Children's Home run by Potton Homes Limited in Thurrock

Inspection report children’s home: 1226757 1 Registered provider: Potton Homes Ltd

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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 one of three children’s homes, and a school, privately owned by this company. It is registered to care for up to three children who have learning disabilities.

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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: 1226757 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/05/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/12/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/07/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1226757 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

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) and (2)(c)(i)(ii)) 30/07/2018

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Recommendations

 Each child should have permission for staff to administer first aid and non- prescription medication from a person with parental responsibility for them recorded in their relevant plan. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.14.)

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Recommendations

 The child’s placement plan should include a strategy to minimise the risk of going missing. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.24.)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Record information on individual children in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality Inspection report children’s home: 1226757 4 standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4.)

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Recommendations

 Review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. Providers should refer to the non-statutory advice about the location assessment process. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64 paragraph 15.1.)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is currently one young person living at the home. He will be 18 shortly, and will move on to adult living. The manager has ensured a well-planned transition for this young person. The manager has been meticulous in considering the potential impact of any new placements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The service is very child-centred. An example of this is the provider’s response to previously unknown information that the young person struggles greatly in group-living situations. The manager has successfully advocated for this young person to remain as a single placement, helping his well-being and placement stability. As a result, the young person has developed relationships with staff. Despite very limited verbal skills, he is able to name all of the staff when shown a photograph.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are suitably skilled. They have helped the young person to improve in his behaviour, communication, community presence and self-esteem. The staff use observation and their knowledge of the young person’s individual communication methods to help him express himself and make choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Strong partnership working with families has ensured that they remain critical figures in their child’s day-to-day life. Two staff accompany the young person out in the community with his parent. Without this staff support, community-based family activity would not be possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is in good health. He receives suitable support and guidance from staff to access important medical checks and maintain a healthy lifestyle. He is prescribed a variety of regular medications. However, the forms providing parental consent for staff to give medication and medical treatment have not been signed by a person with parental responsibility. This has not had an impact on the young person. However, the current arrangements do not protect the staff or the young person.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has sustained damage, following incidents, that has been repaired in most cases to a good standard. However, the hallway requires repainting and the bathroom requires refurbishment. The manager stated that this will be completed in a few weeks once the current resident moves on.

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

Inspection report children’s home: 1226757 5 The young person demonstrates to those who know him that he feels safe and settled at the home. The routines that are so important to him are strictly adhered to and this has helped him to deal with changes in his environment. As a result, he has, for the first time, been able to safely enjoy a short-break holiday.

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

Staff constantly monitor the young person’s presentation in order to understand the ever-fluctuating level of risk presented. The staff are skilful in understanding and, when possible, interpreting and managing risk. Individual risk assessments and safety plans are well detailed and include strategies to manage behaviour.

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

The staff’s commitment to developing the young person’s ability to communicate and make choices means that he is learning to express himself in a non-violent way. As a result of the skilful and intuitive approach by staff, the levels of challenge have significantly reduced. Consequently, both staff and the young person are safer as a result.

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

The organisation’s missing-from-home guidance instructs staff to follow each young persons’ individual protocols should they go missing. However, there is no such written protocol in place for the current young person. It is essential that there is written clarity and guidance for staff should such an incident occur for either this young person or future children admitted to the home.

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

The staff have received suitable training in safeguarding, and it remains a regular topic in supervision, team meetings and workshops. This ensures that the staff fully understand their pivotal safeguarding role at the home and the heightened vulnerability of young people who have disabilities.

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

The suitably trained staff understand the thresholds for physical intervention and only use techniques that block any intended harm to themselves or criminal damage in the community. When these techniques have been used, the incidents have been clearly recorded and reviewed. No sanctions have been applied because they are not helpful to the current young person. However, the records of sanctions applied to previous residents are not consistently clearly recorded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been significant positive and well-planned management changes during the past year. As a consequence, the management of the home is now effective and the much-needed changes have been successfully embedded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are provided with effective induction, supervision, training and support, which help them perform to their optimum level. Staff support has been an area of major improvement since the last inspection. The staff said that they now enjoy their work and feel well supported, enthusiastic and empowered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have developed very positive partnerships with families and Inspection report children’s home: 1226757 6 partner professionals to achieve positive outcomes for this young person. The home is highly regarded. Comments from families and professionals included:

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

 They [the staff] do what they say on the tin. They’re really committed to him. The whole thing is so child-centred.  This placement is brilliant for him.  Staff are nice and are in tune with him. They don’t give up on him.  It’s a brilliant home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has undertaken a review of the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home. There is little information and no evaluation of any risks or the quality of health and education to meet the young person’s needs. This has the potential to negatively affect the planning of any future admission. Failure to ensure that the location risk assessment is comprehensive could have a negative impact on future admissions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

At the last inspection, eight requirements and four recommendations were set. The management team has ensured that almost all have been met. There is significant improvement in all areas of the home. Consequently, the young person receives good- quality care and the staff benefit from effective support.

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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: 1226757 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Potton Homes, 1 Cresswell Park, Blackheath, London SE3 9RD

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Inspector

Joanna Heller, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1226757 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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