Children's Home run by Central and Southern Homes Limited in Devon

Inspection report for children's home: 2611536 1 Registered provider: Central and Southern Homes Limited

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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 children's home provides care for up to 4 children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living at the home. One child has moved in and one child has moved out since the previous inspection. All 3 children were seen and spoken to as part of the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The home's manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2025.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 2611536 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/04/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/08/2024 Full Good 25/04/2023 Full Good 15/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2611536 3

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Summary of findings

Children are making progress in the home. Staff, leaders and managers know the children well and support them to develop in respect of their health, education, relationships and emotional wellbeing.

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Summary of findings

While incidents take place in the home, which have increased in recent weeks, staff understand how to respond to keep children safe. The day-to-day experiences of children are therefore mostly positive.

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Summary of findings

Staff are well supported by managers, and they enjoy working in the home. Leaders and managers have established a positive learning culture and help staff to focus on improving their practice to further enhance children's experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in the home and staff have high aspirations for them. All 3 children attend school settings, including one child who has historically struggled to maintain any form of education. One child has recently completed their GCSE's and was awarded 'student of the year' from their school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel well supported and settled. One child commented that the current manager is 'the best one' they have ever had. Leaders and managers focus on ensuring stability for children. One child has lived in the home for nearly 5 years and another for approximately 3 years. Staff form strong and effective relationships with children. This has been key in maintaining children's placements during challenging periods.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend fun and engaging activities. These activities support children to have positive experiences together with their peers, as well as individually. Staff also encourage children to partake in extra-curricular activities. One child has successfully completed a season at their local rugby team and was awarded a 'players' player' award. This is a significant achievement for this child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's health needs are met. One child has been discharged from a specialist hospital team due to the progress they have made. Staff also support children's mental health needs through accessing specialist support from external agencies and regularly engaging children in discussions about their emotional wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff facilitate and promote family time for the children. Where appropriate, family visit the home and spend time with their child there. Where there have been concerns about family time, this has been appropriately identified and escalated by the manager. Children's wishes and feelings are listened to and taken into account in decision-making. One family member feels that their child is happy in their home and well cared for. Inspection report for children's home: 2611536 4 Children who move out of the home maintain regular contact with a key member of staff. They often visit to see the team and to partake in 'family dinners'. This further supports their feeling of stability despite having moved on from the home.

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improvement to be good

There has been a recent increase in incidents taking place in the home. Staff understand why this is happening and intervene with the aim of reducing the likelihood of escalated behaviours. The youngest child has been exposed to some behaviour incidents that resulted in them feeling emotionally unsettled. However, staff take action to lessen the impact and influence that children have on each other, but this is not always effective.

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improvement to be good

Leaders, managers and staff escalate safeguarding concerns appropriately. Staff accurately identify and explore emerging or increasing risks. They liaise with multi- agency professionals in an effort to address and reduce concerns.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers are realistic about children's competing needs and risks. Assessments undertaken prior to children moving into the home are clear in how staff must respond to anticipated risks and concerns. Staff understand how to attune to children's needs when they are emotionally unsettled and need additional support.

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improvement to be good

Staff use physical interventions that align with the children's individual needs and plans. Physical interventions are proportionate to the incident taking place and the presenting risks. In these instances, staff use the least-restrictive methods.

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improvement to be good

Wider risks in respect of children's mobile phone use are better understood. When there have been concerns of potential harmful sexual behaviour, these have been appropriately addressed. Consequently, the risks around the child have reduced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a confident and dedicated leader. They have high aspirations for children and they are focused on enhancing their progress and overall development. The manager has a positive and respectful relationship with the children and is highly valued by them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has high expectations of the staff team in terms of how they interact with children and respond to their needs. Some staff were unable to meet this benchmark and decided to leave the home, which has impacted the children. However, it has also resulted in long-term consistency for the children and a higher quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported by the manager and the wider leadership team. They are confident that they can access support whenever they need it. This helps them to meet the demands of the role, along with good-quality training and development opportunities. Inspection report for children's home: 2611536 5 Leaders and managers learn from incidents in the home. They share reflections and learning directly with the staff team in a timely manner following incidents. This ensures that positive practice is shared and any learning is quickly embedded by staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are confident advocates for the children. For one child, this advocacy has ensured that their expressed wishes have been listened to in relation to their longer-term living arrangements. When leaders and managers perceive external agencies to fall short of their duties towards the children, they directly address this with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home environment has greatly improved. Any damage that occurs is now dealt with quickly. There are photographs throughout the home that capture some of the positive activities that staff have completed with children. Communal spaces, such as the garden, are now areas where children can spend time and have fun with one another. The personalised environment supports children to feel a sense of belonging in their home. Inspection report for children's home: 2611536 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that plans include clear instructions of how staff should mitigate risk in the context of physical altercations between children. 1 August 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2611536 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: 2611536 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Central and Southern Homes Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 29 Thorneycroft Lane, Downhead Park, MILTON KEYNES MK15 9BB

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Natalie Pink-Hines

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Inspector:

Helen Cushnie, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2611536 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:

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

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