Children's Home run by Surrey County Council in Surrey

Unique reference number SC040638 Inspector Melissa McMillan Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Surrey County Council Registered person address Surrey County Council, Children's & Safeguarding Service Runnymede Centre, Chertsey Road ADDLESTONE Surrey KT15 2EP Responsible individual Louise Warren Registered manager Nick Melvin Jones Date of last inspection 05/11/2014 2 of 6 Inspection date 12/03/2015

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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 home provides effective support to prepare young people for adult life. There is a semi-independent located flat within in the home. When young people are ready, they can live in the flat to develop their daily living skills and experience time without staff support. Young people‘s care plans are formulated to ensure young people take on more responsibility and promote their independence. Staff spend time supporting young people to develop their cooking and budgeting skills. The semi-independent flat allows young people who do not feel ready or who are anxious about moving on to develop their self-confidence in preparation for moving on to a more independent setting. This ensures young people move on when they are ready, promoting a successful transition.

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This inspection

Young people have opportunities to achieve positive outcomes. Young people are making progress in their education, health and social relationships including relationships with family members. Good care planning along with a strong and consistent approach by staff means young people are well supported to overcome difficulties and make positive changes. Staff have excellent knowledge of the young people and have devised successful strategies to meet their developmental needs. This includes encouraging young people to take part in activities and to develop interests to promote their self-expression and develop their identities.

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This inspection

Young people benefit from the strong relationships staff have with outside professionals. Staff liaise closely with the Child and Adolescences Mental Health Services, social workers and health professionals to meet the young people’s developmental needs. Staff work in partnership with outside professionals to address some young people’s risk taking behaviour such as assisting young people to attend courses to develop their knowledge and understanding of child sexual exploitation and how to protect themselves. 3 of 6 Young people enjoy good relationships with staff, which are based on mutual respect and trust. One young person spoken with described the home as ‘a home from home’ and ‘if I have to be away from home I am glad it is here’. Young people living at the home described feeling safe and protected. The warm and nurturing relationships between young people and staff enables young people to feel confident

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This inspection

to talk about their feelings and frustrations. As a result staff are able to provide support to assist young people to develop an understanding of their past, to reflect upon their choices and to manage their feelings constructively.

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This inspection

Staff have a good understanding and insight into the reasons why young people present challenging behaviour and know how best to support them. Staff ensure young people receive a consistent message and they successfully use de-escalation techniques to reduce incidents of harmful behaviours. This is evident in the low number sanctions and the use of just one physical intervention since the previous inspection. The home records each physical intervention within a bound log; however, the one entry since the previous inspection did not provide a detailed explanation to why a physical intervention was necessary for this particular incident or the de-escalation techniques used prior to the physical intervention.

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This inspection

Three recommendations made at the previous inspection have not been met. These related to helping young people to reduce their smoking; ensuring the smoking areas in the garden are kept clean and tidy; and ensuring staff receive supervision in line with the frequency outlined in the home's policy. There was limited evidence to demonstrate that staff have worked with young people to discuss the risks of smoking and the benefits of ceasing smoking. Outside areas remained unkempt and further work is required to ensure they are kept clean and tidy. A review of staff supervision records demonstrated that staff were not having supervision monthly as stated in the home’s policy. The Registered Manager is aware of these shortfalls and is taking action to meet the recommendations. 4 of 6

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Information about this children’s home

The home is a local authority children's homes which may accommodate up to six young people of either gender. The home supports children and young people who present emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection two young people were resident in the home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/11/2014 Full good 20/02/2014 Interim good progress 10/09/2013 Full adequate 27/03/2013 Interim satisfactory 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) ensure a written record is made of the use of any measure of control, restraint or discipline, in a volume kept for the purpose of which shall include the details of the child's behaviour leading to use of the measure; in particular include why the use of physical intervention was necessary, and any methods deployed to avoid its use. (Regulation 17B (3) (b)) 15/04/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take 5 of 6 account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 review the effectiveness of how children are enabled to understand their health needs, how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and to make informed decisions about their health; specifically how to help young people to reduce their smoking (NMS 6.2)  ensure that the home provides a comfortable and homely environment and is well maintained and decorated; in particular keep the smoking areas in the garden clean and tidy (NMS 10.3)  ensure that staff have access to support and advice, and are provided with regular supervision by appropriately qualified and experienced staff; in particular provide supervision at the frequency outlined in the home's policy. (NMS 19.4) Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Recommendations

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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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