Children's home run by Surrey County Council

Interim inspection report children’s home: SC045408 1 SC045408 Registered provider: Surrey County Council Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by a local authority. It provides care and accommodation for up to two children and young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 21 November 2017

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Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined in effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the full inspection in November 2017, six requirements and one recommendation were made. Insufficient progress in response to three of these requirements results in these being escalated to compliance notices. Staff are unable to demonstrate improved safeguarding practices. Incidents have increased in terms of frequency and severity.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers fail to equip the staff team to help young people to moderate their own challenging behaviours. This is exacerbated by the absence of clear care planning. Staff are not adequately guided. This results in inconsistent practice, with individual staff members left to do their best. Such a chaotic and reactive response fails to provide young people with a reliable and consistent environment. No clear plan was evident for one young person, whose risky behaviours continued to increase, resulting in multiple serious incidents. This culminated in one final, severe incident that propelled the young person into a crisis placement. Interim inspection report children’s home: SC045408 2 Furthermore, occasions have arisen where young people have accessed avoidable risks such as paint, which was used to damage the home. Young people have been able to enter spare rooms and lock themselves in. Staff lack the skills to demonstrate safe

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

working practice, identify and manage risk and keep themselves and the young people safe.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Dangerous staff practice, identified at the previous inspection, continues. Staff fail to implement basic safeguarding principles in order to keep everyone safe. Examples of this include young people being encouraged to jump on staff’s backs for a ‘piggy back’ and to sit on their laps. Consequently, young people are not guided to consider their own safety or that of others.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

As a direct consequence, the relationships between the young people and staff have deteriorated. Since the last inspection, some staff have been relentlessly targeted by one young person. Incidents have repeatedly occurred where staff members have been physically harmed, bullied and intimidated.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

There have been ten staff injuries since November, resulting in absences from work. In spite of such clear indicators of the staff team’s inability to successfully create a safe environment, the registered manager has proceeded to make plans for another young person to move into the home. Poor admissions practice has failed to sufficiently consider the risks presented by this young person, including the impact they may have on the young person already in placement.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Despite previous requirements being made in relation to poor safeguarding practice, the poor relationships between staff and young people, and ineffective leadership and management, have meant that the required improvements have not been achieved. In fact, the failure to meet these three requirements has led to further decline in the outcomes and experiences for young people and results in Ofsted’s decision to take further enforcement action.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The provider failed to secure the provision of safeguarding training within an agreed timescale. Consequently, staff are no further equipped to recognise and respond to safeguarding concerns than they were before. Young people have become increasingly unsafe and demonstrate a lack of respect for the staff. Poor practice, highlighted at the previous inspection, continues to be raised by the independent visitor, yet no substantive action has been taken by the registered manager in response.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Organisational leadership and management arrangements fall short of reasonable expectations. The provider has failed to recognise the support needs of the registered manager. She is relatively new in post and the findings of the previous inspection highlighted her need to improve on her own practice, in order to convince Ofsted of her continuing fitness. The absence of a clear support package for the registered manager is remiss of the provider.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This inspection finds an insufficient response to all of the previous requirements. The Interim inspection report children’s home: SC045408 3 piecemeal action taken demonstrates the failure of leaders and managers to conduct a root-and-branch exploration of the poor safeguarding culture of the home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/11/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/03/2017 Full Good 06/06/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 30/11/2015 Full Good

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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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard In order to meet the quality and purpose standard, the registered person must ensure that staff: provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (2)(iv)) 08/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

*11: The positive relationships standard In order to meet the positive relationships standard the registered person must ensure that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans; help each child to develop socially 08/06/2018 Interim inspection report children’s home: SC045408 4 aware behaviour; encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and

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Requirement Due date

understanding; understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children; are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(ix)(x))

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Requirement Due date

*12: The protection of children standard 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 staff—assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; help each child to understand how to keep safe; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health; (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)(d)) 08/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

*13: The leadership and management standard The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare — In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care 08/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

Interim inspection report children’s home: SC045408 5 provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(2)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, staff should undertake safeguarding training. 08/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out— how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home. (Regulation 35(1)(a)) 08/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

A person may only manage a children’s home if— the person has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills to manage the home effectively and lead the care of children. (Regulation 28 (1)(b)(i)) 27/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Interim inspection report children’s home: SC045408 6 Unique reference number: SC045408

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Surrey County Council

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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 Interim inspection report children’s home: SC045408 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 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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