Children's Home run by Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in Cornwall

Inspection report for children's home: SC432404 1 SC432404 Registered provider: Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is managed by an NHS Foundation Trust. It offers short breaks for up to 2 children with complex health needs and a learning and/or physical disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in 2011. The registered manager left in June 2026. There is no manager currently in the home, which is being overseen by the responsible individual.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were having an overnight stay at the home during the inspection.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: SC432404 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/06/2025 Full Good 13/08/2024 Full Good 14/12/2023 Full Good 17/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC432404 3

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Summary of findings

Children who stay at this home have positive experiences. They are cared for by attentive staff who know them well and meet their overall needs. Good quality multi- agency working with external professionals and positive relationships with parents support essential information-sharing, positive communication and management of risk. However, recent changes in leadership and management have led to limited managerial presence in the home and additional pressures being placed on staff. These concerns are acknowledged by leaders, but action has not been taken to address them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children respond positively to staff, who treat them with dignity and respect. Staff know the children well and provide them with attuned care, knowing when they are tired or in need of stimulation, and, when necessary, privacy. Parents and external professionals spoke positively about the care provided to children. Parents said that their children like spending time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by a small and consistent staff team. Staff aspire to provide children with a range of positive and enjoyable experiences. This includes trips to the park and outings to see festive lights in the local community. Staff store photos and mementoes of children’s activities in their individual keepsake boxes and books. However, in some instances, information is recorded as if it were written by the child when it was not their words. In addition, some records that detail children’s time in the home are brief and do not provide information on how staff supported them or what the child experienced. This has led to gaps in understanding children’s lived experiences while they are staying at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

By providing attentive and attuned care, staff are able to determine whether a child is feeling happy or uncomfortable or needs stimulation. Staff interactions with children promote their engagement. They talk to children with familiarity and warmth. However, children’s unique and individual methods of communication, or how to effectively communicate with the child, are not always set out in planning. When this information is documented, it lacks detail. Staff do not always support children to make choices or to express their wishes and feelings. This does not promote children’s independence and autonomy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are aware of children’s serious and complex health needs. They form positive relationships and communicate effectively with external professionals and children’s parents to keep up to date with children’s health, dietary and care needs. This promotes joined-up working and consistency of care in the different environments that children spend time in. Information is transferred into clear and informative plans for staff to follow. This provides assurances that staff have information that is essential to supporting and maintaining children’s overall health and wellbeing. Inspection report for children's home: SC432404 4

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

Staff understand the vulnerabilities and associated risks of children who stay at the home. When new risks arise or known risks change, staff adapt their practice to manage them effectively. Strong multi-agency working ensures that vital information is shared and planning for children is up to date. However, strategies for staff to follow in the event of some risks are not clear. This may lead to staff not providing the right level of intervention or support to the child.

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

Incidents in the home are usually related to a child’s ongoing or new medical need. When concerns arise, staff are responsive to the child’s immediate presenting need and appropriate action is taken to ensure their safety and wellbeing. All incidents are thoroughly reviewed to determine any learning, which is shared with the team and, where appropriate, with parents and external professionals.

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

There have been several occasions when medication procedures and guidance have not been followed. This has resulted in medication errors. However, these errors have not had any known negative impact on children. Thorough investigations into staff practice are completed and identified shortfalls or concerns about practice are addressed through performance planning, upskilling and training. Measures to reduce the likelihood of future errors have been implemented. This shows a commitment to ongoing learning and getting things right for children.

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

There is a clear focus on supporting children when they need it the most. At times when children have been experiencing increased risk or periods of crisis, staff have offered them additional stays. This offers children increased safety and security.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Changes to the management of the home have had a significant impact on the overall leadership and management of the home. Planning to ensure ongoing managerial presence and oversight was not sufficient and did not include a clear strategy for providing day-to-day support to staff. Consequently, staff are not receiving regular, high- quality reflective supervision in line with the organisation’s expectations. In addition, some staff have had to take on management responsibilities. This has increased the demands on an already stretched staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff feel supported by leaders and managers. They said that since the manager left, the responsible individual is always contactable and responsive. However, they are feeling the pressures of not having a manager or deputy manager. The need to cover when other staff are unwell or taking leave adds additional stress for them. At times, children’s stays are cancelled due to lack of staff. However, this is closely monitored, and children are offered additional stays when possible. Leaders are actively recruiting to fill the vacant posts but highlight the need to employ the right people with the right skills and experience. Inspection report for children's home: SC432404 5 Concerns that have been raised by children’s parents are taken seriously. Leaders and managers handle these with sensitivity. They acknowledge parents’ expertise in caring for their child, as well as their anxieties. They work alongside them to come to a

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

resolution that is in the best interests of the child. Where learning is identified, it is shared with the team and further embedded during handovers and team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have investigated concerns about the culture in the home. They have worked with staff to devise a positive way of working that aligns with the values and policies of the home. Similarly, in team meetings there is a collaborative approach to thinking about the home, the care of children and learning. Despite this, there are ongoing concerns of a negative staff culture in the home. Leaders are aware of this, but no action has been taken to address it.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and staff value the positive relationships that they have with children and their families. Communication is a strength of the team. However, leaders do not ensure that there is always up-to-date consent to complete certain activities and tasks from parents. This could lead to staff completing activities or tasks with children that are not appropriate, or do not have parents’ permission. Inspection report for children's home: SC432404 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that details of how children communicate with others and how to communicate with children are clearly documented.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that details of communication with children are documented. 3 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 3 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC432404 7 that staff—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have access to clear guidance on how to manage risks for children.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that they obtain updated consent from parents, in line with the home’s policy.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there are suitable arrangements in place for the management of the home. This includes providing staff with regular reflective supervision. 3 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC432404 8 In addition, the registered person must ensure that there is a positive culture in the home.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. In particular, carefully consider the appropriateness of recording the child’s information using first-person narrative, and record details relevant to children’s day-to-day experiences. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC432404 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Trust Head Office, Carew House, Beacon Technology Park, Dunmere Road, Bodmin PL31 2QN

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Sebastian De Gange

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Inspector

Carla Simkiss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC432404 10 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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