Children's home run by London Borough of Croydon in Croydon

Inspection report children‟s home: SC041887 1 SC041887 Registered provider: London Borough of Croydon

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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 local authority owns this short-break home. The home provides short-break accommodation for up to seven young people who have severe learning disabilities. The home can also provide emergency short-term care. In addition, the home provides a day-care service. The duration and frequency of short breaks that young people receive varies, based on their assessed needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since 2004.

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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

Date of last inspection: 10 October 2017

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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: SC041887 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/10/2017 Full Good 30/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 26/07/2016 Full Good 09/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC041887 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 independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person‟s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person‟s opinion as to whether–

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Requirement Due date

Children are effectively safeguarded: and

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Requirement Due date

The conduct of the home promotes children‟s well-being (Regulation 44 (4) (a) (b)) 30/08/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that when a restraint occurs that young people are given the opportunity to express their feelings about the experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 49, paragraph 9.60)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people value their short break and their parents enjoy a unique opportunity for respite. This helps to prevent family breakdown and ensures stability for young people. Young people thrive in a child-centred environment and quickly build trusting relationships with the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support young people to enjoy a night away from home; for some, this is for the first time. Young people begin to develop self-confidence and social and independence skills. One parent recently wrote to staff congratulating them for their support, which resulted in her son becoming continent. Another parent commented, „he [son] gets so excited to go‟ while a young person who commented, „I love it‟, echoed this positive feedback. Inspection report children‟s home: SC041887 4 The home is well equipped to meet the needs of young people and includes a well- equipped garden, sensory room and computer room. High staffing levels allow for their use under close staff supervision. Young people enjoy a rich variety of educational experiences, including a recent trip to the seaside and a holiday park. For many young people, this their first experience of such events.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people benefit from planned introductions to the home at their own pace. Staff support this by ensuring that siblings attend where appropriate and that there is a good matching process that considers the needs of other young people using the home. This ensures that young people settle well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work well in partnership with key professionals such as local schools. Staff use „school communication books‟ to share concerns with parents and teachers on a daily basis. One teacher commented, „The staff are so supportive. They work well with us and attend all meetings and contribute to all reviews of plans.‟ Staff strive to replicate learning objectives, such as cookery, to promote good levels of consistency.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Behavioural management is effective and where possible young people learn to apologise if they have misbehaved. Staff understand each of the young people‟s individual plans and follow them effectively. When staff have to use physical intervention, they reflect on the incident and try to learn lessons to help young people to avoid repeating their negative behaviour. At present, the level of feedback gained from young people following incidents of physical intervention is limited and subsequently reduces the quality of the evaluation of these incidents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Outcomes for young people are positive. Staff gently push young people to achieve progress and complete more tasks for themselves. This supports positive and planned moves on to further supported settings. Former young people return to the home to keep in touch with staff.

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

Young people are safe in the home and there are no reports of young people going missing. Young people respond well to individualised, structured routines and engage positively with staff. Young people enjoy good relationships with staff and seek reassurance if required. Staff are alive to key issues of risk, such as some young people biting, and adjust supervision levels and routines accordingly.

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

The home environment and schedule are adapted on a daily basis to meet the needs of young people. This includes adapting each bedroom and choice of activity and ensures that young people enjoy their short break.

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

Multi-agency work is strong. Staff make good use of the council‟s computer information system to share key information and update themselves on events which may unsettle young people, such as a change in family dynamics. Staff alert professionals quickly if young people do not use the service when they were due to and assess the need for a home visit to ensure that their welfare is promoted. Inspection report children‟s home: SC041887 5 Young people are encouraged to participate in decisions about their care and what goes on in the home. Review reports show that staff are able to use good communication and observation skills to represent young people‟s wishes and feelings.

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

Behavioural management plans are of good quality. They illustrate positive levels of target-setting for young people and an understanding of the individual nature of each young person. Staff show high levels of care and patience to support young people. Recently, this involved encouraging one young person to comply successfully with her bedtime routine over a period of six months.

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

Partnership work with parents is a major strength of the home. Staff offer training sessions for parents on important issues such as managing challenging behaviour and offer an opportunity for parents to network among themselves. Staff advocate effectively for parents on issues such as accessing benefits and the appropriate choice of schools for their children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home benefits from a highly experienced management team. The registered manager commenced working at the home 29 years ago. Her deputy, who has been in post since 2006, supports her. Staff, parents and young people respect managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of independent monitoring continues to be poor. Managers have sought to improve the reports by offering a new reporting format and liaising with senior managers. Monthly reports lack an evaluation of safeguarding and often the visits themselves do not occur on a monthly basis as required. Despite this, managers continue to drive a strong culture of improvement and self-evaluation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people benefit from a consistent, driven and committed staff team. No staff members have left the home since the last inspection. Staff respond well to a strong management emphasis on empowering and skilling them. One staff member supported this by commenting, „I love my job. I love working with the young people.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well trained and supported. Staff commented on a recent training course on the use of sign language which has been of great use in promoting communication and engagement in the home. All four shift managers in the home have achieved the required management qualification. Staff report excellent levels of supervision and performance level appraisal targets that challenge and engage them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good oversight of the admissions process. She sits on the local authority panel which assesses referrals and is able to consider each referral in the light of the young people already using the service. Staff complete a home visit to young people before they move in and liaise with key professionals. This ensures the stability of the home and the acceptance of appropriate referrals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers support a climate of transparency and openness. Assessments remain shared Inspection report children‟s home: SC041887 6 with parents and key professionals, who have their views incorporated into reports.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home environment is safe and well maintained. Specialist hoists and bath adaptations support young people with complex needs with their personal care.

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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: SC041887 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: London Borough of Croydon, Education Department, Taberner House, Park Lane, Croydon CR9 1TP

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Inspector

Barnaby Dowell, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC041887 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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Inspector

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