Children's home run by Institute of Integrated Systemic Therapy in Southwark

Outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

 Children make vast progress from their individual starting points.  Children are fully engaged in education and achieve extremely high levels of attendance.  Children are encouraged to participate in a wide variety of extracurricular activities in the community.  The family work being carried out is enhancing the children’s relationships.  The purpose-built house offers the children a well-maintained home with vast areas to play in.  Parents report that they trust the staff caring for their children and know that their children are happy, safe and making excellent progress.  Staff are enthusiastic about their work and build on good relationships with the children and their families.  The manager is a positive source of direction and guidance for the staff team and, together, they are continually striving to enhance the service.  Professionals commend the team of staff for their joint working and their

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The children’s home provision is outstanding because:

continual focus on the needs of the children.  Staff receive university-accredited training in integrated systemic therapy.

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Information about this children’s home

A registered charity owns this children’s home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to nine children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is a therapeutic community, based on an integrated systemic therapy model.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

02/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/10/2015 Full Outstanding 18/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/01/2015 Full Outstanding

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Outstanding

Children live as a community with an ethos that follows an integrated systemic therapeutic model. Children are encouraged to participate in community meetings and have individual time with their link workers to address specific aspects of their care plans.

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Outstanding

Children have placement plans that are developed in line with long-term goals, as detailed in their care plans. These can include working towards reunification with family or moving to a long-term foster placement. Child-friendly versions of their placement plans identify the targets and goals for the coming months. Link workers robustly review these on a regular basis and update them as required.

p.5

Outstanding

Most of the children attend a school on site and they have extremely high attendance levels. Children progress through the classes and, where possible, transfer to schools in the local area. Staff run a homework club on two evenings a week to support all of the children with their educational work. Staff are able to offer support to the children in school on site at points during the school day. Examples include a child having half-hourly visits from staff to receive hugs, and another child having staff visit, at the school’s request, to allow the child a brief respite from the classroom. This assists the child to maintain positive behaviour in the classroom. These interactions allow the children to feel safe enough to relax gradually during the school day and maintain their high attendance levels. It is evident that some children require the reassurance of knowing that the staff are still at the home while they are at school.

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Outstanding

There are a number of areas, internal and external, that the children can utilise. They include the vast grounds equipped with large play equipment, a soft-play room and an upstairs lounge where the younger children can watch videos and relax as they start to wind down in preparation for their settling times at night. This is also known as the ‘7 o’clock club’. The creative use of the space allows the children to establish a routine and also start to differentiate between the needs of the younger and older children accommodated.

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Outstanding

The children’s bedrooms are personalised to their liking, and children are included in selecting furnishings and colour schemes for communal areas within the home. An example is the children deciding on the colours and furnishings in the ‘snug’, a small, quiet lounge that children use to play games and have quiet time, sometimes used for family visits.

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Outstanding

Mealtimes have a family feel, with staff and children interacting with each other socially throughout. Children also have the opportunity to eat away from the large group, if they are having particular difficulties at that time.

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Outstanding

Children, accompanied by staff, attend routine health checks and specialist hospital appointments. Wherever possible, parents and carers are encouraged to attend these appointments jointly. This offers the children additional support and allows the parents and carers to remain involved in the child’s well-being.

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Outstanding

The children attend a wide range of activities. Staff work hard to find smaller groups that are less daunting for the children to join, especially for those who struggle with social interaction. The smaller groups allow them to develop their confidence while participating in leisure activities that broaden their experiences of life outside of the home.

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Outstanding

There are two family workers who are employed to engage with the children’s families to ensure that the work being conducted with the children is then mirrored and extended to their family. This can include ‘feelings meetings’ being incorporated into contact or held separately. These meetings allow the children to ask their family difficult questions, either directly or via the family workers. This combined approach allows the children to maintain links with their families and also to commence to address some of the factors that led to them living at the home. A professional praised the home for their ‘joint working’ and for ‘not working with the child in isolation, and their ability to build a relationship with his family’, and reiterated, ‘it feels like a home’.

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Outstanding

One child has moved out since the last inspection. Her file demonstrates that staff worked with the foster carer to ensure that her transition was gradual and conducted at a pace that suited the child. This approach gave the child a positive move into her new home and allowed a slower farewell to the children and staff whom she was leaving.

