Children's Home run by Surrey County Council in Surrey

Unique reference number SC040628 Inspection date 20/09/2012 Inspector Jennie Christopher Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 14/02/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Brief description of the service

The home is managed by the local authority providing care and accommodation for up to seven children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties of either gender.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements Adequate : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people thrive as a result of living in a home where staff have very high expectations for them. As a result young people have excellent outcomes and strong aspirations due to staff encouraging them to achieve. Managers and staff work hard to form and maintain effective relationships with parents, family members and a wide range of professionals including specialist services such as exploitation prevention teams. This ensures a consistent, highly individualised approach to direct care and care planning. Young people benefit from a supportive and committed staff team who are consistent in their approach to positive care. Despite not liking some rules and boundaries, young people concede it is because ‘staff really care.’ They are consistently positive about their experience of living in the home and all identify staff they genuinely trust.

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Overall effectiveness

While the Registered Manager has taken a seconded role, the committed acting manager continues to effectively manage the day-to-day running of the home. They are aware of the strengths and weaknesses in the service provided and are eager to improve in all areas to ensure positive outcomes for all young people. Young people are routinely consulted on all aspects of their care both individually and as a group. They benefit from a service that evolves, where practical, to meet their changing needs and includes their ideas for improvements. The staff team is motivated and effectively supported by the acting manager. They are further supported by an effective training package, developing their skills to ensure they have tools to support the needs of the young people in their care. As a result young people benefit from care provided by an enthusiastic, child focussed team. Areas identified for improvement include reviewing the Statement of Purpose, ensuring sanction and

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Overall effectiveness

restraint recording is in line with regulations and ensuring consistency in recruitment checks for all staff.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) ensure that records of sanctions and restraint contain all elements required. (Regulation 17B (3) and (4)) 16/11/2012

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 review the content of the Statement of Purpose (NMS 13.1)  ensure all staff, including internal appointments, have at least two references on file. (NMS 16.3(d))

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are outstanding .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s progress, in relation to what are often extremely difficult starting points, is outstanding. They are supported to succeed in all aspects of their lives through thoughtful and individualised care. As a result they are enabled to increase their confidence and self-esteem. Through understanding their life story and triggers, they are able to work towards reducing their risk-taking behaviours. Offending, drug and alcohol use and being missing from care has significantly reduced over time. Areas of concern continue to be positively addressed by staff and through the involvement of specialist services, to further increase young people’s understanding of the risks they face even when they have moved on. Young people say they feel valued as individuals and are not treated as part of a ‘group’. They feel staff’s unconditional positive regard helps them to recognise each other’s strengths and

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Outcomes for children and young people

weaknesses, which was observed through young people being incredibly understanding and supportive of each other during a martial arts session. Young people clearly have strong and positive attachments with staff and this further develops their ability to sustain positive relationships with family and peers, while forming a greater awareness of appropriate personal relationships. Continued promotion of health and well-being, including consistently discouraging young people from smoking, ensures they understand healthy lifestyles and what this means for them.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Attendance in education is excellent, with all young people accessing school, colleges or community based learning. Those who are seeking employment are supported through external agencies and staff and are involved in regular voluntary work experience, increasing their employability and life chances. The effective support from staff and external agencies ensures education and work placements are sustained, enabling young people to achieve in line with their peers. Young people have positive relationships in the community through activities and relationships within the immediate community.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people develop a wide range of practical skills for independent living, such as budgeting, and all are supported to do household chores and cook simple snacks. Continued support for young people who have moved on to independent placements has greatly helped those who have needed extra support and guidance. This means they have maintained links to staff they have formed strong attachments with over their stay in the home and are provided with continued encouragement to succeed and enjoy positive outcomes.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people are motivated to reach their potential as a result of caring and constructive relationships with staff. Young people know staff want them to do well and that they really care about their welfare. Young people are consistently positive about their placements and this is echoed by family members who say ‘staff are absolutely brilliant’ and that they care for the young people ‘really well’. Letting young people express feelings and emotions is entrenched in the ethos of the service and they are routinely consulted on areas for improvement through questionnaires, house meetings and individual work sessions. Young people are actively involved in their reviews and care planning, and are thoroughly supported by staff throughout the process. Respecting young people’s anguish when wishes cannot be met ensures not only that young people feel listened to but also that they have a good understanding of why some aspects of their care cannot change.

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Quality of care

The dedicated staff team are committed to improving life chances for young people. They support educational placements with strong communication between the home schools and colleges. They utilise a wide range of services to engage young people in education to encourage participation. Those who are at school leaving age are encouraged into further education and employment to further improve their skills and to achieve positive outcomes. Although some young people find the constant encouragement to succeed ‘annoying at times’ they also relish the concern and know ‘it is because staff want us to do well.’ Young people’s needs are continually monitored and successes celebrated. Highly individualised care plans are updated in line with young people’s constantly changing needs and in consultation with the young person and where appropriate, parents, social workers and other professionals.

