Children's Home run by Potton Homes Limited in Southend on Sea

Inspection report children’s home: SC438764 1 SC438764 Registered provider: Potton Homes Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered for up to six children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. This is one of three residential services operated by this privately run organisation. In addition, the organisation runs a school which is adjacent to this home.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children are making positive progress in many aspects of their lives. Inspection report children’s home: SC438764 2  Staff have clear expectations that children attend education.  Children’s health needs are met effectively.  Children have comprehensive risk and behaviour management plans.  Responses to safeguarding concerns are sound.  Consultation with all professionals is constructive, and promotes improved outcomes for children.  The registered manager and deputy manager have clear plans in place for the development of services.

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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

 In one instance, the manager had not ensured that full and satisfactory information was gained about a proposed member of staff’s previous employment history.  The deputy manager has not made a record of the last supervision sessions for three members of staff.  The manager has not completed a review of the quality of care.  Some of the staff are not fully aware of the whistle-blowing policy.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/05/2016 Full Good 23/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 30/06/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC438764 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The requirements are that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each matter in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(3)(d)) 11/08/2017

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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)) 11/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (‘a quality of care review’) at least once every 6 months. (Regulation 45 (1)) 11/08/2017

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Recommendations

 Ensure that performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) This is with particular regard to ensuring that staff are aware of the whistle- blowing procedures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they are happy and that they feel safe at the home. The home has seen a number of staffing changes since the last inspection, but this has not had a negative impact on the children. Warm relationships are evident between the children and the staff. The children feel understood and valued. Trusting relationships are providing a firm basis for good key-work sessions and supporting the children’s emotional development and resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making positive progress in many aspects of their lives. All of the children are engaged in education that is tailored to meet their individual needs. For some Inspection report children’s home: SC438764 4 children, educational provision is part time. One child has applied to college and has been accepted. Staff have advocated well for children, to ensure that their engagement in education is a priority for all of the professionals who work with them. Staff recognise the benefits of routine and predictability for children, and have clear expectations about children attending, and engaging in, education. Previously, other children at the home have struggled to engage in education, so this is a positive development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff meet the children’s health needs effectively. Children are encouraged to take part in all of their routine health checks and health assessments. Staff access clinical support to assist them in meeting each child’s emotional health and well-being needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children routinely attend daily children’s meetings, and the staff ask them to comment on all aspects of their care, which they do with ease.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A wide range of activities is available to the children. They have visited the Cutty Sark, the London Dungeons and one child will be attending ‘Jamie’s Farm’ during the summer holidays. The home owns a caravan with a sea view, and it shares an allotment with the adjoining school. Through the abundance of varied and individualised activities, children have fun, develop nurturing skills and learn about taking responsible ownership.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The relationships between children, parents and professionals and the staff team are very good. One child said, ‘Staff are really good; they listen and support me.’ A parent commented, ‘The staff team there are on the ball. They [staff] are really fair and they go out of their way to care for her [child].’ Another parent said, ‘Staff have supported contact and brought her [child] to visit us over three times.’ Professionals spoken to echoed these positive comments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a nice feel about it and is warm and welcoming. The heart of the home is the dining room. The children and the staff enjoy eating at the large dining table, and discussing daily events together. Redecoration work is in progress on the ground floor. The children were observed to be actively participating in the design of the decor. Children’s bedrooms are nicely decorated and personalised. One child has wallpapered and accessorised her bedroom using her own design to a very high standard. This reflects the child’s sense of belonging at the home.

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

Children have comprehensive risk and behaviour management plans that are subject to regular review. The implementation of these plans helps to keep the children as safe as possible. Staff use a multi-agency approach to managing risk. The staff invite professionals and the children themselves to take part in devising plans to promote the children’s safety. As a result, incidents of risk-taking behaviours have reduced.

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

Responses to safeguarding concerns are appropriate and well documented. When children have gone missing from the home, staff have acted in line with local missing from care protocols, responding swiftly to the situation to bring about a positive outcome. Inspection report children’s home: SC438764 5 Staff have devised a comprehensive location risk assessment, and they work closely with placing authorities, education professionals and the police to ensure that information- sharing is effective. This is evident in the diligence shown by staff in informing the police of all new admissions to the home, and in promoting a close working relationship between staff, the children and the local police community support officers who visit regularly.

