Children's home run by Progress Care and Education Limited in Hammersmith and Fulham

Inspection report children’s home: SC044231 1 SC044231 Registered provider: Progress Care and Education Limited

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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 provides care for up to four young people who may have learning disabilities and complex needs, which may include autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and complex associated 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 good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC044231 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/07/2017 Full Outstanding 13/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 30/11/2016 Full Good 21/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC044231 3

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Recommendations

 Children’s care plans should reflect that they are receiving care which meets their needs and promotes their welfare, taking into account of the child’s gender, religion, ethnicity, cultural and linguistic background, sexual identity, mental health, any disability, their assessed needs, previous experiences and any relevant plans. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2)  Specifically relating to the regular updating of behaviour support plans: Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  Please see regulation 23. Care must be taken to ensure prescribed medicines are only administered to the individual for whom they are prescribed. Medicines must be administered in line with a medically approved protocol. Records must be kept

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Recommendations

of the administration of all medication, which includes occasions when prescribed medication is refused. Regulation 23 requires the registered person to ensure that they make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. These are fundamentally the same sorts of arrangements as a good parent would make but are subject to additional safeguards. Where the home has questions or concerns about a child’s medication, they should approach an expert such as a General Medical Practitioner, community pharmacist or designated nurse for looked-after children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Three young people currently live at the home and have all made outstanding progress from their starting points. They are provided with highly effective, personalised care, which has enabled them to develop their daily living skills and to grow in confidence. Their day-to-day lives have been enhanced, as the progress they have made has enabled them to engage in stimulating activities, which were not previously possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

One young person, who previously experienced high levels of anxiety outside the home, now leads a busy, sociable life and engages in a wide variety of leisure activities. She enjoyed a holiday abroad recently, which was a very positive experience. Another young person is now able to take part in daily activities in the community and benefits from greatly increased independence, due to a significant reduction in self-injurious episodes, which previously required constant physical management. A third young person has achieved significant improvements in his mobility and, from a starting point of only eating with his hands, uses cutlery appropriately, after living at the home for just a few Inspection report children’s home: SC044231 4 months.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

All the young people’s parents spoke about the home and the care that their young people receive in a highly positive way. Parents described the home as ‘amazing’ and ‘just brilliant’. One parent commented that she would not have long enough to describe all the good things about the home, and said that she wished her young person could remain there as an adult.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff regularly ensure that young people are enabled to enjoy contact with their loved ones. One young person’s parents described how the staff regularly assisted them with transport and described staff as very accommodating. Two staff members recently supported another young person to join her family on a holiday abroad. This young person’s parent described the support provided throughout the holiday as excellent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The support provided to young people who are moving into or out of the home is a particular strength of this home. A young person recently moved out of the home, on to an adult service. The staff team worked with the new service for several months, assisting them to get to know the young person and prepare her care plan. When the young person moved, two staff members stayed with her in her new care setting for several days to assist her in settling in. A similar level of care was taken to support a young person who recently moved into the home. The registered manager ensured that staff had a good understanding of the young person’s needs, so that they could support him effectively. Both young people were supported with the use of communication tools to aid their understanding, throughout their transition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff have a deep understanding of the young people they support. They are in tune with each young person’s individual methods of communication and take time to understand what young people are communicating. This means that young people are enabled to express choice in their day-to-day lives and benefit from increased independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff closely support the young people’s learning. All the young people are in full-time education and achieve consistently good attendance. Their learning programmes, which are mainly based on areas such as independent living skills, are continued in the home environment. Care staff and school staff work together in an effective way, to ensure that young people benefit from consistent learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people experience good health outcomes due to the effective support they receive. There is good evidence of effective joint working with a variety of services, including speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. One young person has increased in confidence to a point where he has been able to undergo dental treatment for the first time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Arrangements for the safe management of young people’s medication are generally satisfactory. All staff receive training in this area and are regularly observed to ensure that they are able to manage young people’s medication safely. However, during this inspection, some inconsistencies were identified in young people’s medication Inspection report children’s home: SC044231 5 administration records. It was confirmed that these shortfalls had not had any impact on the young people. However, inconsistent recording could result in a young person not receiving the correct medication in the future, and therefore a recommendation is raised to support improvement in this area.