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Quality of care

Young people generally enjoy good physical health with limited use of prescribed medication. Close consultation with medical staff ensures young people are able to reduce the use of behaviour and mood modifying medication as appropriate, enabling them to self-regulate when possible. Smoking is continuously discouraged; staff take a nurturing, supportive approach to this and young people attend appointments with cessation nurses when necessary. Mental and emotional health specialists work closely with the home to ensure consistency of approach to support young people’s emotional well-being. A social worker commented that ‘Staff really care about how young people are coping.’ Staff are eager to build on their knowledge about specific emotional barriers that directly affect the young people they care for.

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Quality of care

Young people have access to independent advocates and say they know how to make complaints and who to complain to. Further information on how to access a wide range of advocacy and support services is prominently displayed. There are excellent anti-bullying procedures in place and young people say they do not feel it is an issue in the home.

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Quality of care

The home is well maintained with comfort and homeliness in mind. There are several seating areas for group or individual activities. Young people have recently been involved in planting an allotment area in the garden with some fantastic results.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people say they feel safe and that staff do all they can to keep and encourage them to be safe. Their welfare is actively promoted and staff protect them from abuse or harm. Staff are confident in the procedures to follow should they be concerned for a young person’s safety or welfare and have a sound knowledge of child protection and safeguarding procedures. The home works closely with specialist police officers and exploitation professionals to identify those young people known to be at risk at an early stage. Young people say they ‘feel really safe’ and that they ‘have never felt safe anywhere before.’ They express they are pleased staff are concerned for their safety, and that this has helped them want to go missing less often. Young people consistently say that staff are genuinely concerned when they have been missing and that support from specialist police officers makes them feel safer and understand the risks they are taking more. Policies within the service are

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Safeguarding children and young people

proactive and updated in response to lessons learned locally and nationally. Alongside robust multi-agency working this has identified potential abuse further protecting young people with legal action against perpetrators. Young people being missing from care has reduced recently, although it continues to be a concern for staff. They positively address concerns and monitor young people to identify triggers that may result in them putting themselves at risk. Individual files contain up-to-date photographs of young people in case of emergency. Young people’s care plans identify clear strategies to manage individual’s behaviour needs. This is very effective and young people feel expectations are clear and fair. Sanctions are proportionate and where appropriate young people are involved in decisions regarding what sanction they should receive in order to change behaviour or ‘make things right’. As a result young people are encouraged to reflect on their

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Safeguarding children and young people

behaviour and consider how responses could be different in the future. Restraint is rarely used, but when used it used for appropriate reasons. Recording for both sanctions and restraints is not in line with current requirements.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The organisation’s recruitment policy is thorough and ensures young people are protected from harm by robust personnel checks from external candidates; however, the same scrutiny is not applied to internal applicants. There is limited risk to young people as a result of this as individuals concerned have been in constant employment with the organisation. Young people are safe from fire and other hazards as a result of thorough checks and procedures. Individualised risk assessments are effective and thoughtful to ensure young people are able to take age appropriate controlled risks.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are outstanding .

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Leadership and management

The provider meets the aims and objectives that are set out in the Statement of Purpose; however, the document requires review in order for it to be in keeping with the current ethos of the home. Staff have access to the document and have a good understanding of their role in providing the described functions of the service. Young people say they have received the young people’s guide, which is individualised and further copies are available in the home.

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Leadership and management

A committed acting manager is in position while the Registered Manager is fulfilling a seconded post. They are enthusiastic and striving to maintain the high quality provision while improving the service in all areas possible. As a result the home is effectively run and young people benefit from being cared for by a consistent, enthusiastic and well managed team. Staff are well trained and motivated to further their professional learning. Training needs are identified through supervision, which is regular and thorough as well as in yearly appraisals.

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Leadership and management

The staff and acting manager make excellent use of multi-agency working and links with external organisations to improve outcomes for young people. When necessary, services are challenged to provide services as agreed and paperwork that is late. The home promotes positive relations in the community and there have been no complaints from local residents.

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Leadership and management

The acting manager has an excellent understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and employs effective and evaluative monthly monitoring, alongside other checks from regulatory visits. Excellent quality manager’s six-monthly reports and the development plan demonstrate a commitment to improvement at both a home and strategic level. The home actively seeks the views of young people, their families and other stakeholders via questionnaires, that also help inform the development plan when appropriate. These varied methods of monitoring help ensure young people benefit from living in an ever evolving and improving service.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011) and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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