Children's Home run by Esland South Limited in Greenwich

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 enjoy positive and nurturing relationships with the staff, which makes them feel valued and loved.  There is a strong, experienced and cohesive staff team working well together to give young people better outcomes.  The home’s response to young people going missing from care is proactive. The registered manager has forged good relationships with professional networks to help keep young people as safe as possible.  Specific work has taken place with young people on issues such as radicalisation and risk of terror attacks. This keeps young people informed and helps staff to recognise vulnerabilities.  The registered manager works hard to ensure careful matching of new referrals to existing residents living at the home. This helps to maintain stability of placements.  Staff use team meetings to reflect. They also use meetings as a practice- training forum on issues relevant to what is happening in the home.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Records indicate good use of key work and placement planning sessions. They give a real feel of how staff are changing and influencing young people in positive behaviours.  There are some minor shortfalls in health planning. For example, updating health plans promptly, obtaining medical consents quickly and applying pressure on senior managers in placing authorities where they are not meeting their duty to provide medicals.  The home is warm and welcoming. It must be maintained and minor damage repaired quickly to ensure that it remains a safe and nurturing environment.  The home needs to think more creatively about how it gains young people’s feedback and use it to plan and shape the service.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the update of medical plans, signed consents and children looked after medicals take place. The specific responsibilities of the home towards supporting the health and well-being of each child should be agreed with the placing authority and recorded in the child's placement plan. It is the joint responsibility of the registered person and the placing authority that this is agreed at the time of the placement (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.7).  Ensure that the broken items are removed from the garden and all minor repairs are made promptly. For children's homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9).  Ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home's

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Recommendations

care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11).

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Information about this children's home

This privately run children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people aged from 12 to 17 years with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

13 January 2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

25 March 2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Staff share positive, nurturing relationships with young people in this home. Relaxed interactions from staff showed warm, accepting and patient parenting. Young people respond to this approach and feel accepted and loved, giving them a sense of security and belonging. For example, one young person describes the home as ‘very homely’ and she ‘settled in quickly’. Staff show a good capacity to reflect when things do not go as planned. For example, one young person moved on abruptly due to safeguarding concerns. The staff reflected on this situation, discussing responses and learning for future episodes. Despite the abrupt ending, staff identified positive work, which improved this young person’s outlook. Staff tailor placement plans to meet young people’s individual needs. Weekly activity planners incorporate personal choices and help to settle young people into placement. For example, staff helped to settle a young person by buying games

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Good

and books which suit his age range and need. A strength of this home is its capacity to work with parents, even in the most difficult of circumstances, for example, where young people are frequently missing. Effective communication takes place on a regular basis. Parents feel consulted and that their views and suggestions are taken seriously. Staff support family connections and understand the importance of maintaining links for young people. During the inspection, several family members visited the home, were warmly welcomed and invited to eat with the young people. When young people are placed some distance from home, staff have facilitated contact by driving them to see their family, thus maintaining links to important people. Young people access primary health services and staff ensure that they stay healthy by supporting them to take up preventative healthcare, for example dental and optical tests and referrals to drug and alcohol services if needed. Several

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Good

shortfalls identified in this area have not directly affected young people. However, better systems will ensure better cooperation. For example, when placing authorities have not set up statutory medical arrangements in a timely way. Although the home chases these, this system is not sufficiently robust to escalate matters. Similarly, placing authorities have not always organised medical consents and a faster approach to these delays on behalf of young people is needed. The home pays good attention to young people’s emotional and mental health. The organisation accesses a therapeutic service, ‘Future Minds’, for young people while awaiting statutory mental health service appointments, if these are needed. Where young people are receiving child and adolescent mental health services, staff accompany them to ensure that they attend. Staff actively encourage and promote education for young people. One young

