Children's Home run by Satash Community Care Project Limited in Thurrock

Inspection report children’s home: SC462450 1 SC462450 Registered provider: Satash Community Care Project Limited 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 run by a private company. The home is registered to provide a service for up to four children who have learning difficulties. The small company offers a variety of support services to children and adults who have learning disabilities. This children’s home is one of a small number of services operating as part of the Satash services. This, however, is the only children’s service offered.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 14 to 15 November 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC462450 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff consistently support the children to learn and develop new skills.  Children’s individual health needs are met well.  The children are encouraged and supported to attend school or their individual education setting and are progressing well.  The home offers a wide variety of fun activities.  The staff have a good understanding of how to keep children safe.  There are no incidents of children going missing from home.  The home provides children with a nurturing, homely environment.

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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 ensured that the location risk assessment is up to date.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/11/2016 Full Good 18/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 30/11/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC462450 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 review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purpose of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (The protection of children standard). When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1)(2)) 31/12/2017

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children thrive living at this home. The staff are skilled and knowledgeable and have good insight and understanding of each child’s needs. The children have positive relationships with staff, whom they trust. The children seek out known staff for interaction and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consistently support the children to learn and develop new skills. The children have made good progress from their initial starting points, although this is often in small steps. All of the children have targets to work towards to promote the development of their self-help, personal and social skills. Staff routinely review the progress made by the children and update targets as required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers complete a pre-admission assessment process to ensure that all appropriate information is considered. The information is shared with the staff team prior to acceptance of the placement. The staff work closely with the parents and carers to gather information pertinent to the care planning process. Detailed plans and assessments provide practical advice and support to the staff to enable them to provide individualised care to each child. Regular review and updating of the plans ensure that they are current and identify the children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individual health needs are met well. Health plans, regimes and protocols are followed to ensure that the children’s physical and emotional well-being are promoted. For those children who have complex needs, the plans are sufficiently clear to ensure that these needs are met. Inspection report children’s home: SC462450 4 Mealtimes are a key social event. The children eat together and with the staff, who act as positive role models. The children have access to familiar favourite foods, menus are varied and the children are encouraged to try new foods and follow a healthy diet.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are encouraged and supported to attend school or their individual education setting and are progressing well. The staff have good relationships with education providers. A class teacher said, ‘His [the child’s] behaviour has massively improved; his listening and understanding skills are fantastic, so he’s made fantastic progress.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home offers a wide variety of on-site and off-site activities. The facilities available on site are of a good standard and provide opportunities for all of the children. The children are carefully supervised when accessing off-site activities, which provide new and exciting experiences for them all. The children enjoyed a holiday to Butlin’s during the summer break and have visited the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum. Photos of the children enjoying their activities are hung with pride around their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Skilled, knowledgeable staff communicate with children through observation, language and other communication systems such as Makaton. This helps the children to express their views and make choices. Children have been involved in making decisions about aspects of the home, including decoration and themes of their bedrooms .

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Careful planning and preparation help the children to settle into the home. This includes visiting the home before their first stay. When children move on, the staff support their transition to a new setting, including reunification with family, and mark and celebrate the occasion. Staff support children to explore and identify with their culture, ethnicity and religion, which promote children’s opportunity to make choices and have their voice heard.

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

The staff have a good understanding of how to keep children safe. Safeguarding policies and procedures are known and understood. Concerns are recorded well and referrals are made to the relevant agencies when needed. The environment is safe and well maintained. Keeping children safe is high on the agenda within the home.

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

The staff support children to manage and self-regulate their emotions and behaviours. Staff avoid physical intervention wherever possible and use a variety of de-escalation methods and strategies. Physical intervention is only used to reduce or avoid harm to others. When it has been used, it has been in its lowest form for the shortest period possible. The staff have been engaged to improve the quality of recording and this continues to be embedded into practice.

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

Sanctions are not used; instead, the staff provide opportunity for the children to calm down to avoid physical intervention. Observations made throughout the inspection were of the children reflecting on their behaviours and the impact it had on others by apologising. All of the incidents are recorded appropriately. All staff are trained in the home’s preferred method of behaviour management. Inspection report children’s home: SC462450 5 There are no incidents of children going missing from home. There are clear policies and procedures in place to guide staff in how to address incidents, should they occur. This is in line with statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care.

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

Thorough risk assessments are in place for lifting and handling of children. The staff regularly review plans and assessments as required. Advice from other professionals is sought when needed for specific plans and risk management strategies.

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

Staff have appropriately responded to and recorded accidents. All staff are first-aid trained, with many being trained in additional levels of skill to meet specific emergency needs. The home’s location risk assessment is detailed and explores all known risk factors within the local community; however, it has not been updated.

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

The health and safety practices at the home are good. The staff carry out regular health and safety checks, including fire safety checks and fire drills. Medication is stored securely in a locked cabinet in the office, and records relating to the administration of medication are clear and accurate. The robust health and safety practice at the home ensures that children’s safety and well-being remain paramount.

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

The staff are employed in accordance with safer recruitment practices. Any gaps in employment are accounted for, and a criminal records check completed. This means that the likelihood of children being harmed by those caring for them is minimised. All staff undertake training in safeguarding and child protection. They understand what action they should take if concerned for the safety of a child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An appropriately qualified manager manages the home effectively with the support and assistance of other key senior staff. The manager has good understanding, knowledge and insight into the needs of those in their care and holds the level 5 diploma in leadership and management. The manager has implemented the requirements and recommendations previously set at the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular monitoring provides a clear overview of all areas. Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision and of the plans that are in place to promote continuous improvement. The independent visits to the home have provided an additional layer of scrutiny, with managers responding to the findings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staffing levels meet the needs of the children and a recruitment campaign is currently in place to source an experienced deputy manager. Most of the staff are suitably qualified and a new member of staff will be enrolled with successful completion of induction. Staff access regular, effective supervision and their performance appraised. One member of staff said, ‘It’s like home; I love working here.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC462450 6 The manager ensures that the home provides children with a nurturing, homely environment. The home is furnished and decorated to a very good standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular review and monitoring of achievements promote, support and evidence the progress made by the children. Risk assessments identify and minimise risk and are regularly reviewed. Regular review and monitoring of records have provided clarity about weaknesses and strengths of approaches used.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager prioritises the needs of children and advocates strongly on their behalf. He understands the need to work in partnership with other agencies, but he will challenge agencies if he believes they are not providing the help and services needed by the children. Information provided by a social worker demonstrates that the manager and staff are effective in working with other agencies and ensuring that the needs of children are met. One social worker said, ‘Communication has been very good.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Notifications to Ofsted are made when a significant incident has occurred that relates to the welfare and protection of children at the home. This ensures that the regulatory body is well informed of significant incidents and the actions taken by the home. Furthermore, this demonstrates that the home treats significant incidents seriously, to ensure that appropriate responses are made and that children receive the necessary support and interventions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose is up to date and reflects the ethos of the home. The aim to ensure that all children enjoy their time at the home through individualised care is apparent throughout and especially in the approach and practice demonstrated by staff.

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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: SC462450 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Satash Community Care Project Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 25 Balham High Road, London SW12 9AL

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Thanaletchmi Loganathan

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Vyramuthu Loganathan

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Inspector

Cathy Russell, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC462450 8 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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