Children's home run by Essex County Council in Chelmsford

Inspection report children’s home: SC068929 1 SC068929 Registered provider: Essex 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

This home is run by the local authority and provides short breaks and respite care for up to eight children and young people. The aim of the short break service is to provide support for families to maintain their children within the family environment. The current manager was registered with Ofsted on 27 July 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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC068929 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/08/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 07/11/2016 Full Outstanding 18/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC068929 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all the bathrooms have working electrical extractor fans to enable clearance of steam and heat. 30/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; (Regulation 13 (1)(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the deputy manager receives training in safeguarding children. 31/05/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC068929 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children make progress, taking into account their starting points, across most aspects of their physical, social, emotional and behavioural development. The children benefit from management and staff who care about them and promote their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from carefully planned introductions and visits to the home. The managers and the staff team make a great effort and pay particular attention to detail for each child’s transition before they undertake their first overnight stay. Consequently, the children’s individual needs are well met and they soon settle. During the inspection, the children were observed to be excited and beaming with joy when being dropped off by their parents for their ‘sleepovers’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff establish trusting relationships with children. This is achieved through patience, consistent responses and a genuine warmth. As a result, children experience fewer incidents of distress, and they learn to manage their emotions in more positive ways. This enables the children to access community-based activities which include trips to Duxford Airbase, rides on buses and feeding the ducks at the local park. Photos of their fun days in the community are captured and displayed in abundance.

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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 decisions and changes to the home. For example, one child was able to communicate that the towel rail in the kitchen was too high for him to reach, resulting in the rail being moved lower down. 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

The home has been redecorated since the last inspection. It is pleasantly decorated and furnished throughout to meet the children’s complex needs. The outside garden has an abundance of activities and play equipment to enhance the children’s fun, learning and development. The extractor fans in the bathrooms are broken, causing the bathrooms to steam up. This could be hazardous, and needs repair. This does not impact on the care afforded to the children who come to stay.

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

There is a strong safeguarding culture in the home. The staff realise the value of effective multi-agency work with key professionals, such as social workers, to monitor and continually risk-assess the children’s complex needs. Advice and guidance is readily sought from the host local authority on complex issues such as the health needs and transport for the children. When a response is delayed, the manager and the staff pursue a resolution and conclusion to any concerns.

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

The staff understand the children’s vulnerabilities and consider more specific risks in respect of their individual needs. Individual care plans, behaviour plans and risk Inspection report children’s home: SC068929 5 assessments are of good quality. Documentation gives a clear and vivid description of the work undertaken towards meeting health, behavioural and care needs. Any potential risks are swiftly identified and plans are updated.

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

Sound recruitment procedures mean that all of the necessary background checks are carried out before a member of staff commences work. This helps to ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with the children.

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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. Most members of the staff team have safeguarding training and demonstrate that they know what to do if they have a concern about a child’s well-being. However, the newly appointed deputy manager has not received safeguarding training. This does not impact on the safety of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager of the home was formally registered with Ofsted in July 2017. The manager holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management in a residential setting. She is a committed and child-centred practitioner who has a strong desire to improve outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and newly appointed deputy manager lead by example, putting the children first and having aspirations for them to achieve, enjoy life and make good progress. Both ensure that the service operates within the statement of purpose, and they are aware of the service’s strengths and weaknesses. This knowledge is achieved through active communication with the children, staff and stakeholders. As a result, children continue to receive a very good standard of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager offers good support to the staff through her daily presence in the home and leads a staff team that is both dedicated and 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 in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Frequent supervision meetings enable the staff to review and develop their childcare practice. The staff say that they value supervision and find this to be a supportive forum. Equally, professionals and parents are complimentary about the good level of care and communication with the home. One parent said about her son, ‘I cannot tell him anymore he is staying until we are actually getting ready to leave, because he gets so excited.’ This was echoed by a social worker who said, ‘The four children I have who stay absolutely love it. They are so excited when they arrive. The entire team are excellent.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has met all of the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection, to good effect. Inspection report children’s home: SC068929 6

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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: SC068929 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Essex County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Chelmsford CM1 1QH

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Osagioduwa Igbinovia

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Inspector

Cathy Russell, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC068929 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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