Children's home run by Potton Homes Limited in Greenwich

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:

 This service delivers consistent, outstanding care for children who have complex health needs, learning disabilities and autism. Innovative practice based on research helps the children to maintain their emotional balance.  Each child has a detailed individual programme that reflects their abilities and experiences. The staff work intensively using a balance of activities and reassuring techniques. The number of negative incidents has dropped dramatically and these are now very rare.  The staff focus on building positive relationships with the children, who trust and confide in them. The staff demonstrate respect and tolerance extremely well. They apply routines consistently and sensitively. The children develop insight into how they can keep themselves safe and healthy.  Respect for the children’s views is exceptional. The staff and managers encourage children to express themselves and to enjoy their lives. The

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

children feel secure and develop a positive self-view.  The staff are ambitious for the children and ensure that they have opportunities to access the community regularly. The children enjoy walks, swimming and going to the park or the shops. The children also have the opportunity for special trips for one-off events. The staff plan these extremely carefully and children learn to access the community confidently.  Partnership between the staff, schools and outside agencies is exemplary. The children do much better at school since moving to the home. Their behaviour is settled and their communication skills have improved. The staff continue to offer extra support in school if necessary.  Parents speak very enthusiastically of the help and encouragement that they receive from the staff. The parents are able to build on practical skills that the children have developed in the home. This has greatly enhanced the

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

time that the children spend with their families.  Some shortfalls were identified during the inspection. Supervision records were not held in one place. This means that the manager is not ensuring that sessions are taking place effectively. Case records do not include the records of weekly feedback emails from key workers. These are of very good quality and would add to the picture of the child’s progress. Finally, pathway plans do not state the child’s starting points so do not demonstrate the progress that the children are making. However, these issues do not have any impact on the safety of the children or detract from the outstanding progress that they have made.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that the manager has a high level of understanding of the needs of the children in their care. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5) This is with particular reference to identifying and tracking the progress that children make in their pathway plans.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) This is with particular reference to recording the occurrence of sessions effectively in one place so that any gaps are identified and action taken to address this in a timely fashion.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the home's records on each child are complete. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5) This is with particular reference to including records of weekly reports from key workers as part of children's case files.

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately owned residential service for up to five children and young people, irrespective of gender, between the ages of eight and 17 years old, who have a diagnosed learning disability.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 18/05/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 19/01/2016 Full Good 26/05/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/01/2015 Full Outstanding

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Outstanding

The children make exceptional progress because they each have a highly individual programme based on an independent assessment of their sensory needs. The focus of this innovative approach is to help children to maintain their equilibrium so that they feel calmer and in control. The staff and managers use this to develop a specific plan which reflects children’s abilities and experiences and helps them to meet their developmental milestones. The staff and managers receive specialist training that emphasises the importance of developing supportive relationships with children. One social worker said, ‘They really have a person-centred approach. So many places say this. This home really means it.’

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Outstanding

The staff and managers place a high priority on developing and stretching the children’s ability to communicate and make their views known. This is slow and intensive work but the children are noticeably relaxed with staff who respond to them promptly. The statutory review for one child noted, ‘She is beginning to flourish. The consistent person-centred approach by staff appears to be the catalyst of these positive results.’

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Outstanding

All of the children have a full-time education programme which provides a purposeful and organised structure to the day. This may include home tuition, periods in mainstream school and time spent in local community theatre groups. The staff focus on helping the children to feel more confident about the world around them and to express themselves. Some children have home tuition, in which they learn to identify numbers, colours and letters, while others may have a singing lesson. The children’s self-esteem is noticeably enhanced and they enjoy their lives.

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Outstanding

The children benefit from close relationships between the home and agencies working with them who work to shared goals. One child who had been on the verge of being excluded from school was fully supported by staff from the home who accompanied her during the school day. Over time, the staff have been able to reduce the amount of support that they were providing in the classroom and now the child is able to sustain a full day unaided. The staff remain involved and will liaise promptly with teachers if there is a concern.

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Outstanding

All of the children benefit from participating in a wide variety of activities in the community, including walking, going out for drives, using local shops, going to clubs or getting their nails done. One social worker said, ‘Last time I was there, he was going out on his bike. He loves getting out and his eyes were shining. They can do this safely now because he listens to them.’ In addition, the staff have been very creative in identifying special treats for the children that reflect their interests. For instance, the staff arranged for one child, who loves trains, to visit a local train station where he was shown round, met the drivers and sat in the ticket booth. He still talks about this. There are photos around the home of various visits, such as to the zoo, local attractions and wildlife parks. The staff and the children look happy and excited in these photos.

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Outstanding

The children value their family relationships. The staff and managers appreciate this and they work in partnership with the families to support family contact arrangements. In some cases this has led to exceptional results. For instance, one child could only manage supervised contact with her parents. Now she copes with overnight unsupervised contact both with her immediate and extended family. Families feel valued and supported. They comment that they are able to build on the work that their children are doing in the home. Some of the children are developing some independence skills which families can follow up. The mother of one child said, ‘We follow routines and she is doing more. The other day, we wrote a list and went out shopping for dinner. She helped out really well and will work alongside me chopping herbs.’

