Children's Home run by McRae Residential Care Services Limited in Croydon

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff receive effective support from the experienced and appropriately qualified management team. The registered manager works closely with the responsible person, providing good leadership to the staff team. The deputy manager provides day-to-day management of the home under the supervision of the registered manager. Following the last inspection, the responsible person submitted an action plan to Ofsted outlining how managers had addressed the three recommendations. The responsible person is active and engaged in improving care in the home and contributed during the inspection.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers have successfully addressed the three recommendations set at the last inspection. Staff now sign all supervision records and retain a copy. Supervision continues to be a supportive tool which staff value. The registered manager has implemented a lone-working policy, in particular for night-care staff. Staff confirmed that he had discussed this with them in a recent team meeting and a copy was available in the staff office. Staff encourage children to contribute to their records and one child in particular has written lengthy comments on his care plan. One child confirmed that his key-worker offers to go through risk assessments and care plans with him and encourages him to comment on them. However, most children have not contributed to their files and staff have not recorded that they did not wish to comment.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children say that they feel safe in the home and build good relationships with staff. They say that they can talk to staff and influence what happens in the home through their key-workers, directly with the deputy manager or though the weekly team-talk meetings. One young person said:

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Team talk meetings happen every Friday and they are useful. We discuss things happening in the house like our behaviours and then about what we want to change. We can talk about anything. We choose activities, changes in the house, food and anything really.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children who have been in the home for more than a couple of weeks are all in education. All of these children were attending school or college at the commencement of the inspection. Staff encourage children to achieve their potential through education and one is currently studying at advanced level, having achieved excellent success in his examinations last year. Staff monitor attendance and progress in education and report on this to placing social workers. One newly admitted young person had not yet commenced education and staff were supporting him in making applications to appropriate colleges. Children are improving educational engagement with the support of staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff create and maintain care plans and risk assessments on children in the home. They contain much helpful information and guidance for staff interactions. However, some lack clear targets and not all risks are included. For example, one file lacked guidance on managing extreme behaviour from one of the children. Staff are knowledgeable about the children and how to manage their risks. They regularly update these assessments, including making updates following incidents in the home. However, this is often after a predictable event has occurred which was not included in the assessment.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All staff are trained in managing difficult behaviour and generally do not use restraint to control volatile situations. Staff say that they encourage positive behaviour through the use of consequences and rewards and their application of behavioural guides in risk assessments. The log book for consequences and rewards is a loose leaf record and does not provide a permanent record of these interventions. Staff generally transpose the information onto an online record. The paper record is poorly structured and neither it nor the online record includes any comment on the effectiveness of any consequence. Some of the consequences are inappropriate financial sanctions, and staff do not track rewards, other than attendance at education, to evidence children’s progress. The registered manager is revising this system to apply structured rewards for achieving behavioural targets. However, this system is not yet operational. Staff record all serious

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

incidents in detail on incident forms. One incident involved an attempted restraint which the member of staff recorded in detail but not in the appropriate restraint log. Children are safely cared for during staff interventions. However, staff recording of these incidents requires improvement and managers have not analysed the effectiveness of interventions.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff monitor children’s progress and report on this to social workers. Some children have made significant progress. However, some have been involved in serious offending in the community. Staff work closely with police to address any offending and do so in an appropriate way, avoiding unnecessary criminalisation of children but setting appropriate boundaries. The registered manager notifies placing authorities of any offending. However, he has failed to notify Ofsted of some recent incidents in a timely manner. This removes an important safeguard from children and does not allow Ofsted as the regulator to make appropriately timely interventions when necessary.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The responsible person allows the registered manager to control all admissions to the home. During the inspection, he acknowledged that the registered manager must ensure that not only can the staff meet the care plan targets for any new admission but also that any admission does not disrupt existing placements. The registered manager risk assesses all referrals. However, he does not maintain a record of his assessment of new or potential admissions. The management team does not currently record what impact any new admissions will have on the group or the measures taken to reduce the risk of disruption within the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff provide a safe, well-maintained, attractive and comfortable environment for the children. There are positive images around the building and high quality finishes everywhere. However, the lounge is not always accessible to the children. Although some incidents have led to more restricted access, staff must ensure that this does not detract from the homely ambience of the house. One child said: ‘This is my home. I should be able to sit in my lounge whenever I want. It should not be that someone else’s bad behaviour stops me from having access to it.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The responsible person and registered manager last updated the statement of purpose in July 2016. It has a helpful link to the company website which gives interested parties access to many of the home’s policies including behaviour management and child protection/safeguarding policies.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff have an active response to children who go missing from the home. When possible, they seek out children and will pick them up from unsafe locations. They work with other agencies, seeking to reduce absences. This includes ensuring that children have return interviews with police and with an independent person. Managers and staff use this information positively to reduce risks to children. For example, they approach locations harbouring children and getting them to cooperate with keeping them safe. Most children are not going missing from the home and absences have reduced since the last inspection, improving the safety of children.

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home may provide care and accommodation for up to eight young people (boys) who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 08/11/2016 Full Good 24/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/12/2015 Full Good 21/10/2014 Interim Not judged

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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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Requirements Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records (3) The registered person must ensure that– (a) within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes– (i) the name of the child; (ii) details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; (iii) the date, time and location of the use of the measure; (iv) a description of the measure and its duration; (v) details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; (vi) the name of the person who used the measure (‘the user’), and of any other person present when the measure was used; (vii) the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and (viii) a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; (b) within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered

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Requirements Due date

person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (‘the authorised person’)– (i) has spoken to the user about the measure; and (ii) has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and (c) within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. In particular, ensure that sanctions are restorative in nature, staff record all restraints in the appropriate record and all interventions are analysed for effectiveness. (Regulation 35 (3)(a–c)) 30/05/2017

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Requirements Due date

40: Notification of a serious event (4) The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if– (a) a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; 30/05/2017 (b) an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; (c) there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; (d) a child protection enquiry involving a child– (i) is instigated; or (ii) concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or (e) there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a– e))

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Revise risk assessments, ensuring that they aid staff in identifying signs that children are at risk and give them a framework to support children through strategies to manage and reduce any risks. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.10)  Ensure that, when the registered person accepts placements for children when they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and when the registered person has considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children, this decision-making is appropriately recorded. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  Ensure that, as in a family home, children should be able to access all shared

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Recommendations

areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review.(‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15 paragraph 3.10)  Ensure that staff provide each child with support to communicate their views, wishes and feelings and participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. If children choose not to comment, record this on their care and placement plans, risk assessments, restraint records, and key work sessions. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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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. Whenever 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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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 children looked after 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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