Children's Home run by Surrey County Council in Surrey

Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 1 SC370703 Registered provider: Surrey County Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This service is owned and run by the local authority, providing care and accommodation for up to 20 young people for either long stay and/or short breaks for young people who have learning disabilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 16 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children show genuine affection for the staff and there is a nurturing and inclusive atmosphere in the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 2  There is evidence of change and improvement for children because of the actions of the staff and the encouraging approach.  Managers and staff do not give up and they strive to ensure that children are happy, safe and develop as a result of their placements.  Staff use clear boundaries and research to develop their practice and to understand the triggers for behaviours.  Managers are ambitious and creative in their approach, they lead by example and act as good role models for the staff team.  Strengths and weaknesses are identified through the monitoring that takes place. These are used to learn and develop and influence change.  There are strong working relationships with both parents and professionals, all of whom spoke very positively about the positive difference that staff make in

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff do not demonstrate sufficient challenge to external agencies in respect of children’s educational needs.  Some individual risk assessments lack the required clarity and do not reliably inform staff of the actions to take in order to reduce such risks.  A formal process for staff supervision is not embedded and the staff training matrix is out of date.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/10/2016 Full Good 01/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/09/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans.

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally.

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment.

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8(2)(a)(i)(v)(iv)(viii)) 23/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans and to make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12(2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff are working to up-to-date individual risk assessments and that these detail all risks. 23/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(b)) 23/06/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 4 In particular, ensure that all staff receive regular, well-recorded supervision.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff engage proactively to contribute fully to the relevant plans for the child’s care on an ongoing basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.3) In particular, ensure that targets for children are specific and progress is demonstrated.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that development plans are strategic and focus on improving experiences for young people. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Recommendations

 Ensure the workforce plan is kept up to date to ensure all necessary training is undertaken. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8) In particular, ensure that staff undertake regular training in mental health awareness.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is highly individualised care being provided to children. Staff talk positively about the impact they have as a team in ensuring that the children progress and develop. Staff state that this has been a challenge at times due to the varying needs of new children. However, they have ensured that each child is treated as an individual and the care they have provided has had very positive outcomes. The transformation in some children’s behaviours and in the acquisition of new skills since moving in is described as ‘incredible’ by a professional. Children and their parents and carers enjoy very positive, supportive relationships with the staff. Through the relationships formed with staff, children are relaxed and feel safe, and professionals reiterate this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff invest quality time with the children. As they begin to trust the staff, their confidence and self-esteem are enhanced. Children who previously chose not to engage or to leave their bedrooms are now enjoying staff members’ company and are able to initiate opportunities for social interaction independently. Their self-confidence is flourishing. Each child is at the centre of all decisions made, and wherever possible, the child’s views are taken into account. Some children have access to advocates; this ensures that children are heard and listened to. Children are supported to make choices in many aspects of their care, including the choice of staff they work with, the activities they take part in and the meals they eat. Children are encouraged to express their views and feelings in how the home is run.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress; they benefit from the structure and routines in the Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 5 care delivered. For some children, progress is difficult to fully measure due to being very new into placement. Examples of progress for others include the reduction of incidents of challenging behaviour, increased communication and developing independence in self- help skills. One parent described how her child could not previously access the community due to his anxiety. This has greatly reduced and he now is able to enjoy activities: ‘His world has been opened up as a result of the consistent care.’ Targets to develop independence have been identified for children. However, there is a focus on the desired outcome which is generic and not specific; for example ‘to reduce my anxiety’ and ‘to reduce my physical behaviour’. These targets are not broken down into realistic goals and there is no detail on the progress made. This inhibits regular reviews

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

to ensure that targets are still appropriate and achievable.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with schools. Good communication ensures consistency, which enables children to work on certain targets across both the settings. However, there are two children who are not in full-time education. There has been contact made by the managers with the allocated social workers and meetings arranged. However, there has been no contact by the home with the virtual school and no long-term plan is in place for these children to return to full-time education. The staff have not fully recognised the value of education for these children, with little planning in place during the school day. In addition, the home has not challenged and requested up-to-date personal education plans. This does not enable this document to be used as an active tool and children’s aspirations to be captured. The lack of up-to-date information does not enable staff to be clear on the support needs required for these children to be able to reach their full

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Activities outside of the home are carefully considered to ensure that children are able to make the most of these opportunities. Children are able to choose what they would like to take part in and social opportunities are encouraged. Children were seen to be prepared for trips through the use of individual communication systems and were happy and excited with these choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to learn and consolidate invaluable life and social skills. They are encouraged to contribute to daily routines, for example, laying the table, preparing snacks and clearing up. These are individualised and supported by staff. As a result, children make good progress in their independence skills and are being equipped for adult life. Encouragement is given at all levels of achievement, which enables children to have the confidence to try new skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions are carefully considered. The work involved when children move on ensures positive endings for those who find it a challenge to understand why change needs to happen. There have been very successful moves into the home since the last inspection, with children being well prepared. Staff work with all the necessary professionals to ensure that they are able to meet children’s needs prior to moving in. This practice enables other children to be prepared and for their needs to be considered as well. This has resulted in stability and positive experiences for all. Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 6

