Children's Home run by Essex County Council in Essex

Inspection report children’s home: SC044975 1 SC044975 Registered provider: Essex 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 children’s home is a local authority provision. The home is registered as a short-stay provision for up to 12 children who have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 28 to 29 September 2017

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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: 24 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC044975 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Feedback from placing professionals and parents is good.  Children benefit from a child-centred, caring ethos in the home.  Care plans and risk assessments are carefully considered and are of a high standard.  The manager and staff team have a good oversight of the children’s healthcare needs.  The children are encouraged and supported to take part in fun activities.  There is a strong safeguarding culture in the home.  Case records for the children reflect the work done to support them.  Staff feel fully supported by the new manager.

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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

 The manager has not recorded all necessary recruitment checks.  Not all of the staff receive regular supervision.  The manager has failed to notify Ofsted of an incident in the home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/05/2016 Full Good 06/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/07/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC044975 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 of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, not all information required in Schedule 2 is recorded in staff files. 30/11/2017

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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 and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 30/11/2017

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Recommendations

 Regulation 40(4) requires the registered person to notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in Regulation 40(4)(a)–(d) occurs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10).

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a child-centred, caring ethos in the home. The staff are well equipped to meet the needs of the children and they are committed and insightful to the children’s individual needs. The manager and the staff team consistently focus on the emotions behind the children’s behaviours and not on the specific behaviours themselves. This approach promotes a reflective and successful approach to responding to the needs of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff skilfully use everyday routines, such as watching the news on television or Inspection report children’s home: SC044975 4 baking a cake, to encourage the children to have an understanding of current affairs and daily routines. Where engagement can be difficult, the staff seek creative solutions to encourage the children to participate in topics of learning, such as mathematics, which supports their education. The staff are proactive: they think ahead and demonstrate their commitment to the children in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Where appropriate, the staff support safe, managed contact with friends and family, which helps children to develop relationships that will sustain them into adulthood. This helps staff to understand family dynamics, build relationships with families and use these experiences to enhance better outcomes for the children. For example; staff managed to set up contact between the parents of a child who no longer used the service and a child who still has short stays, to arrange for them to go football together on a Saturday. Through this important and creative piece of ingenuity, the staff have helped form a good, strong friendship between both sets of parents and their children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans and risk assessments are carefully considered and are of a very high standard. As a result, most children make good progress relative to their individual circumstances and their cognitive skills. The children who come to stay at the home were observed to be delighted on arrival and could not wait to see the staff team and which bedroom they were to have during their stay. A professional told the inspector, ‘It [the home] is such a good resource, it is very valued by the parents. If it wasn’t here, families would be in despair. The children absolutely love coming here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that the health of the children is promoted positively and that the staff have a good oversight of their healthcare needs, which supports the children’s emotional well-being. Medication is stored safely and a good medication management system helps to ensure that children receive their medication safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children grow in confidence because they are encouraged to take part in fun activities, which include treasure hunts, a fire-and-rescue fun day and days out at their beach hut crabbing. The children make and build friendships in the home and the community, and this gives them a chance to try different experiences and develop new skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff demonstrate a clear and detailed awareness and understanding of the children’s complex needs and the plans for their care and support. Staff consistently speak of wanting the best for the children, and it is apparent that staff take time to form good relationships with children and to lead by example. A parent said, ‘It [the home] has been an absolute godsend, the staff are great. [The child] cannot wait to get here. I don’t know what I would do without them. The staff are excellent and the manager is really good. He [the child] is very well cared for.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children come to stay in a home that is pleasantly decorated and furnished throughout to meet their complex needs. The staff have worked hard and show an ongoing commitment to add warmth and special touches to the décor. The outside gardens has an abundance of activities and play equipment to enhance the children’s fun, learning and development. Inspection report children’s home: SC044975 5

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

There is a strong safeguarding culture in the home. The staff realise the value of effective multi-agency work with key professionals, such as social workers, to monitor and continually risk assess the children’s complex needs. Advice and guidance is readily sought from the host local authority on complex issues, such as the health needs and transport for the children. When a response is delayed, the manager and the staff pursue a resolution and conclusion to any concerns.

