Children's Home run by Wandsworth Borough Council in Wandsworth

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 benefit from warm and nurturing relationships with staff who are concerned to meet their individual needs.  Good attention is paid to meeting young people’s often complex healthcare needs, which helps young people to be as comfortable as possible.  Transitions in and out of the home are very well managed, and give young people a sense that their needs are important.  Young people benefit from some imaginatively planned trips away from the home.  Housekeeping and cooking staff ensure that the home is kept clean and homely, and that good food is on offer.  Behaviour management is well focused on de-escalating potential flash points, and there is little use of restrictive practices such as restraint.  Managers are visible, know the young people well, and are ambitious for excellence.  The home has some shortfalls in relation to keeping risk assessments updated, promoting a communication-rich environment and providing a

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The children’s home provision is good because:

range of planned, routine activities that young people can access.

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

12: Ensure that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. This relates to staff promptly updating risk assessments as required. (Regulation 12 (2)(a)(1)) 30/10/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure that each child is provided with support, for example, by using picture communication symbols (Pecs) to communicate their views, wishes and feelings and to participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)  Ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities inside the home and are encouraged to participate in these activities. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.5)  Ensure that best use is made of internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. This relates to ensuring that identified improvements to practice are prioritised. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations

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Recommendations

including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Information about this children’s home

This is a local authority home for children who have a physical or learning disability. The home provides short breaks and long-term care for 13 children at any one time.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

16/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

24/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

It is clear from the relaxed and trusting responses from young people to their carers that they are content in the home. For example, staff take the trouble to prepare food exactly as young people like and need it, and then carefully spoon feed those that need this. Those young people who cannot use speech respond with pleasurable noises and happy body language. A visiting professional said: ‘I visit on a regular basis. The children always appear relaxed and comfortable when at the home.’ Young people living in the long-stay part of the home have comfortable and highly personalised rooms. This helps them develop a sense of permanence and belonging. Staff know and treat young people as unique individuals, and are therefore usually able to give them food or activities that they like. However, the toy cupboards and some activity rooms are not always accessible to young people. Sometimes this may be necessary to help keep young people safe, but there are also insufficient

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Good

pictures of the activities available. This means that young people cannot indicate their preferences. In addition, young people who can use Pecs do not always have access to them. This again limits their ability to communicate their preferences, and means that their skills are not being maintained. Holiday activities are well planned and involve trips out, for example to the theatre, as well as interesting planned activities on site. However, there are insufficient planned activities on ‘ordinary’ days. For example, staff do not put out trikes or music-making toys, or prepare a sticking table ready for young people to make a choice. Some young people do get taken to the sensory or soft-play room and it is clear that they thoroughly enjoy these experiences. Staff are very vigilant about young people’s healthcare needs. For example, staff were persistent in approaching medical staff to identify an issue that was causing a

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Good

young person pain. Now this issue is resolved, the young person is much more relaxed and clearly enjoying her life more. Young people who use a wheelchair have regular opportunities out of their chairs to stretch their limbs. This helps them stretch their tight muscles and to become more comfortable. Staff competence in areas such as hoisting and the administration of medication is currently being assessed. This helps to ensure that staff remain highly effective in these important areas. Staff are rightly proud of the good progress some young people make across all areas of their development. Some improve their personal hygiene skills, and others their eating or sleeping patterns. Often these developments can make a huge difference to the lives of young people in their family homes. For example, when a young person learns good sleeping habits, the whole family can sleep through. This sort of development increases the chances of a young person living at the

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Good

family home for longer. A particular strength of this home is its commitment to ensuring that young people have smooth transitions both into and out of the service. This means that admission is done gradually at the pace suited to the individual young person and their family. Arrangements for leaving the unit are planned well in advance, and the young person’s key worker will on occasion stay over in the new placement with the young person as required. This careful consideration of young people’s individual needs results in some young people maintaining close contact with the home long after they have left. This helps young people develop and sustain good attachments.