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

There are effective arrangements in place to protect young people and keep them safe. All staff receive safeguarding training at the start of their employment, which is regularly updated. Staff demonstrate understanding of the organisation’s whistle-blowing procedures and report confidence in the management team to deal with any safeguarding concerns appropriately.

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

Staff are able to identify risks to young people’s safety and well-being. Individualised risk assessments include any specific concerns about each young person and are regularly updated, to ensure that any changes or new information is taken into account. There is clear guidance in place about how to manage identified risks and support young people in a safe manner.

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

Some young people present complex behaviours. There is a strong and positive focus in this home on attempting to understand what young people are trying to communicate through their behaviours. Individualised support plans provide staff with clear strategies about how to approach young people’s behaviours. However, in a small number of examples, this guidance could be expanded further to include a greater level of detail. This would help to ensure that young people benefit from consistent behaviour support.

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

Over time, there has been a significant reduction in incidents of physical restraint for all young people who live in the home. This demonstrates good progress and means that young people are safer on a day-to-day basis. All incidents of restraint are recorded and reviewed by the registered manager. All staff who have been involved in an incident are encouraged to reflect, on both a group and individual basis. This supports a consistent and professional approach and helps to safeguard young people from inappropriate or excessive restraint.

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

Due to their level of needs, the young people who live in this home have constant staff support and supervision. Young people do not leave the home unsupported, and as such, incidents of young people going missing do not occur. A safe area risk assessment is in place and reviewed on an annual basis, to help ensure that any risks specific to the location of the home are understood and addressed.

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

Young people live in safe, well-maintained accommodation. Regular checks are in place to ensure that all areas of the home, facilities and equipment remain safe and fit for purpose. Thorough recruitment procedures require all prospective employees to undergo various background checks prior to being offered employment at the home. These measures help to protect young people from harm. Inspection report children’s home: SC044231 6

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a new registered manager in post who has been registered since January 2018. A well-planned handover took place from the previous registered manager, which helped to ensure that the home continued to benefit from effective leadership throughout the transition. The registered manager and deputy manager are both in the process of completing level 5 leadership and management qualifications.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The provider has operated the home with a vacancy for a significant amount of time. This has been a conscious decision, which was reached with the aim of minimising disruption to the current young people, who are due to transfer to adult services in the near future. This demonstrates that the home is managed in the best interests of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Comprehensive care plans are in place for each young person. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of young people’s needs and how to support them. One young person recently sustained an injury, which resulted in some short-term changes to her care needs. Records show that this young person received effective care and made a good recovery. However, the young person’s care plans could have been updated in a more effective manner to reflect her additional needs, for example in relation to pain management. A recommendation is made in relation to this matter to help ensure that any young person who experiences temporary changes to their care needs in the future receives responsive and consistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Low staff turnover and a stable staff team mean that young people benefit from consistency. Staff members spoken with were positive about their roles and reported a good level of support from the management team. Regular supervision, team meetings and daily reflective handovers promote a positive culture, within which staff feel able to share their views and raise concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are complimentary about the training they receive and confirm that they feel well equipped to carry out their roles effectively. One staff member spoke positively about his experience of induction, commenting that he had access to a good level of support and guidance at all times. All staff currently employed at the home have nationally recognised qualifications in caring for children and young people, and are all up to date with their mandatory training. However, it has been recognised that the current training programme could be expanded to incorporate more advanced training for staff. This is an area of development that has been recognised by the provider and will be addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective use of internal monitoring systems was evidenced throughout the inspection. It was also noted that the registered manager regularly seeks feedback from parents, staff and external professionals. There are processes in place to ensure that relevant people are notified about significant incidents that occur within the home. The registered manager is able to demonstrate effective analysis of significant incidents and that any learning from such incidents is identified. This demonstrates a commitment towards continuous improvement. Inspection report children’s home: SC044231 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: SC044231 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Progress Care and Education Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5th Floor, 80 Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UD

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Inspector

Marie Cordingley, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC044231 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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