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

Individual placement plans, behaviour plans, risk assessments and health plans are of good quality. Documentation gives a clear and vivid description of the work undertaken towards meeting health, behavioural and care needs. Any potential risks are swiftly identified and plans are updated.

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

Behaviour and care management plans are effective. Physical intervention is only used as a last resort to safeguard both the children and the staff. Staff work in partnership to enforce boundaries fairly and consistently. When incidents occur, the children learn to apologise to both the children and staff who have been affected. The staff are skilled in de-escalating the challenging behaviours of some children in their care. Effective sanctioning, where appropriate, allows the children to make amends and reflect on their behaviour well. All professionals, parents and staff spoken to raise no safeguarding concerns, which, in part, is due to the collaborative working practices of all concerned.

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

The manager ensures that all staff working at the home receive up-to-date fire safety training to enable them to minimise the risks to the children in the event of a fire at the home. Regular health and safety checks help to ensure that the children’s physical safety in the home is well protected.

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

The designated safety officer has compiled a child-focused and friendly manual for the children to help them stay safe. Topics include: stranger danger, with tips on explaining what a stranger is; rules to staying safe; and quizzes. Other sections include: ‘your body’; anti-bullying; internet safety; and children’s rights. The manager has a location risk assessment in place, which reflects any potential issues of concern in the locality and how staff will ensure children’s safety. No children have gone missing from this home since the last inspection.

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

The recruitment and selection of staff is undertaken by the local authority. The procedures for new staff are adequate and prevent unsuitable adults from being recruited to work with children. However, all necessary checks are not reflected in the records retained in the home. Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures, and their responsibilities to report any concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report children’s home: SC044975 6 The registered manager of the home was formally registered with Ofsted in April 2017. She, along with a number of the staff team members, has worked at this home for several years. The manager holds a level 4 qualification in working with children and young people, and is currently undertaking her level 5 diploma in leadership and management in a residential setting. She is a committed and child-centred practitioner who has a strong desire to improve outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff reported good levels of training and management support. The registered manager has a good relationship with the staff team and the children. Case files are now ordered and more accessible to the staff. Files show good levels of management oversight and a drive to ensure consistency across all aspects of the management of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff team have formed positive relationships with a range of agencies, including education departments, social workers and specialist teams. One professional said about a recent emergency placement, ‘They [the manager and staff team] rolled their sleeves up and just got on with it. The team are brilliant.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff spoken with during this inspection reported high levels of satisfaction in their roles and in the support that they receive from the manager. One member of staff spoke with real passion of their role. Another member of staff said, ‘Staff seem to want to work as a team now, which they did not used to do.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Case records for the children reflect the work done to support them. Regular audits and reviews ensure that the plans and assessments reflect the current and changing needs of each child. The staff clearly have good aspirations for the children and work collaboratively to ensure that their holistic needs are known and met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The training plan has been updated to reflect the actual and planned training needs for all staff for the coming years. This will ensure that staff have the necessary skills, confidence and competence to work with children who have complex needs. Team meetings are held regularly with, at times, full attendance by the staff team. However, supervision is not being held at regular intervals; sometimes there are long gaps between sessions. The supervision records do not reflect that care practice is discussed and that staff views are recorded. One file was illegible and could not be reviewed. This shortfall does not impact on the care received by the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring visits by independent visitors are of a good standard. The visitors supply reports of their monitoring visits, as required, which are in turn sent to Ofsted. These include making suggestions about how the home may improve. However, the manager did not notify Ofsted of one incident which was documented and acted upon within the content of a report. The manager completes a monthly development plan, which is reflected within the ‘quality of care’ report. The manager has taken action to address the requirements and recommendations from the last inspection.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children’s home: SC044975 7 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: SC044975 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Chelmsford CM1 1QH

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Inspector

Cathy Russell, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC044975 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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