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Good

Professional colleagues have confidence in this home’s approach to safeguarding. One said: ‘They have good safeguarding plans in place and follow all necessary procedures.’ Managers make appropriate use of the local authority designated officer’s role, and staff have a sound understanding of what to do if they are concerned about a young person. There is a satisfactory location assessment in place, and home security is effective in keeping young people safe. No young people have gone missing from this home. Environmental checks are routinely done and effectively completed, and housekeeping staff are diligent in maintaining a good standard of hygiene and food safety. In the short-stay unit, risk assessments are not updated regularly or promptly enough. This means that they may not accurately reflect current risks to young people. This does not sufficiently promote young people’s safety, and may leave

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Good

them at risk of harm. Staff have an appropriately protective approach to young people. For example, they allow them to take fun risks in play such as moving quickly around the playground, but stay close to prevent them falling over. Staff are confident and skilled at using distraction to de-escalate confrontational behaviour. This is usually effective, as demonstrated by the low number of restraints that occur in this home. Sanctions are also rarely used, and are appropriately issue specific. For example, throwing food at mealtimes results in a short time away from the area and people where the incident happened. Staff prefer to focus on positives, and the regular use of ‘proud clouds’ is being rolled out to mark achievements. Underpinning this positive behaviour management is some good planning. The behaviour and capabilities of young people coming for short breaks are assessed and they are usually placed in particular groups. This helps to keep them safe from others who

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Good

may find it too challenging to tolerate their behaviour patterns. Staff recruitment is thorough. Appropriate checks are done and verified, interviews are detailed and identity checks are recorded. This helps to keep young people protected from unsuitable staff members joining the unit.

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Good

The long-standing registered manager is a highly experienced professional with the appropriate qualifications. She was not present during this inspection, however, the inspection process was ably supported by her two competent deputies. Managers in the home are very visible. They frequently assist with everyday care and have warm relationships with young people. They prioritise being in the home at weekends and evenings, and this helps them to get a good overview of the quality of care being provided. In addition, management monitoring systems are extensive. There is evidence on all key documents, such as those recording sanctions and restraints, of management oversight as well as routine file audits. Findings from these are used with staff in supervision and team meetings. On occasion, there is insufficient priority given to remedying the most urgent matters first, such as updating risk assessments.

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Good

Managers have taken the lead in the development of outcome-based progress charts for young people. These are gradually being rolled out to all young people, and staff are expected to initiate and sustain them. This expectation is contained in each staff member’s performance appraisal targets. This clearly demonstrates the strong commitment that managers have to securing appropriate development in young people. There is a large and diverse staff group in this home and managers work hard at creating a shared staff ethos and value base. They do this by focusing alternately on values such as ‘respect’ or ‘appreciation’. Staff are very involved in developing each value for use in the home, and this helps create a stronger staff team. Formal supervision is regularly held with all permanent staff, as are appraisals. Performance appraisals are a strength of this home in their clear links with the day-to-day care of young people.

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Good

Staffing in the home is a mix of permanent and various types of temporary posts, including agency staff. Managers pay close attention to staff feedback on agency colleagues, and offer them bespoke training. They are also generally successful at only using agency workers who are familiar to young people, and this helps to keep the environment as predictable as possible. Managers have been highly effective in taking action to remedy unacceptable performance in staff, thereby maintaining a high standard of care for young people. The registered manager also routinely produces Regulation 45 reports, which accurately reflect service strengths and are appropriately aspirational. The management team is well supported by its independent visitor reports, which are thorough and appropriately shared with staff. Professional colleagues are clear that the home is operating within its statement of purpose. Relationships between the home and other agencies are effective. A

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Good

professional colleague noted: ‘We have a good relationship and communicate on a regular basis.’ On occasion, managers will rightly advocate with external colleagues on behalf of young people over such issues as contact arrangements. The home’s view on such issues is rightly respected by professional colleagues.

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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 the ‘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 children looked after 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 whom 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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