Children's home run by SWAAY Child & Adolescent Services Ltd in Sutton

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people form good relationships with the staff and feel safe. They make good progress emotionally and behaviourally the longer they reside in the home.  The relatively new staff team have successfully formed trusting relationships with the young people, who are able to discuss all their concerns with them.  The young people have their views taken seriously and provide input into their daily care. They feel listened to and know how to complain.  The young people are encouraged and supported to lead healthy lives. The educational progress of the young people is monitored effectively by their attendance at school.  Young people actively engage with the in-house therapeutic services.  A detailed process of referral and admittance for young people allows them to settle into the home quickly.  Young people feel safe and there are few significant safeguarding issues reported by the home. The staff respond supportively and professionally when an

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The children's home provision is good because:

issue does arise.  The young people assist in keeping themselves safe by generally adhering to the rules of the home.  The staff do not carry out physical interventions; specialist training is utilised to manage aggressive behaviour.  Quality risk assessments are in place for all young people that assist the staff in the management of their day-to-day behaviours.  Monitoring of the home is undertaken by the qualified registered manager and assisted by the independent visitor.  The home is settled and offers a safe environment for the young people with their own personal space.  There were two staff practice issues identified that could improve the service, both well received by the management.

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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

 All children’s case records must be kept up to date and stored securely whilst they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up to date, signed, and dated by the author of each entry. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards, April 2015, page 62 paragraph 14.3 )

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Information about this children's home

 SC431804  The service is a four-bedded children's home registered for boys with emotional and behavioural difficulties.  The home is owned and operated by a private organisation that specialises in the assessment and treatment of male adolescents who have experienced some form of abuse and have subsequently been involved in perpetrating abusive behaviour themselves.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

11/03/2015 CH - Interim sustained effectiveness

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good

The young people reside in a safe atmosphere where they are able to form positive relationships with the staff whilst having their daily needs met. The majority of them are new to the home and are in the beginning stages of making progress. Those that have lived in the home longer make reasonable progress emotionally and behaviourally.

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good

The current staff team consist of several new members with little experience of working in a children’s home. They display a natural ability at engaging with the young people that allows them to establish relationships with them. The young people have learned to trust the staff and speak openly with them about their care and concerns.

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good

The young people have a clear understanding of their rights in relation to their daily needs. They know how to complain if needed and are offered numerous avenues to express themselves. A good example of the young people expressing their views was provided through the observation of a planning meeting. The young people actively participated and demonstrated good engagement with the staff.

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good

The young people are encouraged and supported to live healthy lives. Their needs are addressed in a timely manner. The staff encourage and support their health needs by scheduling and attending appointments when any concern arises. The young people are encouraged to eat healthily and quality meals are made available to enforce the idea.

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good

The emotional needs of the young people are addressed through in-house therapeutic services. The availability of this service along with quality engagement by young people is a key component of addressing concerning behaviours. If a young person does not engage with individual or group therapy, they are less likely to successfully transition from the home. When this occurs, the therapist engages the young people and offers a flexible solution that leads to improved attendance at sessions and groups.

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good

All the young people attend the education provision attached to the service. They make some progress academically and are monitored regularly. The young people clearly benefit from the daily communication between the school and home staff that ensures consistency in their care. A placing social worker spoke about how well-organised the home is: ‘There was limited time to identify a placement but that did not prevent the management from being considerate of the young person. Visits were undertaken to the home in advance and age-appropriate material was provided. The young person become excited about moving into the home.’ This type of pre-planning allows young people new the home to settle quickly.

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good

Activities continue to be offered to the young people that cater to their individual interest. They are able to develop confidence and social skills through their engagement. A young person proudly spoke about their participation on a local football team.

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good

Very few safeguarding incidents occur within the home. The young people feel safe and understand why there are specific rules in place that they must follow to assist the staff with keeping them protected from any harm.

