Children's Home run by SW Education & Care Ltd in Devon

Inspection report for children’s home: 2578677 1 Registered provider: SW Education & Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by a small private provider and delivers care for up to 3 children who may have social and emotional difficulties. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

There is one child living in the home, who lived at the home during the last inspection. They were present during the inspection and spoke with the inspector.

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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: 2578677 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/05/2025 Full Good 06/08/2024 Full Good 22/01/2024 Full Good 11/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2578677 3

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Summary of findings

Children receive good, individualised care that helps them feel safe and settled. Strong relationships and effective support enable progress in independence, education and emotional wellbeing.

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Summary of findings

Safeguarding arrangements are mostly effective, with clear management oversight and partnership working. While practice is strong overall, some inconsistencies remain. Leaders understand these and are taking appropriate action to address them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from care that is tailored to their individual needs. Boundaries are clearly explained and consistently applied. This helps children understand expectations, contributing to a sense of stability and security. Warm and positive relationships are evident. Staff support children to develop independence in a way that keeps their safety in mind and helps them to build confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children appear relaxed and at ease in the home. They interact openly with staff and managers and show familiarity with senior leaders. This reflects consistency in care and the development of trusted relationships. Staff model respect and kindness in their day- to-day interactions. Relationships are purposeful and support children to understand what safe and positive relationships look like.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that family time is well planned and meaningful, supporting children to maintain and strengthen important relationships. Children benefit from spending time with relatives, including overnight stays and shared activities with parents that promote education and work-related experiences. Staff implement realistic, child-centred plans that prioritise safety and avoid unnecessary pressure, enabling children to sustain these relationships in a positive and secure way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to take part in activities outside of the home. Since the last inspection, the child has increased time in the community without direct staff supervision, demonstrating growing independence and an improved ability to manage their own safety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has made progress in education, completing mainstream schooling through a supported satellite provision. Managers have ensured that the child’s education, health and care plan is current and appropriate, enabling access to the right support. Planning for the child’s move to college is clear and coordinated, with effective partnership working contributing to future arrangements. Health needs are well understood and supported, with access to specialist services and routine appointments. Inspection report for children’s home: 2578677 4

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

Managers have a clear understanding of safeguarding risks and take effective action to minimise these. Plans and strategies support children to recognise risk, including exploitation, and develop their ability to seek help. Children demonstrate this learning in their open discussions with staff and in their actions.

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

Staff understand the risks associated with the child going missing from the home. There have been 7 incidents since the last inspection, indicating that risk remains present and requires continued focus, although it has reduced. Clear guidance, aligned with local procedures, supports staff to take prompt and appropriate action. Records show attempts to contact the child and actions taken to support their safe return, alongside effective communication with parents and partner agencies to ensure a coordinated safeguarding response.

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

Staff provide reassurance and nurturing support following incidents and conversations with children are usually timely and help them to understand risk and reduce recurrence. However, in one example, managers did not engage effectively in the conversation or demonstrate sufficient sensitivity to the child’s vulnerabilities and contextual risks. This resulted in an approach that conveyed elements of blame and shame, which is likely to have negatively affected the child’s sense of trust.

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

Staff have not used any physical intervention with the child. This reflects the home’s strong emphasis on relationship-based practice, where positive engagement and understanding reduce the need for restrictive responses. This approach supports children to feel safe, respected and more able to regulate their behaviour.

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

Managers have carried out home improvements to ensure the home maintains a welcoming and homely environment. However, they did not consider how the presence of locks on internal doors impacts on the physical environment or how these restrictions might be experienced and understood by children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the strengths and challenges within the home. They recognise the impact of staff changes and have taken steps to understand and address this. There is a clear focus on improving stability, with support for new staff balanced by clear expectations. This approach contributes to maintaining consistency of care for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report feeling supported. They receive regular supervision, and team meetings contribute to strong working relationships and morale. There is a consistent understanding among staff and managers of the ethos of care. This supports continuity in practice and helps ensure that the child receives consistent messages and support. Inspection report for children’s home: 2578677 5 Children’s views are recognised, and efforts are made to involve them in decisions about their care. However, this is not consistently reflected in written plans. Records do not always clearly capture the child’s voice or demonstrate how they have contributed to their plans as living documents. This limits the ability to fully evidence children’s participation and ongoing involvement in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers understand the factors that influence the child’s progress and advocate effectively to ensure that individual needs are recognised and met. Partnership working is strong. Professionals speak positively about the home’s involvement and contribution to planning. This strengthens planning and supports positive outcomes for the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2578677 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the response to children, including following incidents of children going missing from the home, is carried out in ways that are consistently child-centred and trauma-informed. This includes avoiding any language or practice that places blame or shame on children, and instead promoting responses that are empathic, respectful and focused on understanding the child’s experiences and needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28)  The registered person should ensure that the home and garden are part of a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. The home, as far as possible, should maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression, so the need for locks within the home must take into account how children might feel about them and how they are supported to understand the

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Recommendations

reasons for the locks. In addition, how they can be safely removed once the need for the lock is no longer an issue. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that children are supported to express their views and to have these recorded within the home’s records as ‘living documents’, supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)

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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: 2578677 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: SW Education & Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Higher Barn, Pound Lane, Bishops Lydeard, Taunton TA4 3DN

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Inspector

Ashley Arkless, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2578677 8 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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