Children's Home run by Surrey County Council in Surrey

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 are making good progress from their original starting points.  All young people are addressing health needs and engaging with healthcare support. Additional guidance and intervention are accessed through an integrated support service which promotes emotional well-being.  Each young person is engaged in full-time education. All young people are making progress with their academic learning.  Staff support young people to seek and attend work experience opportunities, and young people state that it is having a positive impact on them.  The knowledgeable staff have good relationships with young people, promoting their ability to explore and work through any difficulties and issues which the young people experience.  Each young person has a key adult who they trust and confide in, and each young person learns and develops strategies to self-regulate their emotions and behaviours.  Child sexual exploitation risk assessments are thorough, with clear and

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The children's home provision is good because:

practicable strategies, detailed to minimise risk.  The voice, wishes and feelings of each young person are evident in the home. Young people’s contributions and views are sought in plans and reviews, and they are supported to attend meetings.  Staff are well supported through regular, effective supervision, appraisals and training.  Staff recruitment is compliant with safer recruitment guidelines, and all new staff follow a robust 12-week induction process.  Developments in the home have improved its presentation, creating a homely feel to communal areas.

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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 ‘Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

12. The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (a) that staff— (i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

(b) that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm; 21/04/2016

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Monitoring and surveillance

24.—(1) The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if— (b) the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance;

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Monitoring and surveillance

(c) so far as reasonably practicable in light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; 21/04/2016

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Fire precautions

25.—(1) After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must— (a) take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home; Specifically, to follow and comply with the fire risk assessment and plan to reduce and minimise risk. 21/04/2016

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Review of premises

46.—(1) The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in Regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard), and have a copy of this available in the home. 21/04/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day to day basis (‘Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5).  Regulation 19(2) details sanctions that are prohibited in behaviour management. Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases it will be important for children to make reparation

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Recommendations

in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out (‘Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38).  Managing risk: staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day to day basis (‘Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5).  The children's guide should help children to understand:  how to contact the Office of the Children's Commissioner. (‘Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, page 24,

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Recommendations

paragraph 4.22). It should also detail any surveillance the home uses.

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Information about this children's home

The home is a local authority children’s home which may accommodate up to six young people, irrespective of gender. The home supports young people who present with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

24 September 2015 CH – Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

12 March 2015 CH – Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

20 February 2014 CH – Interim Good progress

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Good

Young people have made good progress from their starting points, with each having learned and developed strategies to self-regulate behaviours and emotions. All young people are able to identify their personal achievements and share positive experiences of living at the home. Staff support the young people to address their basic health needs, with additional support and guidance being sought when required. Young people engage with interventions and services which promote their emotional well-being. Young people learn how to share and talk about their worries and concerns with key trusted adults. Plans are detailed and provide practical information to support the staff in meeting the young people’s needs. The home’s policy is to review plans each month. This is currently not being achieved, and managers are due to review this system. Plans have not been updated to reflect current needs and risks. Contact with family and friends is promoted and facilitated, with reviews requested

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Good

when required. Contact information is detailed within the plans, but ‘current’ contact arrangements are not reflected in the plans. Relationships between the staff and key people are robust and of good quality, with regular communication between all parties. All young people are attending full-time education, with each having made academic progress and personal achievements. This is supported by good relationships and daily communication with education providers. Staff have supported and encouraged young people to seek and attend work experience opportunities. One young person was attending work experience during the inspection. He was very proud of the tasks that he had achieved each day, happily sharing his experiences with peers and staff. Young people are engaged in activities and hobbies, each being encouraged to participate in and follow an interest of their choosing. One young person enjoys sporting activities, while another is supported to follow a faith-based activity. Staff

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Good

have ‘gone the extra mile’ to support the young person with their faith and culture. The voice of the young people is evidenced in the home: the weekly house meeting provides a regular opportunity to explore issues, and to compile a weekly menu and activity planner. Young people are consulted on plans, and encouraged and supported to attend meetings and reviews of plans. Key-work sessions are used to: develop relationships of trust; promote bespoke personal, health and social education and learning; and review and reflect on risky behaviours. These sessions are not regular, so their full potential is not utilised. Staff encourage and support the young people to complete basic household chores, and each young person has developed their independence and life skills in preparation for independence and future opportunities. One young person regularly plans, shops and prepares their food. Young people know how to complain or raise an issue that is affecting them. The

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Good

‘young person’s guide’ does give details of how to make a complaint, but it is not presented in a child-friendly manner and it is not clear what to expect from making a complaint. There are other key items which are not provided in the guide, specifically details and information regarding the surveillance methods used in the home. Staff are knowledgeable and child-focused in their approach to the young people. They are clear about expectations and boundaries in the home. Unacceptable behaviour is quickly redirected using the relationships staff that have developed with young people.