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Outstanding

A child spoke positively about how staff looked after her and the fun that they had all had in the summer holidays. This was evident through the extremely well- compiled video of the holiday. The unmissable warmth of the relationships between the children and adults caring for them was as evident on film as it is in person. Judgement grade

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Outstanding

The young age of the children and the high levels of supervision mean that children rarely go missing from the home. On the rare occasions that children have tried to run off site, staff have been close behind and the child returned immediately. This reduces, as staff help children to identify alternative strategies to manage their emotions. A child who was experiencing difficulties during the evening agreed with staff that he would go into the garden, yet remain in their sight. This allowed him the space that he required to feel calmer before re-joining the group.

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Outstanding

There has been an increase in the number of restraints since the last inspection. In this period, it is clear that the increase has been a result of children’s heightened behaviours that are displayed preceding or following making disclosures of abuse. The children’s files demonstrate that these incidents are currently decreasing. The staff team uses weekly restraint review meetings to review each incident robustly, and to identify any patterns or trends and devise any further diversion strategies that can be utilised.

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Outstanding

Police involvement is limited to the referrals to the local authority designated officers when children make allegations and disclosures. Staff have appropriately recorded and managed these on each occasion.

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Outstanding

Children are encouraged to take age-appropriate risks in line with their care plans. For some of the younger children, this can include making a hot drink or taking an unsupervised bath. This allows the children gradually to build their levels of independence.

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Outstanding

Each of the children participates in activities in the community. These are all individually risk assessed to detail whether staff will remain on site or nearby during the activity. This encourages the children to build friendships within the community in safe settings.

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Outstanding

The children’s emotions can fluctuate very quickly and they can often present extremely challenging behaviour. This can result in assaults on staff. Staff are dedicated to working through these tirelessly and with great empathy. A child who was being quite aggressive with a staff member was being encouraged to consider having a different nominated worker that evening, as they appeared to be struggling with the worker whom they had. The child was clear that he did not want this, and the staff member continued to speak with him about his level of upset. The child became much calmer. The children benefit from having a staff team that is focused on working with them to identify the triggers for their behaviour and to identify alternative strategies. Staff skilfully negotiate the ever- changing demands of the individual children.

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Outstanding

Children are cared for in a safe environment by a team of staff who have clear boundaries and expectations. A parent said, ‘I have no worries about his safety, definitely not. He is well looked after.’

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Outstanding

The manager is a qualified social worker and worked at the home for many years prior to becoming the manager in 2007. He offers clear leadership to the staff and works with his management team to ensure that the home continually improves. This demonstrates that the home staff are not complacent and are continually proactive in seeking to enhance the lives of the children whom they care for.

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Outstanding

Staff receive a thorough induction and regular supervision. Existing staff receive supervision on a three-weekly basis. The records demonstrate that these sessions allow staff to reflect on their practice. Feedback from staff was extremely positive about the quality of their supervision.

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Outstanding

The managers conduct rigorous file audits and monthly monitoring to ensure that children’s files contain current paperwork. This information is incorporated into the various reflective practice meetings that are held with the staff team.

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Outstanding

The organisation offers a tailored course in integrated systemic therapy. This course is university accredited and all staff, apart from the three newest, have either completed or are on the training. The three new staff are due to commence the course in October 2016. One staff member has recently qualified as a play therapist and has commenced sessions with some children.

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Outstanding

The professionals consulted were all positive about the staff team. A social worker said, ‘What I like most about them is that they take a thoughtful view of the care of the children, and their confidence in what they do allows them to revisit decisions. Another social worker said, ‘They are child led and child focused, and are open to considering external therapeutic input.’ This demonstrates that the children’s well- being and progress are central to all planning and that the team is able to work well with the children when plans change.

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Outstanding

The managers updated the statement of purpose in June 2016. This suitably describes the ethos, aims and objectives, and the staff team is clearly achieving these. The child-friendly children’s guide was updated in July 2016. Staff created a larger, laminated version of this, as suggested by a child. The result is that children know that their views are valued and will be acted upon. The policies and procedures are due to be reviewed by the managers later in the year. The aim is to refine these further, better to fit the home’s remit and reflect the age range of the children whom they care for. The organisation is part of a children and mental health service outcomes research consortium. This involves children’s progress being scored and charted using a children’s global assessment tool. The managers summarise the data and produce it in simpler forms for children’s reviews and monthly progress reports. The

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Outstanding

detailed analysis is available for and worthy of wider dissemination.

p.9

Outstanding

A member of staff said, ‘We are able to offer a really robust, reliable environment where children can test out all of their previous experiences.’ This reflects the observations and feedback received from parents and professionals.

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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’. 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 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 0300 123 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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