback is positive; professionals recognise the hard work and efforts of the team in supporting the child. One professional said, 'The passion, drive and care that you have for the child is outstanding. I work with many residential homes and you guys always stand out; they are so lucky to have you all.' Inspection report for children's home: 2830603 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children's home;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that reference checks for all employees are verbally verified prior to them starting work in the home. 24 April 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the language used in documents is child friendly and reflects the caring ethos of the home. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that where children are declining to attend education, staff are provided with clear guidance on how they can support the child to regain their confidence by engaging in suitable, structured activities that supports re-engagement. ('Guide to Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children and the staff caring for them. The manager should ensure that she has oversight of these to review their Inspection report for children's home: 2830603 7 effectiveness. ('Guide to Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that plans for children reflect the child's current risks. These should include details of the steps that staff will take to manage and respond to any specific risks on a day-to-day basis. ('Guide to Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 45, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that supervision records and team meeting minutes are strengthened to promote staff self-reflection and include learning from incidents to promote practice improvements. ('Guide to Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 39, paragraph 8.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the quality of care review includes the views and feedback of children and professionals about the home and the care provided. ('Guide to Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 64, paragraph 15.2)

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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: 2830603 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Plus One South West Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: C/O Milsted Langdon Llp Winchester House, Deane Gate Avenue, Taunton, Somerset, England TA1 2UH

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Stephen Nicholson

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Children's home details

Registered manager: Ana de Lamo Galletero

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Inspector

Carly Parry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2830603 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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