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Requires improvement

Staff have good knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding concerns and risk factors that they need to consider, ensuring that they keep the young people safe. Young people have been supported to take age-appropriate risks while developing their independence. Safeguarding concerns have been well recorded and reported. Matters requiring investigation are acted on, and referrals are made to external professionals when needed. Each young person reports that they have a key adult whom they trust and can confide in. One young person said that ‘he feels safe and secure at the home with staff always being available to help him’. The environment is safe, with any damage swiftly repaired. Recent improvements to the home have created a safe, homely environment. During the inspection, a fire door was propped open and two others did not close properly. A recent fire assessment had highlighted areas needing to be addressed to minimise risk levels,

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Requires improvement

but to date these have not been acted on. The weekly checks of the fire system have not been consistently completed. Risky behaviours are identified and minimised through risk assessments and plans. Practicable strategies and interventions are detailed in the plans. The home’s policy of a monthly review of risk assessments and plans is not evidenced. No current risk factors are detailed, and plans lack clarity and consistency for the staff in supporting and managing risk. Staff have good relationships with the police and other statutory agencies. A multidisciplinary approach to managing risk provides effective collaboration. Episodes of young people going missing have had good, co-ordinated responses and these have been well recorded. Missing plans detail the history, the risk factors and the key information required to promote a swift response to ‘missing’ episodes. Good, detailed records provide a chronology of the events and consider other

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Requires improvement

factors which impact on an incident of a young person going missing. ‘Return to care’ interviews have been requested and provided, however the records do not state explicitly if and when these interviews took place. Levels of ‘going missing’ have been reduced for one young person through the support strategies that staff have developed. Child sexual exploitation risk assessments are informative and provide clarity regarding risk factors, actions and interventions to minimise risk. Since the last inspection, there have been no allegations made about the staff or complaints about the care that young people receive. Young people are aware of the complaints process and how to raise concerns with the staff, if necessary. Staff have good knowledge and insight into behaviour management, and each member of staff has been trained in the home’s preferred method of behaviour support. Incidents are well recorded, including debriefings with young people.

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Requires improvement

Young people review and reflect on their behaviour, and explore the triggers and causes. This assists them in self-regulating their behaviour. Plans do not clearly state a consistent approach for the staff to de-escalate and manage behaviour when young people are in crisis. Sanctions are recorded and demonstrate some use of restorative approaches and involvement of young people in determining what is appropriate. However, there is no consistent approach. Similar misdemeanours have attracted sanctions for some young people and not others. Sanctions records are not always specific enough to be effectively reviewed, for example a financial reparation with no final sum noted. The home’s review of the suitability of its location was not available during the inspection. Staff apply a robust system of managing the risks associated with e-safety by completing individual risk assessments and plans for each young person.

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Good

The home is efficiently manged by the registered manager with a secure, stable staff team. Staff are appropriately qualified and experienced to meet the needs of the young people in their care. The home does not use any agency staff. Bank staff or additional hours by members of the staff team are deployed to cover any gaps in the rota. This has provided the young people with a supportive, consistent staff team that assists and cares for them. The manager has good systems in place to review and monitor the quality of care in the home. The assistant team manager is a key person in the day-to-day running of the home. Managers use a variety of methods to review the quality of care through spot checks and the monthly audit processes. The independent person visits monthly, providing an additional layer of scrutiny. Managers use this information effectively to impact on the quality of care provided in the home.

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Good

There are robust, effective working relationships with professionals outside the home, with key stakeholders involved in reviews and plans. Effective pre-admission and impact risk assessments have enabled the manager to evaluate risk, as well as to consider need and the compatibility of the young people prior to admission. Managers plan to review assessments to ensure that they continue to meet and minimise risk. Previous recommendations and requirements have been acted on. However, some areas require further work to ensure the smooth running of the systems and processes in the home. Supervision frequency has improved, and staff now receive supervision in the timescales detailed in the home’s policy. Managers have implemented basic systems to monitor supervision frequency, and staff practice is reviewed annually through the appraisal system. Records of supervision and appraisal are stored electronically. There is currently no contingency in place to ensure that staff

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Good

receive the required supervision and support, if any staff member is absent. Staff training equips the staff to fulfil their job role, and all of the staff receive refresher training in core areas, for example in behaviour management. All of the staff have completed or are working towards the required qualification. Staff are fully aware of and understand the ethos of the home, as described in its statement of purpose. This is regularly reviewed and updated.

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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 that 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, work- based 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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