Children's home run by SWAAY Child & Adolescent Services Ltd in Sutton

Inspection report children’s home: SC431804 1 SC431804 Registered provider: SWAAY Child and Adolescent Services 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 owned and operated by a private organisation that specialises in the assessment and treatment of young men who may have experienced some form of abuse, and who have been involved in perpetrating abusive behaviour themselves.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 19 to 20 September 2017

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people enjoy supportive consistent and warm relationships with staff, who genuinely care for them.  Young people feel that their opinions are valued and respected, and that they have an influence on how their home is run. Inspection report children’s home: SC431804 2  Members of staff understand each young person’s needs and vulnerabilities, and provide good quality care and support to enable them to make progress and develop insight into their behaviours.  Young people’s emotional and psychological well-being is supported to a high standard by members of staff and professionals who work closely with them.  Close communication with placing authorities ensures that incidents and significant events are shared promptly and action plans put in place if needed.  Open and reflective communication between the young people and staff in their community meetings enables conflicts and differences to be resolved. The

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Key findings from this inspection

meetings also enhance young people’s communication skills, and they gain insight into their histories and behaviours.

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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

 Some risk assessments are not sufficiently detailed; supervision is recorded but the record is not readily available to members of staff.  Recruitment files do not contain all the information required by legislation.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/08/2016 Full Good 18/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/12/2015 Full Good 11/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC431804 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

Ensure that the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children. The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) This is in relation to ensuring that the complaints record shows if a complaint has been resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction. 31/10/2017

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that the registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety and that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (3) (d)). This is in relation to ensuring that the reasons why members of staff have left previous jobs working with young people or vulnerable adults have been ascertained as far as practicable. 31/10/2017

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day to day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) This is in relation to ensuring that risk assessments are explicit in the times that young people need to be checked if they are unsupervised in their room and there are concerns that they may self-harm.

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Recommendations

 It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4) Inspection report children’s home: SC431804 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people benefit from living in this home. The care and support they receive helps them to develop an insight into their histories and experiences, and supports them to develop positive strategies and coping skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy the company of the staff, who care for them. They trust staff enough to seek out their support and reassurance. Apart from the staff in the home, the young people have a number of other adults linked to the company whom they can approach if they wish to voice concerns. Therapists play a key role in listening to the young people, and help them to reflect upon their life choices. This role is appreciated by the young people, who understand how important it is to engage with the therapists and to learn how to safely manage their risk-taking behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people know how to complain and to whom they can address their worries and concerns. The majority of complaints are dealt with effectively in a low-level fashion by the use of group meetings and using the open dialogue which is in place. On one occasion, a formal complaint was thoroughly investigated by managers, and the young person was consulted throughout the process. However, the record does not show if the young person was happy with the resolution of the complaint or if he wished it to be escalated to the next level. This is a recording shortfall which has not impacted on the young person’s rights or ability to voice his feelings, but the recording is not sufficiently detailed to make this clear.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have their health needs met to a good standard. Members of staff ensure that they attend all health appointments and are supported to take any prescribed medication. Their mental and emotional health is promoted particularly well, and the young people are able to access mental health professionals, who work for the organisation, with ease. This enables young people to develop their insight and resilience and to have support ready for when they need it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The support offered to the young people by members of staff, by therapists and by the use of community meetings means that young people learn to develop the skills to resolve conflicts and differences in a measured and mature fashion. One young person’s social worker said of a young person that she had been, ‘Astonished by his progress in terms of confidence and ability to express himself’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people at this home attend the school which is run by the organisation. All make good progress and achieve excellent levels of attendance. Attendance at school is an embedded part of the routine and ethos of the home. This is an important step for the young people as many have not managed to attain this level of attendance and achievement prior to coming to live here.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are able, with the sensitive support of staff, and where permitted, to maintain contact with their families. Members of staff are aware that sometimes these Inspection report children’s home: SC431804 5 visits can be experienced as challenging and stressful to the young people. Therefore, they plan for these visits with the young people and ensure that the young people receive the support they need in order for the visits to pass successfully.

