Children's Home run by Surrey County Council in Surrey

Unique reference number SC068827 Inspection date 06/03/2013 Inspector Kenneth Smith Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 14/06/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home accommodates up to five young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is owned and managed by a local authority. At the time of this inspection there are three young people living in the home.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making inadequate progress .

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Progress

At the full inspection which took place on 14 June 2012 the overall effectiveness of the home was adjudged to be adequate. Since that time the management and staff in the home have struggled to provide consistent and coherent care for the young people accommodated. This has been recognised strategically by the wider organisation and resources to affect and implement positive change are being harnessed. However, at the time of the inspection the home was undergoing transitional management arrangements with the Registered Manager not currently working in the home. Significant external support to management and staff to promote a more child-centred culture are visible, but are at too early a stage to yet assess the impact.

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Progress

Since the last, inspection two children have moved to other homes because their needs could not be met in this placement. The home has failed to assertively manage persistently challenging behaviour, and failed to fully protect a young person from bullying. The most serious of these problems are resolved at the time of this inspection, but this is primarily through the discharge of two young people, not through significant improvement to practice.

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Progress

At the previous inspection four requirements and three recommendations were raised. All requirements and one of the three recommendations have been met; several other shortfalls are highlighted at this inspection.

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Progress

The Statement of Purpose has been updated and now includes staff qualifications and the process to be followed in the event of an emergency admission. The record of restraints now contains all matters required by regulation; it was also noted that the organisation is shortly to introduce a bound restraint log which is more secure than the current ring-binding. Children case files are now well maintained and up to date. Twice yearly reports of monitoring the service are forwarded to Ofsted. The home monitors the progress made in children's care plans, however the actual progress achieved has been limited during the period between inspections.

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Progress

Children’s educational attendance and attainment have not been successfully promoted. Since the last inspection, school attendance by those of compulsory school age has been poor. Structured learning for a young person over this age has been sourced but not maintained. The record of attendance can be gleaned from records kept but is given little prominence given the imperative to improve upon the current attendance levels.

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Progress

The voice of children in the home is not given sufficient importance or enabled to guide and inform practice. It was notable that some young people’s concerns (for example, access to social media) were known in the home but remain unresolved and insufficiently explained to the young people.

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Progress

All three young people currently resident have been living in this home for a long time, but have only limited engagement with it. All are, to varying extents, critical of the staff, feeling cared for more by some than others. There is some feedback that the home is becoming 'stricter', analysis of which reflects improvement in boundary setting. However, staff in the home do not consistently share a perspective about how they are intervening with young people. The young people are poorly engaged with adults at this time and there continues to be a concerning level of drug misuse among young people. Recent changes do ensure this is being closely monitored which will enable the effectiveness of interventions to be evaluated.

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Progress

Closed circuit television camera's (CCTV) have been introduced into the grounds of the home to enhance young people's security. The reasons for this have not been credibly explained to young people, and the development is not reflected in young people's placement plans.

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Progress

The written development plans for the home are more piecemeal than strategic. However, the wider plan to address practice in the home is rightly the current priority and this is comprehensive, realistic and addresses core issues which can impact positive change.

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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

(2001) implement the policy for the prevention of bullying effectively (Regulation 16(4)) 07/03/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) promote the educational achievement of children; in particular ensure that all children are given, and make use of, opportunities appropriate to their age, aptitude, needs, interests and potential (Regulation 18(1)) 08/05/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure consent is sought from placing authorities for the use of surveillance (CCTV ) in the management of children's safety and behaviour within the grounds of the home and that this is recorded in each child's placement plan. (Regulation 22 (1)) 08/05/2013

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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

 obtain children's views on all aspects of their care and support and take this information into account in the monitoring of staff and the development of the home (NMS 1.3 and 1.7)  provide an environment and culture which promotes, models and supports positive behaviour that all staff understand and implement (NMS 3.2)  enable children to take part in age-appropriate peer activities; in particular promote the safe use of social media for young people. (NMS 7.5)

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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 progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection.

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