Children's Home run by Wandsworth Borough Council in Wandsworth

Inspection report children's home: SC065478 1 SC065478 Registered provider: Wandsworth Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides a short-break service and full-time care for up to 13 children and young people who have a physical and/or learning disability.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC065478 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/08/2017 Full Good 06/12/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/08/2016 Full Good 16/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC065478 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

In order to meet the protection of children standard, (2) the registered person must ensure – (a) that staff: (v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. 30/07/2018

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The behaviour management strategy should be understood and applied at all times by staff, and must be kept under review and revised where appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34) In particular, ensure that staff are clear about the impact of the behaviour management strategy on the young people.  The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36) In particular, ensure that all incidents include the managers’ evaluation of the

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Recommendations

effectiveness of the staff’s intervention.  Develop effective working relationships with each child’s parents. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.3) In particular, the registered person should ensure that parents receive written outcomes of complaints filed and that all of the identified learning points are captured in the outcome. Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Inspection judgements

Inspection report children's home: SC065478 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people experience positive stays and make good progress, given their challenging starting points. Parents stated that they felt confident about leaving their child in the home. Young people look forward to spending time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s peer groups are carefully matched, as much as possible, allowing them to build familiarity and friendships with one another. Opportunities to participate in a wide range of activities in the community are offered to the young people, which helps to reduce their isolation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people with limited verbal abilities are encouraged to communicate through the use of a picture exchange communication system, Makaton signing and other communication methods. Staff recognise signs of distress in the young people and respond appropriately. Young people are encouraged to express their feelings and are helped to feel understood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s health and educational needs are well supported. Staff receive additional training to meet complex needs. Young people are supported to make good progress in developing their self-care and independence skills. Young people’s achievements, however great or small, are recognised by the staff and managers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions to and from the home are thoughtfully planned and well managed. Consequently, the positive admissions and discharges that the young people experience help to reduce their anxiety and promote stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people experience good contact with their family members. On the whole, young people benefit from the communication between the home and those who matter to them, including professionals and family members. However, there is room for improvement in how complaints are managed. One complaint has been filed since the last inspection. Although the concern raised was fully investigated in consultation with the designated officer, the complainant did not receive a written outcome. Also, there were a few learning points resulting from the incident that were not captured in the outcome.

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

Young people are helped and protected by staff and managers, who have a good understanding of their vulnerabilities. Young people’s risk and health assessments are routinely updated. While most of the risk assessments are comprehensive, with good strategies to reduce the risks factors, a few lack specific details of the things that may present harm to the young person.

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

Young people benefit from good collaboration between staff and professionals. For example, inputs from the child and adolescent mental health service are regularly incorporated into the care and management of a young person’s needs and have helped Inspection report children's home: SC065478 5 to reduce his challenging behaviour.

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

On the whole, staff and managers work to the home’s behavioural management strategy, which is child focused. They aim to promote a positive environment for young people. The use of restraint is low and the system in place for recording incidents is appropriate. However, the records are not always clear about the impact of restraint on the young person, in line with the behavioural management strategy. Not all incidents include the managers’ evaluation of the effectiveness of the staff’s intervention.

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

Medication is organised safely. Staff and managers make sure that they keep young people’s medication under review and report any effects on their well-being.

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

Young people’s experiences of the day are captured in the daily log. However, the quality of the records is inconsistent.

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

One young person has gone missing from the home since the last inspection. This was due to an agency worker who did not follow the one-to-one supervision protocol. While the young person was found safe and returned to the home, the incident could have been prevented. Managers have taken appropriate actions and implemented the learning from the ‘missing’ episode. No child has gone missing from the home since this incident.

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

Social workers and professionals, including the designated officer, state that they have no safeguarding concerns about the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed effectively by an experienced, permanent manager who is suitably qualified. Safe recruitment procedures are in place, and the home is adequately resourced to meet the young people’s needs. Staff who do not have level 3 qualifications or the equivalent are currently enrolled on a course. The registered manager monitors the use of agency staff and its impact on the continuity of care for the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager’s self-evaluation of the home’s strengths and areas for further improvement is well informed. The manager utilises the independent visitor’s reports, audits, feedback and practice observations to scrutinise practice and raise standards. A plan is in place to improve the service, based on the desire to deliver outstanding outcomes for the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff state that they find training and supervision helpful and that they receive good support from their managers to carry out their duties. Supervision and appraisals are strengths-based and reflective. Also, there is evidence of staff being challenged and developed through their performance evaluations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and managers work in partnership with families and professionals to promote good outcomes and positive experiences for the young people. When issues arise, the leaders and managers take appropriate action to resolve the concerns. Young people receive culturally sensitive care from the staff and managers. They ensure Inspection report children's home: SC065478 6 that the home is child friendly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home operates in line with its statement of purpose, and the ethos of the home comes through in how staff look after the young people in their care. Inspection report children's home: SC065478 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 difference 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: SC065478 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: London Borough of Wandsworth, Town Hall, Wandsworth High Street, London SW18 2PU

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Inspector

Linda Kim-Newby, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC065478 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 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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