Children's Home run by London Borough of Southwark in Southwark

Unique reference number SC031479 Inspector Seka Graovac Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person London Borough of Southwark Registered person address London Borough of Southwark, Play Service 285 Albany Road London London SE5 0AH Responsible individual Kevin McCall Registered manager Michael David Garrity Date of last inspection 27/10/2014 2 of 5 Inspection date 12/02/2015

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Previous inspection good Enforcement action since last inspection none

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This inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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This inspection

The service has continued to provide good quality short breaks to children and young people from the borough. The overall outcomes for children and young people and their families have remained very positive.

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This inspection

The leaders and managers are closely monitoring the service. They are effective at identifying areas for further improvement and moving the service forward.

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This inspection

The culture in the home is becoming increasingly transparent. Staff members are more willing to openly talk about and reflect on their practice and feelings. The management and staff are highly committed to developing their practice further and creating more of a learning culture within the home. The staff members are firmly behind the manager's vision of this service as one in which the progress and experiences of the children come first, but also, as one in which the high professional standards are underpinned by the strong evidence-based practice. Developing the quality of the records further has been the main improvement focus in the home, in the past few months.

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This inspection

The record keeping has much improved. The new logs for systematically keeping records of any incidents, physical interventions and sanctions have achieved more consistency and provided more detail. New formats for the care planning and the risk assessments have also been developed and are being implemented.

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This inspection

Children's welfare is appropriately safeguarded and their behaviour is well managed. There have been no major incidents; no child went missing while using the service; there are no concerns about the substance misuse in the home; there are no concerns about child sexual exploitation or any other form of exploitation. There are no indications of any increased risks relating to the location of the home. However, the location assessment has not been completed. This is an area that requires 3 of 5 improvement.

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This inspection

Any incidents where members intervened physically to safeguard children were discussed at the team meetings. These discussions have enhanced the consistency of the staff practice in relation to behaviour management. They have also deepened the team's understanding of the children who use the service.

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This inspection

The management has been effective at positively addressing all three requirements raised at the full inspection.

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This inspection

Ofsted has received a copy of the revised Statement of Purpose and a copy of the quarterly manager's monitoring report on the quality of care. Providing Ofsted with the information in a more timely manner has enabled us to monitor the service more closely.

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This inspection

The local authority has also revised a procedure for reviewing the individual performance of the newly recruited residential care staff. The newly developed policy clearly describes the processes that have been put in place for the induction and the performance-review of the new staff. A formal probationary period that includes an appraisal at the end of it has been introduced. These changes contribute to ensuring that people with appropriate knowledge, skills and professional attitudes continue to work in this home.

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This inspection

The management has also taken all three recommendations given at the full inspection, seriously.

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This inspection

The staff recruitment process has become more stringent: the Registered Manager now makes telephone enquiries as part of the staff vetting procedures.

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This inspection

The frequency of the home's internal reviews of the individual care plans has increased. Staff members review and record the outcomes achieved by a child, after each short break. The form for recording of any incidents also reminds the staff to consider if, in the light of what has happened; they also need to review the child's care plan and the risk assessment. The review process has become more robust, more timely and more outcomes-focused.

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This inspection

The frequency of the staff supervision meetings has also increased. The staff members are very positive about the level of support and guidance that they receive. They have full confidence in the management and in their colleagues. The team's cohesion, dedication to children and motivation to continue to improve the service has all been strengthened. 4 of 5

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Information about this children’s home

This is a local authority service. It provides short breaks for up to five children who have learning and/or physical disabilities. The breaks are provided Monday to Friday or at weekends.

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s respite service shares the building with a similar service for adults. The services are kept separate by locked doors, but the garden is shared. One manager is registered for both children's and adults' services. Staff also work across both provisions. The adult service is inspected separately by the Care Quality Commission.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/10/2014 Full good 12/03/2014 Interim good progress 31/07/2013 Full good 28/02/2013 Interim good progress

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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) review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the children's home's premises at least once in each calendar year. (Regulation 31 (1A)) 01/05/2015 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Reg. Requirement Due date

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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What inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspections we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection.

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Information 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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Information 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 framework of inspection for children's homes.

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