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

Young people say they feel safe living in this home. They say that bullying is not a problem and they are confident that members of staff would address it effectively were it to occur. Young people have a number of adults with whom they can raise any concerns or worries; they identify their key workers and individual therapists as their key points of contact. It is clear that they value these relationships.

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

Explicit protocols are in place for members of staff to follow in the event that a young person goes missing or is away from the home without permission. These are followed effectively, and there is close liaison with police officers so that any developments or issues of concern can be shared quickly. This ensures that young people return to the home safely.

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

The managers are persistent in reminding local authorities of their duty to carry out interviews when young people return home after going missing. This ensures that the young people have an opportunity to speak to an independent person and share any concerns about their care.

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

Members of staff know what to do and whom to inform if they have concerns about a young person’s welfare or well-being. This includes informing key agencies, such as child protection teams, if necessary. Senior managers thoroughly review any incidents so that practice can be reviewed and staff effectiveness and awareness improved. This process ensures that strategies are revised and strengthened, and that their implementation promotes young people’s safety.

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

Detailed plans, which are developed using young people’s views and opinions, provide guidance to staff to assist the young people to develop positive behaviour and coping skills. Emphasis is placed on using restorative sessions with peers and adults to address issues and resolve any conflict and poor behaviour. Good behaviour is rewarded and celebrated, and this also provides an incentive, which motivates the young people.

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

Risk assessments guide staff in how to support the young people at times of stress or difficulty. On the whole, these are of a very good standard, but there is a need for the risk assessment regarding possible self-harm to be more explicit, specifically to include what frequency staff should check on a young person if they are in their room unsupervised and their mood and behaviour is seen to be of concern.

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

Young people have access to the internet, which is closely supervised. They are aware of the potential risks involved and are clear that their usage is checked and monitored to ensure that they are safe and have not accessed inappropriate websites or social media websites. Inspection report children’s home: SC431804 6 The recruitment process ensures that at least two referees are consulted prior to employment. There is also a check made via the Disclosure and Barring Service to make sure that all members of staff do not have any convictions or have been subject to investigations which would make them unsuitable to work with young people. The organisation repeats these checks every three years to ensure that this situation remains. The recruitment process has not always included checks with past employers regarding the reasons why the applicants have left their job. This practice is not in line with regulations and means that relevant information on a member of staff’s working

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The young people and the staff team are experiencing a time of transition. The current registered manager is leaving and an acting manager is in place. This process is being managed carefully and the succession planning has been very well implemented. Consequently, there is a sense of continuity and a feeling that this is a safe and structured process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Admissions to the home have been stopped pending recruitment of new members of staff. This ensures stability for the young people who remain. If there are gaps in rosters, these are covered by members of staff who are known to the young people from other homes in the organisation. This means young people’s attachments have not been disrupted due to the staffing shortages, and consistency of approach is maintained.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is good monitoring of staff practice and records maintained by external managers and the independent visitor to the home. Any shortfalls are rectified quickly and there is a willingness from both staff and managers to welcome feedback and criticism and to use this information to make improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Analysis of incidents is very thorough and action plans are developed and implemented following these. Following an incident earlier in the year, an internal investigation has led to reviews of practice, increased training, effective use of reflective supervision and staffing levels. This has meant the home is far more settled and the young people living there now appreciate this. In turn, members of staff feel supported and more confident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All members of staff receive regular supervision, which gives them the opportunity to discuss their practice and feelings about their work. They also attend regular group supervision with a therapist so that the team dynamics and performance and impact on working with the young people can also be considered and reflected upon. There are occasions when members of staff do not receive copies of their one-to-one supervision sessions, and this makes it difficult for them to check the records and make comments if needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people’s care plans are detailed and informative. Importantly, they are developed using young people’s views and opinions. The records give a good account of each young person’s journey through the home and what progress they have made. There are regular review meetings with core members of staff from different disciplines, including Inspection report children’s home: SC431804 7 education staff and therapists. This ensures that there is cohesive working and that the consistency of care and support delivered is beneficial to the young people.

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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 differences 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: SC431804 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: SWAAY Child and Adolescent Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 591 London Road, Sutton, Surrey SM3 9AG

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Inspector

Paul Taylor, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC431804 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 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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