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Outstanding

The children have no sense of danger, so the staff and the managers have to provide a completely protected environment with an emphasis on high staff ratios and constant supervision. All visitors have to provide identification and sign in. The children can only leave if accompanied by an adult, and the car park is designed so that the children are safely sitting in the vehicles before the vehicles go onto the road. Fire drills take place regularly and staff make sure that children know what to do. A child who has a visual impairment has an audio fire drill plan. On occasion, a child may not comply with a drill in a timely fashion. If this occurs, their key worker will talk to them and another practice drill is arranged shortly afterwards to confirm that they have understood. The staff are mindful of the potential dangers of the internet and monitor this closely. Consequently, the children are safeguarded.

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Outstanding

All of the children have very complex needs and the priority is to help them to remain calm and focused. Some of the children do not settle easily at night. This can leave them tired and upset and, in turn, this can have an impact on their health. The staff have adapted the children’s bedtime routines so that they are ready to settle, reducing the use of their electronic tablets, and purchasing rocking chairs for some of the children to use to help them relax. One child was able to tell his key worker that he realised that if he was tired and stressed, he was more prone to seizures. This has helped him cooperate with plans to adapt his bedtime routines. As a result of these careful steps, children sleep better and for longer.

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Outstanding

The staff know how to plan an activity so that the children are clear what is expected. One child who loves to go out for a walk is at risk of seizures. Staff make sure that she is in an appropriate mood to listen to them, is properly dressed and does not get too hot. Consequently, she is able to get out into the community frequently, which she enjoys, and she remains in good health. The social worker for another child said, ‘He has calmed down. I knew him before he came into care and never would have thought that he could cope with being outside, but he can. The staff are exceptional.’

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Outstanding

The staff work together intensively as a team and alongside other professionals to promote positive behaviour and reduce negative incidents. Over time, the children are able to reflect on their progress and confide in staff. One child talked to his key worker about relationships with staff and other children in the home. He displayed remarkable insight into the progress that some of the other children were making. He was also able to describe how he was sometimes distressed by loud noises in the home. The staff agreed that the child would talk to the staff and ask for help. This has been shared with the other staff members and he now feels secure and more in control.

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Outstanding

These improvements are mirrored by a dramatic reduction in the number of negative incidents, particularly physical interventions. The staff are attentive to children and recognise and respond immediately to signs of agitation so that the children’s behaviour very rarely escalates. The teacher for one child said, ‘They [the staff] work on producing the right conditions and, as a result, her anxiety is reduced.’

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Good

The registered manager has a relevant level 5 qualification and she has several years’ suitable experience at a senior level of delivering services to vulnerable children and adults. The deputy manager has a level 4 qualification and has started her level 5 qualification, which she is due to finish in 2018.

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Good

The requirement raised at the previous inspection has been met. Half of the staff team members already have their level 3 qualification, with the remainder enrolled on the course and due to finish this year. In addition, all staff receive training that reflects the specialised nature of their work, including communicating with non- verbal children and how to apply and manage a sensory plan.

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Good

The staff work as a team. All day-to-day information about a child is recorded and shared during handover meetings and in regular weekly staff meetings. The staff are proud of what they have achieved with the children and feel that they make a difference. However, they are aware that this success is dependent on consistent sharing of information to maintain this progress. If mistakes are made, the staff report them immediately. This reflects the pride that they have in their work and how they maintain the well-being of children at the centre of their practice.

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Good

All of the staff receive regular supervision which is carried out by the management team. However, supervision dates are not updated routinely in one place and as a result the registered manager has not tracked this systematically. This is not effective and means that the manager is not addressing any gaps in a timely fashion. There is no discernible impact on the safety of the children. Supervision is recorded using a new template that prompts the opportunity for reflection and professional development. Children benefit from being looked after by staff who are valued themselves.

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Good

The management team scrutinises the quality of the service using a balance of hard data and feedback from families and professionals. Thus, the profile of negative incidents month by month, education and health outcomes are measured alongside how successful any interventions might be. The registered manager scrutinises care plans to ensure that they remain relevant and that all documentation is up to date. In addition, some of the children are working to develop some independence skills. Staff provide written and photographic evidence of the children’s work. However, managers have not reviewed this work against the children’s starting points. As a result, the children’s progress is not clear.

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Good

Monthly reports are sent to the social workers, who are also all contacted once a week by email. The content of these emails is exceptional, detailed and personal. However, they are not included in the running records for that child. This is a missed opportunity to record the improvements that the children are making.

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Good

External professionals comment on how receptive the staff are to new ideas and how the children benefit. One teacher said, ‘We work as a team. Her [the child’s] behaviour is better because there is a stock response. She knows what she is doing and what is expected.’ The staff and managers have made important links in the community. Some local businesses provided prizes for a Christmas fair held at the home. In addition, the management team recently met with the local GP surgery to share information and agree a tailored arrangement for the children in the home. This resulted in streamlined appointments so that the children do not wait. This reduces any stress and the children are able to tolerate this more easily.

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Good

The staff and managers are purposeful in building up highly effective partnerships with the placing authorities, which are enthusiastic about the staff’s ambition for the children. One social worker said, ‘She [the child] was on the verge of exclusion but staff have really worked on partnerships and it is more settled. They [the staff] argue for her very strongly and promote her potential. They get more out of her and want more for her.’

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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 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 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 that 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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