Children's home run by Surrey County Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC040633 1 SC040633 Registered provider: Surrey 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

The home is owned and managed by a local authority. It provides care and accommodation for up to five children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 23 February 2017

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: Outstanding

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is outstanding because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young people benefit from dedicated care, delivered by well-trained and knowledgeable staff who have high aspirations for them.  Outcomes for the young people living at this home exceed expectations. Inspection report children’s home: SC040633 2 Education is promoted and celebrated by enthusiastic staff who are interested in and supportive of the young people’s curriculum.  Relationships in this home are developed through mutual respect and trust. Staff work purposefully to hold the young people in mind and at the centre of all they do.  Young people are encouraged to take steps towards independence by staff using a resourceful and imaginative approach. Opportunities for work experience add a rich layer to independence preparation.  Leaders and managers inspire a highly aspirational environment. Their inclusive approach promotes effective succession planning and encourages staff to be motivated.

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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

 Leaders and managers must ensure that they follow up concerns shared with other agencies, particularly schools.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/02/2017 Full Outstanding 21/07/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/03/2016 Full Outstanding 26/11/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC040633 3

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Recommendations

 Registered persons should seek to involve the local authority and other relevant persons whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The young people living at this home benefit immensely from the solid and consistent relationships that they enjoy with the staff, who demonstrate a deep commitment to meeting the young people’s needs. The staff are exceptional in their determination to support the young people to achieve positive outcomes. As a result of this, the young people are supported to overcome complex and challenging experiences and make excellent progress. The young people are extensively involved in decisions. The staff are committed to seeking the young people’s views and weave these into day-to-day care plans. This partnership approach to caring for the young people is underpinned by a culture of mutual respect. As a result of this, the young people increasingly take ownership of their goals and exceed their agreed targets. Staff meticulously plan to ensure that the different needs of the young people are met. Community engagement is wide, varied and effective. The extensive community links

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

that the manager has built offer exceptional experiences for the young people. Consequently, the young people flourish and increase their self-esteem through rewarding social experiences. Plans for young people arriving at and leaving the home are carefully crafted and comprehensive. Well-informed staff ensure that the young person is the key focus of any planning and that the channels of communication with them remain open. This results in natural continuing relationships when young people leave. Young people know that they are still kept in mind; they stay in touch and continue to seek appropriate guidance from well-known and trusted staff. A strong culture of education is evident. Staff make efforts to engage with the education provisions for all of the young people. One young person has made exceptional progress academically; others are also achieving their learning goals. The promotion of learning,

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

instilled into the young people by the motivated staff, has resulted in 100% attendance for all of the young people. The staff are well trained and confident in delivering therapeutic care. They regularly reflect on the home’s dynamics and events. Their skills enable them to identity, plan and respond to the needs of the young people effectively. This results in a calm, warm and Inspection report children’s home: SC040633 4 homely environment where the young people are sheltered from the expectations placed on them elsewhere. The home itself provides large and comfortable living accommodation with a range of well-maintained reception rooms. The young people have taken ownership of their bedrooms, with decorations expressing their individual tastes. Games and toys are plentiful, with good-quality computers and a soft play space that is loved and used by young people of all ages. Recent developments include the garden, where the young

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

people are growing a variety of vegetables. The home provides the young people with family-style accommodation where they feel safe, comfortable and relaxed.

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

The safety and protection of the young people living at this home is central to all staff’s practice. The staff are well informed and implement the home’s safeguarding guidance in practice. They have developed the knowledge and skills to know what to look out for, when to report issues and to whom. When concerns arise regarding social media, staff are quick to act and to share their concerns with relevant agencies. However, staff did not take the appropriate follow-up action when a school failed to respond to concerns that were impacting on young people. Staff had, however ensured the safety of the young person in their care. Risk assessments are thorough and reliably inform the staff about risks and strategies to reduce them. Frequent group reflection supports the staff to review risks and to work together to formulate effective strategies to enable the young people to reduce risk- taking behaviours. Meticulous planning is successful in minimising risk during difficult

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

times, such as changes in the dynamics or complexities in the home. Innovative behaviour management plans support the young people in subtle ways that enable them to make sense of their behaviours. The staff take the time to help the young people to reflect using a restorative approach, and agree how to put things right when something has gone wrong. This supports the young people to take ownership of their behaviour and to learn to think about the consequences of their actions. Managers ensure that policies and procedures are filtered into individual plans that are clear and unambiguous. The use of restraint is rare and, when difficulties have occurred, leaders and managers have been quick to consult with a specialist trainer to provide an additional workshop to increase the skills and confidence of staff. As a consequence, the staff have developed their skills in managing particularly complex young people.

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

Diligent health and safety checks ensure that the premises are safe and well maintained. The routine servicing of equipment further ensures that the premises are safe. Fire precautions are shared with all visitors and are understood by the young people and staff. Handovers include any new health and safety issues on a daily basis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has been at this home since its beginning. Her passion and dedication to the continuous development of the home have not waned. She continues to apply rigorous monitoring through which she identifies areas of strength and Inspection report children’s home: SC040633 5 weakness. She makes effective use of advice, guidance and criticism and effectively integrates theory into practice. Her consistent and effective leadership inspires her team and directly contributes to the effectiveness of the home The deputy manager’s enthusiasm and motivation reflect that of the registered manager. Together, they provide inspiring leadership to staff, who mirror their dedication. Effective succession planning has enabled several members of staff to progress to senior roles. The cohesive team approach proved to be successful when the registered manager was covering the service manager’s post in recent months. The joint efforts of all staff

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

ensured the continued smooth running of the home. Rigorous managerial monitoring is an intrinsic part of the home. The effectiveness of the delivery of care is regularly scrutinised and reviewed by managers. Feedback is used to guide and develop staff, and reflection is welcomed. The home has established positive links with local agencies and frequently invites inspiring groups and individuals, such as vegetable gardening experts, to the home to promote effective community engagement. Training has given staff the knowledge to meet the complex individual needs of the young people. The registered manager has succeeded in securing level 3 training in social pedagogy for three members of her team. This is a good example of the efforts that the leaders and managers go to in order to enhance the skills of their team. The adults and young people have begun to adopt the principles of social pedagogy. They share the space in the home, and young people are welcomed into the offices to

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

talk with adults. The engagement of the young people in making decisions is well evidenced, with genuine partnership between young people and staff. This results in family-style living where the members of the household make decisions together. Regular staff meetings, supervision and appraisal ensure that the staff are clear about the manager’s expectations. The well-organised approach results in the successful delivery of service objectives.

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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: SC040633 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Quadrant Court, 35 Guildford Road, Woking GU22 7QQ

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Inspector:

Sarah Olliver, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC040633 7 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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