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good

A potential safeguarding issue pertaining to two young people in the home was handled well by the staff under the direction of the management. The internal safeguarding advisor offered timely advice and consulted with the local authority designated officer on the matter. In addition, the local police were consulted while strategies to protect the young people were put in place until the matter resolved.

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good

The young people adhere to the rules of the home that are designed to keep them safe, such as respecting others personal space, no lending and borrowing along with consistent supervision by staff. These rules act as an effective deterrent that result in a safe environment within the home and beyond.

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good

The staff are not allowed to physically restrain young people and utilise learned techniques that allow them to remove themselves safely when aggressive behaviours are displayed. This practice has proved effective and resulted in no physical interventions for young people.

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good

Risk assessment for the young people are of good quality. They are detailed and inform staff practice for managing all risk associated with them. The staff are able to manage behaviours by providing guidance and boundaries that allow young people to develop some understanding of their behaviours that place them at risk.

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good

A robust policy is in, place and routinely followed, in the event of young people going missing. All previous incidents had an extremely detailed response that involved cooperation with professionals with whom established relationships existed.

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good

The appointment of new staff continues to be undertaken using safe recruitment practices. Human resources assures that all information pertaining to new applicants is reviewed and verified. This ensures young people are cared for by staff who are suitable to do so.

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good

The staff ensure that the young people live in a safe environment. The required health, safety and fire checks are carried out on a regular basis. Training in these areas is provided to the staff and regularly updated. Detailed and up-to-date risk assessments supports the actions.

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good

The registered manager has the appropriate qualification to manage the home and provides sound guidance to the staff. He has been in post slightly over a year and takes an active role in the care of the young people on a day-to-day to basis. The manager has good insight into the strengths and areas of improvement for the home. He views the staff as a strength based upon their ability to work together and their capacity to get the most out of the young people, despite being a relatively new team.

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good

At the last inspection, two requirements were made. Young people are now appropriately supervised to prevent access to inappropriate material on the internet and staff follow company policies to prevent young people being able to misuse staff personal belongings. Supervision levels for young people have improved with a full staff in place that continue to implement the policies and procedures of the home.

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good

The manager has taken a more active role in the recruitment of new staff; the home is now fully staffed with a motivated staff team. Staff rotas clearly reflect who is working within the home, attending meetings or training. The majority are undertaking their qualification to work in a children’s home whilst having their practice monitored through regular supervision. A placing social worker described a new staff member who is the assigned keyworker for a young person as ‘fabulous’ for the work undertaken in short period of time.

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good

The staff were observed to be competent in their duties and when interviewed could clearly explain procedures in relation to safeguarding, behaviour management and caring for young people. They feel supported by management and are confident in their practice development. The records confirm that quality interactions occur between the young people and the staff.

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good

Monitoring of the homes practice is good; the thorough Regulation 44, reports are robust and evaluative. The manager’s Regulation 45 monitoring is clear with evidence of points being raised and quickly addressed demonstrating the effectiveness of the monitoring

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good

The files of young people are stored properly and contain all of the required Looked After Children documentation. Minutes of statutory review meetings are routinely chased when completed. The homes statement of purpose is appropriate and reflects current practice. The young person guide is also appropriate.

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good

The atmosphere in the home is calm and settled. The home continues to be maintained to a good standard, providing young people with safety, and privacy when needed. Resources are available to assist staff in meeting the needs of the young people. Young people continue to enjoy a wide range of individualised activities in the community.

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good

Care plans are reviewed on a three monthly basis with management overview. The manager was able to provide a synopsis of the young people and evidence the impact of the service on their progress. Internal monitoring of the young people tracks them to determine what is and is not working in relation to their care allowing adjustments to be made in a timely manner.

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good

There were several records for young people that were found to be unsigned and dated during the inspection. This was a practice issue well received by the management resulting in a recommendation for the improvement of practice.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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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 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

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Information about this inspection

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

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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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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