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Good

person returned to education after a two-year absence and made excellent progress while she was at the home. She received certificates from school for hard work in the classroom and for completing a whole week having been out of education for some time. Staff have supported a new resident to complete educational worksheets at the home, while waiting for the placing authority to identify a local school placement. The home proactively involved the virtual school in these discussions to speed up this process. Young people are encouraged to make choices, for example, the newest resident told me he had chosen the colours to have his room decorated when he moved in. Menu planners reflect young people’s choices of meals and key work sessions showed discussions with young people about realistic activity choices. Formal feedback on the running of the home is an area that the registered manager is keen to develop further to ensure that young people’s views are informing the

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Good

service. Young people are supported to learn everyday tasks, for example bringing their laundry for washing and cleaning their own rooms. One young person helps staff with household chores and is encouraged by earning extra pocket money. These simple events, which are routine in families, support young people to feel valued and raise self-esteem.

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Good

Risk assessments are clear and helpful documents. They state the identified risks and give staff helpful strategies on how to manage young people’s behaviours. Young people contribute their views by saying what staff can do to help them calm down and, equally important, what not to do or say which might make matters worse. Risk assessments also include actions, shared between young people, providers, parents and placing authorities. Documented actions give everyone a sense of responsibility towards ensuring young people’s safety. The home are alert to the possibility of some young people being vulnerable to radicalisation, child sexual exploitation and gang associations. The registered manager has taken a proactive response by talking about these issues within young people’s meetings and challenging views and stereotypes when they occur. Where these concerns have been heightened, the home work well with placing

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Good

authorities and other relevant agencies to make the right referrals. This has led to early support for young people and given them information and alternative options to consider. Similarly, the home has a proactive response to young people who go missing from care. They work closely with partner agencies, such as the child sexual exploitation lead for the host borough and the police missing person’s team. The manager understands the local processes and protocols and ensures that the staff team keep up to date. For example, a recent team meeting was used as a training forum to practise potential missing from home scenarios and responses. Staff say that they find these regular updates helpful. The manager and staff identify when young people’s patterns of going missing become concerning and call strategy meetings with placing authorities. Recently recorded meetings include police, youth offending services, drug and alcohol

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Good

services, the home and the placing authorities. They produced actions to support and protect the young people concerned as much as possible. For example, sharing intelligence, identifying phone contacts, distraction and activities. When young people are missing, staff say that they keep in regular contact and drive to areas that young people frequent. On occasions, young people have been found and returned. When difficult decisions about placements are needed, these have been made alongside other safeguarding partners and informed by a multi-agency approach. Young people’s privacy is respected. Staff knock on doors and request permission to enter. Young people are aware of occasions when staff may enter their rooms without permission, for example to conduct room searches if there is any concern that young people may be at risk. For example, suspicion of having drugs or weapons. All these searches, including any occasions when the police may search

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Good

rooms, are recorded clearly. This ensures all young people’s safety within the home. The home has recently updated their children’s guide and produced a helpful booklet, which all young people are given on admission. Young people were aware of this guide and knew how to raise complaints. Restraint is rarely used in this home. When restraint is used, it is recorded in line with regulations. There is one recorded restraint since the last inspection, which was appropriate and proportionate. An advocate was offered and the young person was reminded of their right to complain. The staff team are established and experienced. Their responses to challenging behaviour are calm and consistent. Observations on inspection showed consistent responses across shift changes for a new resident who was keen to push the boundaries. Key work sessions are used effectively to follow up expectations and concerns surrounding young people’s behaviours. These sessions give a real feel of

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Good

the day-to-day work. The staff team are influencing and changing young people’s perspectives in a positive way. Safe recruitment practices are in place in this home. Staff are thoroughly vetted prior to working here. Staff complete a probation period and their practice is monitored via supervision and appraisal. Precautions are in place to prevent fires, for example emergency lighting, smoke detectors and fire extinguishers throughout the home. Staff are familiar with the evacuation procedures and have regular fire drills. The home environment is usually maintained to a high standard by maintenance staff employed by the home. Recently, there has been a spate of damage within the home, which includes damage to radiator covers and scratched paintwork. The garden has become overgrown and a plastic greenhouse is damaged and could present a hazard. Other general repairs are required to ensure that the home

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Good

comes up to its usual standard and is a place where young people can feel proud and want to live.

