Children's home run by London Borough of Croydon in Croydon

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

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

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people continue to enjoy their time in this home and have positive experiences and a good quality of care delivered by a staff team who are committed to ensuring they gain the best possible outcomes during their stay.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has addressed the one requirement and the recommendations raised at the full inspection. The homes statement of purpose has been revised in line with regulations. The child protection policy now includes clear procedures to follow when dealing with allegations involving management in the home. Young people have individual behaviour support plans, to meet their specific needs.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

However, scrutiny of the service by an independent visitor ceased in October 2015. The manager has advocated strongly with the local authority for an independent visitor, at the time of this inspection this has yet to take place. This failure by the local authority has resulted in a lack of independent oversight on whether young people receiving a service are effectively safeguarded and how the home promotes their wellbeing.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager and staff continue to ensure that young people’s views play an integral role in planning for the service. Since the last inspection, feedback questionnaires have been distributed to young people and their families in an effort to gauge satisfaction with the service. Overall feedback has been very positive. A parent, commented, ‘The managers are good at keeping us informed of any changes for our children. Parent groups help us to meet and learn together, for instance in how to manage increasing challenging behaviour and the development of routines for our children as they grow and develop.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There continues to be a strong focus on encouraging all young people to gain the best from their stay. Staff continue to improve on ways to ensure all young people achieve the best they can. For example a newly formed in-betweeners group, enables the more insular young people who need a structured and calm routine to enjoy their short break as a group. This enables them to socialise and develop independent skills in a secure and calm setting. Managers have revised the behaviour support plans, these are now highly individualised and clear, paying, attention to the impact of young people’s disability on their behavioural patterns. This ensures staff manage behaviour in a consistent way, which helps young people to feel safe and secure. As a consequence of this and good staff vigilance, critical incidents occur very infrequently. Since the last inspection, there have not been any serious incidents and no young people have

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff team creatively promote young people’s engagement in a variety of activities both in the home and out in the community. This enables young people to develop their social skills and have fun with their peers. A parent said, ‘He is able to enjoy and do activities that l would be unable to help him with.’ Young people continue to make positive progress and achieve goals. For example, increased use of language to communicate need and the development of age appropriate self-care skills.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff have access to a wide range of training, including safeguarding and recognise the vulnerability to abuse that young people with disabilities face. Managers are robust in ensuring that all staff understand and are confident in their role to keep young people safe. However, safeguarding training needs improvement to skill staff on issues such as, female genital mutilation and the government’s Prevent agenda.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers continue to be passionate about the service they offer and parents speak highly about the warm welcome, good progress they young people make and the confidence they have in the and staff and home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home is a clean is clean and tidy and creates a homely feel for young people. Bedrooms are nicely decorated and young people choose rooms that reflect their personalities and interests.

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Information about this children's home

This short-break unit is owned by the local authority, and the service is part of the resources of the children with disabilities team. The service currently provides residential respite care and accommodation for up to seven children who have a severe learning disability. The home can also provide emergency short-term care. The unit also provides a day-care service but the total of residential respite care and day-care places do not exceed nine. The duration and frequency of respite care children receive varies based on their assessed needs.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

10/02/2015 CH - Interim sustained effectiveness

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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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month. (Regulation 44(1)) 31/03/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendations:  ensure staff have the knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate a child is in any way at risk of harm, in particular, training on the government’s Prevent agenda and female genital mutilation.(The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 43 paragraph 9.12)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection 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

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This 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 Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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