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

Children are happy at the home and say that they feel safe. The good relationships that the staff have with children assist staff to recognise when children are going through a difficult time. This helps the staff to recognise the potential triggers for a child going missing, and helps the staff to recognise signs of bullying, or triggers for self-injurious behaviour.

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

Staff have recently managed a high number of incidents at the home. However, the combination of a more stable staff team, staff training and better matching of children has been instrumental in reducing concerning behaviour. The management team acknowledges that this is an area for further development. Problems arising from aggressive or dangerous behaviour have led to some children experiencing an abrupt ending to their placements in the past. The staff and the manager are continuing to improve how they manage challenging behaviour, and they are ensuring careful placement matching. A social worker said, ‘[The child’s] risky behaviours have greatly reduced in the last month. The possibility of a child putting themselves at risk of child sexual exploitation has reduced.’

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

Physical intervention is used as a last resort to manage behaviour. When physical intervention is used, debriefings are well documented, to enable the staff involved in the restraint, and the child, to reflect on the incident and move on positively.

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

The recruitment of staff is generally good. However, the manager has not ensured that full and satisfactory information was gained in relation to one member of staff’s previous employment history. Other staff files that were reviewed during the inspection contained relevant recruitment information.

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

When concerns about staff have been raised, the manager has taken effective action to safeguard the children. However, not all of the staff are aware of the whistle-blowing procedures. Failure to ensure that all of the staff fully understand these procedures has the potential to put staff and children at risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post since August 2016. She holds the level 5 diploma in leadership and management. The manager is supported well by a deputy manager, who has also been in post since August 2016. Together they provide strong, clear management support to the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An independent visitor produces good-quality reports following her monthly visits to the Inspection report children’s home: SC438764 6 home. These visits and reports support the home to improve in all areas. The manager has met one of the two recommendations raised at the last full inspection. The manager now ensures that information is systematically recorded so that decisions to accept or refuse a placement are clearly outlined. The recommendation to ensure that all staff receive supervision has not been met, which has led to a requirement being raised at this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the staff team has undergone considerable change, resulting in the majority of staff being new. This has enhanced the quality of care. The energy from the management and staff team reflects a passion and enthusiasm to continue to drive improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and deputy manager have clear plans for the development of services at the home. There is a clear sense of what is working well, and of areas for development. All of the staff spoken to say how well supported they feel by the manager. One member of staff went as far as to say, ‘[I am] the happiest I have ever been in a job in my life.’ Another staff member said, ‘Staff support is excellent.’ Staff say that they receive regular practice-based supervision. However, although the supervision matrix shows that supervision has taken place, three members of staff did not have supervision notes held on their files. Lack of access to these records does not enable the staff and managers to action any concerns or issues raised, which could have an effect on performance or practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training for staff equips them well for their work. The management team recognises the need for the senior staff to model good practice in order to share their experience and skills. The manager places great value on consultation with children and endeavours to engage them in all aspects of the management of the home. Children feel able to express their opinions, wishes and feelings, and they feel valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff maintain records efficiently. The records include management oversight and children’s contributions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Consultation with professionals, including placing authorities, education professionals and the police, is constructive and promotes improved outcomes for children. Good multi-agency working helps to manage risk. The manager challenges external professionals when necessary, and the manager and the staff advocate on behalf of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective systems track the children’s progress. This provides good oversight for the managers. Accessible and helpful data from these systems is included in reports. The six-monthly review of the quality of care has not been completed. The manager monitors and reviews the quality of care effectively; however, the information has not been collated or sent to Ofsted. This prevents Ofsted from having a current overview of the home.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children’s home: SC438764 7 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 who 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: SC438764 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Potton Homes, 1 Cresswell Park, Blackheath, London SE3 9RD

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Inspector

Cathy Russell, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC438764 9 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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