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Good

The registered manager has been in post for over a year and registered with Ofsted since November 2015. She holds a social work qualification and is currently taking her level 5 diploma. This is due for completion within the required timescales. The registered manager has worked for many years with young people. She previously worked at the home as a support worker before her promotion. She knows the staff team well, who are established and experienced. She is developing her confidence and experience well as a manager. The registered manager has worked hard to meet the recommendations from the interim inspection. She has also improved the service in areas where shortfalls were identified previously through the review of the quality of care. The registered manager knows her service well, for example, she was already aware that seeking young people’s feedback was an area for development. There are ongoing changes

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Good

and developments to staffing and recruitment to ensure the smooth running of the service. For example, two support staff are being promoted to senior staff and new staff are in the process of being recruited. Leaders and managers have worked hard on the matching of new referrals to existing residents within the home with some measurable success. The home has varied its remit to reduce the numbers of young people it cares for, to concentrate on care that is more effective for fewer young people. The registered manager routinely completes impact assessments and is beginning risk assessments prior to admission, therefore identifying when the home cannot meet young people’s needs. Although these tasks do not guarantee success, they are supporting the manager and her team to make informed decisions about admissions. The home works well to its statement of purpose. It works with young people who have highly complex needs and who have often been moved out of their home

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Good

area. Often placements are short term due to the level of risk and need. Despite this, young people make good progress from their starting points while living here. The home provides good assessments, care planning and recognises when young people need more specialist interventions. An independent reviewing officer says, ‘The home are realistic about behaviours and their capacity.’ Most of the staff working at the home are qualified to National Vocational Qualification level 3 or have an equivalent qualification such as a social work degree. Two staff members who have started working after 1 April 2014 are currently undertaking this training and will have completed this by the relevant date. Staff training is given high priority and the registered manager keeps track by keeping a training matrix of which staff have completed which courses. All staff have recently refreshed their safeguarding training and have also undertaken

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Good

complaints, whistleblowing and medication and self-harm training. Scheduled for later in the year is radicalisation, sexualised behaviour, anti-bullying, substance misuse and behaviour management and attachment training. Some senior staff recently completed training around female genital mutilation and plan to disseminate this training in a team meeting. Staff say that training helps them feel confident to do their jobs effectively. Staff feel supported by leaders and managers to do their jobs. They describe regular supervision, yearly appraisals, informative induction, supportive probation period and general team support. Team meetings happen frequently and record good use of team time, productive information sharing, informal training and good reflection of practice. The cohesion and support of the team is obvious to see in the way that they work together and manage young people’s challenging behaviours.

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Good

Young people are supported with good placement plans, formulated from the placing authority care plans. Regular reviews of young people’s plans take place where they are encouraged to attend and be involved in their planning. During inspection, a young person’s first review took place. The placing authority advised that the home requested key paperwork from them, completed a helpful report and presented helpful information within the review to help make an interim plan. There is good external monitoring of the home by an independent person who visits the home every month. A report is provided which takes into account young people, staff and other professional views. It includes recommendations about how leaders and managers can improve the service. These recommendations have been promptly acted upon. The registered manager completes a six monthly review of the quality of care. This is a comprehensive report, which meets regulations. This may be more effective in

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Good

terms of monitoring and improving the service if it concentrated on pertinent issues to the home at that particular time. The home has established a helpful and useful network of professionals in relation to working with young people who have gone missing from the home. Professionals and parents contacted during the inspection spoke highly of the service offered. They said that they were kept well informed, that communication was good and that staff were friendly. For example, one social worker said, ‘I was contacted every day and was able to call to get updates. All correspondence, text, email, telephone, was clear and concise.’

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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, 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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