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff interpret children’s behaviours very well and are therefore able to act upon instances when the children are worried or upset. Staff are proactive in how they respond to children’s behaviours, which at times can be challenging. This has reduced the number of incidents; in particular, children’s self-injurious behaviours and aggression towards others. Risks associated with these areas are well understood. Children are happier and more relaxed and feel secure as a result of the consistent approach to behaviour management.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Care planning documentation is informative and written from a child-centred perspective. Information in relation to individual vulnerabilities is clearly evidenced and care plans give direction to staff on how to support the children. However, some individual risk assessments lack the necessary specific details of restrictions already in place; for example, apparatus that restricts a child’s movement. This lack of information does not enable staff to be clear on the associated risks. In addition, the positive handling risk assessment does not detail which type of holds can be used and the risks posed due to the restraints already in operation. Children’s previous negative experiences of physical intervention are not defined to enable staff to be aware of the emotional impact that a hold may present to a child. In addition, when key work sessions and discussions with the children are deemed to be a strategy to reduce risk,

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

these discussions are not recorded to enable review and to see whether any further actions are required.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Positive behaviour is consistently promoted, with a focus on rewarding rather than using consequences. No incidents of restraints, other than mechanical restraint, have occurred since the last inspection and any incidents involving challenging behaviour are recorded. The use of mechanical restraint is being appropriately recorded and was in operation prior to placement. The managers seek meetings with all of the necessary professionals with a view to this no longer being used in the future. This will be a long process due to the reliance by the child on its use. However, the home recognises that there needs to be a plan in place.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are not currently assessed as displaying high risk in the areas of child sexual exploitation and going missing from care. Although staff and managers fully recognise that due to the child’s disability this makes them vulnerable and they are aware of actions to take should there be concerns. When children are placed, consideration is given to them possibly being able to put themselves at risk by going off site. There was one incident in which a child went off site; the child was contactable so it was deemed as not to be a missing incident, and there were no further occurrences. The necessary protocols are put in place to enable staff to be aware of the risks in this area. Children are at risk of harm due to their self-injurious behaviours and staff are working with all the necessary professionals to have clear strategies in place to reduce these occurrences.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There have been challenges in recent months. Some children’s complex diagnoses have Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 7 led to new learning for the staff team on how best to manage the safety of each child. Staff nurture the children and through their positive role modelling and proactive responses, this has reduced the risks that children may present to both themselves and others. Safeguarding arrangements, including contact made with professionals, has ensured that the children are protected from harm. There have been no child protection referrals, although the staff spoken with are clear on the reporting procedures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff team are ambitious and constantly looking to ensure that they achieve high standards. The children are central to all aspects of the team’s work and decisions made. The registered manager achieves this by using research to inform the staff’s practice; information and ideas are cascaded to the staff team to aid learning and development. She frequently keeps her professional knowledge up to date and explores resources specific to certain diagnoses. As a service, the team does not give up. Placements are not ended. Rather, the team learns and adapts its practice to ensure that the children’s needs can be met. Staff are fully involved in all decisions and this enables them to embrace the learning that sometimes needs to take place. The registered manager has high expectations and ensures that the staff team shares this passion. All staff are committed to this ethos and successfully achieve a consistent and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The senior staff and managers have a clear understanding of children’s progress and constantly look at how this achieved. They have an understanding of the plans in place for the children and take effective action when other professionals are not fulfilling their responsibilities. They advocate for the children and challenge, to ensure that all of the children are given the same opportunities as others.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a permanent registered manager in place who has the necessary experience and the appropriate qualification. She has development plans in place but these are generalised with no clear plan of how the aims will be achieved and no accountability. These would benefit from being reviewed. The registered manager is very aware of the strengths and weaknesses and openly talks about the areas that she feels need further strengthening. Effective action is taken when weaknesses are highlighted during the external monitoring that takes place. A new independent visitor has been appointed as the team recognised it needed more challenge in this area. Internal monitoring is evaluative and identifies any areas for improvement. This enables the management team to reflect on current practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that they are well supported and that they have informal supervisions. However, formal supervisions have not been taking place in line with the organisation’s policy. The absence of formal arrangements restricts managers’ ability to measure, monitor and support staff members’ performance and professional development accurately. This area is improving and managers are working hard to achieve this requirement, which was made at the last inspection. Progress in this area is not yet complete; therefore, this requirement is repeated. Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 8 There are training opportunities for staff to develop their skills further in supporting the children. These are monitored by the registered manager to consider their effectiveness in terms of staff practice. Staff report that training is sometimes hard to access; however, managers do undertake internal training to share good practice and keep

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

everyone up to date with legislation. Training in relation to mental health has not been sufficiently frequent, given the needs of the children who are and have been in placement. Although staff are reported to have the skills in this area, staff members state that they lack some confidence in this regard. In addition, the training matrix has not been updated so it is difficult to determine whether refreshers for some staff are due.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from highly effective working relationships between staff, parents and professionals from a range of agencies. These include health professionals, social workers, independent reviewing officers and schools. The children are clearly the priority in all decisions made, and staff and managers strongly advocate for them.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’. Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Quadrant Court, 35 Guildford Road, Woking GU22 7QQ

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Inspector

Emeline Evans, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 10 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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