Children's home run by Potton Homes Limited in Greenwich

Inspection report children’s home: SC393940 1 SC393940 Registered provider: Potton Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned residential service for up to five children and young people, irrespective of gender, between the ages of eight and 17 years old, who have a diagnosed learning disability.

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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: 30 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC393940 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff forge special relationships with the children.  Children experience and take part in a wide variety of social and leisure activities.  Children’s educational needs form an important part of their time living at the home.  Children are safe, secure and protected at all times both in and outside of the home.  The manager and staff team liaise well with other agencies.  Professionals and parents are complimentary about the good level of care and communication with the home.  A culture of continuous improvement is engrained in the organisation and in the manager’s leadership style.

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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 areas of the home look tired and worn.  Not all staff receive regular supervision.  Not all visitors to the home sign out of the ‘visitor’s book’.  The staff are not trained in the safe administration of medication.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/01/2017 Full Outstanding 18/05/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 19/01/2016 Full Good 26/05/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC393940 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 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 the premises used for the purpose of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from hazards to each child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(d)) 06/03/2018

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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)) 30/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home. The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4 and ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1)(2)(a)(b)) In particular, this is in reference to the visitor’s book. 30/11/2017

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Recommendations

 Managing medicines in care homes (March 2014) is a guidance across both health and social care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.17.) In particular, all staff should be trained in the safe administration of medication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children relate and respond to staff positively because of the special relationships forged. This empowers and supports the children to communicate with the staff, bringing about a clear understanding of their wishes and feelings. Inspection report children’s home: SC393940 4 The children make good progress because of the care and support that they receive. Their health, education and independence skills improve. For example, a child gained better self-regulated behaviour skills by improved communication and being able to make the right choices, which resulted in a reduction in aggressive behaviour. A social worker said, ‘He is now calmer, polite, well presented and turning into a handsome fella. The team have worked miracles.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational needs form an important part of their time living at the home. This is supported through the maintenance of good routines, provision of educational activities and the staff fully participating in reviews of services and other multi-agency meetings. All of the children attend an educational provision, which helps to support them into adult life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children thrive because of the regular visits, outings and contact that they have with their families and carers. This positively supports the children to maintain good relationships with those who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Consultation with the children occurs through daily interaction with the staff, using each child’s specific communication medium, which allows them to actively take part in regular children’s meetings. This support helps the children to express their views about their care and the things that are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience and take part in a wide variety of social and leisure activities. These include frequent trips out in the community, going swimming, walks, shopping, breaks to the home’s caravan and a recent trip to Blackpool. The staff work together to bring happiness for the children so that they can enjoy life and smile. This gives the children new life experiences that bring them great enjoyment and awareness of the world around them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from carefully planned introductions and visits to their home. The managers and staff team make a great effort and give particular attention to detail for each child’s transition plans. Consequently, the children’s individual needs are well met and they soon settle into their new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is homely. The personalised bedrooms reflect the children’s interests and personalities. However, some areas of the home look tired and worn. For example, some of the kitchen cabinets are in need of repair, the stairway and corridor walls are marked and some of the windows in the children’s bedrooms have bird guano on them, which can be a hazard to health.

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

Daily routines are strongly adhered to, and they provide stability and structure for the children. Positive behaviour plans and strategies in place are known and, in time, understood by the children. As a result, the children are safe, secure and protected at all times both in and outside of the home. These help the children to develop an understanding of their behaviours and opportunities to develop positive coping Inspection report children’s home: SC393940 5 strategies.

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

The staff are distinctly aware of the individual vulnerabilities and the potential risks to the health, well-being and safety for each child. The manager implements safety measures to keep children safe. For example, high staffing levels provide the children with constant supervision, care and support, which protects and keeps them safe.

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

The staff have good relationships with the children and this supports and enables them to manage their behaviour positively. The staff deal with any disclosures and other serious incidents promptly. They follow procedures and liaise well with other agencies. This action demonstrates to the children that the home prioritises their safety. However, visitors to the home often fail to sign out when they leave. This does not have an impact on the safety of the children. However, staff do not know which visitors are still in the home.

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

The staff successfully de-escalate situations, in order to manage the children’s more challenging behaviours. Physical restraint is only used when necessary to protect the children or the staff from harm. All members of the staff team are trained in the method of restraint used and the records of restraints are recorded well and include, where possible, children’s views. The manager reviews the record of restraint, considers the incident and will raise any learning points for the staff during team meetings. This means that the strategies and behaviour management plans can be adapted and changed to ensure that the children are suitably supported and incidents of restraint can be minimised. This is evident in the large reduction in restraints used since the last inspection.

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

There is a good protocol in place to follow in the event that a child is missing. The high level of supervision afforded to each child means that there have been no incidents of children missing from the home. Sanctions are minimal and proportionate to the behaviour of the children’s complex needs. There have only been three sanctions imposed since the last inspection. This promotes the children’s understanding of behaviour management and often results in the development of learning positive behaviour strategies.

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

Safeguarding issues are promptly investigated, recorded and resolved in a timely manner. All members of the staff team have safeguarding training and demonstrated that they know what to do if they have a concern about a child’s well-being. Sound recruitment procedures ensure that only those adults with safe working histories are employed. All of the necessary background checks are carried out before a member of staff commences work.

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

The children benefit from being cared for by a staff team that has access to other health professionals, which includes an occupational therapist. The administration of medication and health procedures are undertaken in line with the doctor’s instructions. However, staff are not trained in the safe administration of medication, which would enhance practice further. Inspection report children’s home: SC393940 6

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post since 2013. She is an experienced manager and holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management. The manager leads by example, putting the children first and having aspirations for them to achieve, enjoy life and make good progress. She ensures that the service operates within the statement of purpose and is aware of the service’s strengths and weaknesses. This is achieved through active communication with the children, staff and stakeholders. As a result, children continue to receive a good standard of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A culture of continuous improvement is engrained in the organisation and in the manager’s leadership style. The manager is working on a development plan which will set out aims for the home that identify areas for change and how these are to be achieved using, for example, the ‘sensory diet’ model. However, the model requires further bedding into practice to achieve the objectives fully.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals and parents are complimentary about the good level of care and communication with the home. Professionals report that the staff and the manager call them regularly with updates and that the manager is focused on good outcomes for the children. A parent said, ‘All I can say is that I am so sad that she [the child] will be leaving soon as she [the child] will turn 18.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive an array of training, this includes all aspects of health and safety, first aid and child protection. This equips them to meet the needs of the children. They benefit from good support systems, for example monthly meetings that are attended by professionals to enhance practice and shift handovers. However, formal supervision is not held on a regular basis. This does not have an impact on the care provided to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Care and support planning are well organised, detailed and helpful. Records contain good information and provide a unique picture of each child. The staff understand the children well and use their knowledge carefully to think about what events and behaviours mean in order to help children to progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good insight into the children’s strengths, vulnerabilities and progress from their starting points. She offers good support to the staff through her daily presence in the home and leads a staff team that is both dedicated and very experienced in the field of caring for children with complex needs. The manager is accessible and approachable and, when necessary, will offer practical support in the care of the children. Regular team meetings ensure that the children are discussed in detail and that they remain the focus of activities within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Robust and meaningful quality assurance is conducted through monthly visits by the independent visitor, along with oversight from the manager. When shortfalls in service provision are identified, prompt action and the inclusive management style ensure that the staff work collectively to make continual adjustments to improve the care and service provided for the children. Inspection report children’s home: SC393940 7

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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: SC393940 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Potton Homes Limited

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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: SC393940 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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