Children's home run by Ownlife Residential Limited in Kingston upon Thames

Inspection report children‟s home: SC483779 1 SC483779 Registered provider: Ownlife Limited 02932099

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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 provides care and accommodation for up to four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, in the age range 12 to 17 years at the point of admission. The home‟s statement of purpose states that the young people who are referred to the home are likely to have experienced trauma and to have experienced a number of previous placement breakdowns.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 2007.

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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: 30 November 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: SC483779 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/11/2017 Full Good 23/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/06/2016 Full Good 20/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC483779 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 registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children‟s home at least once each month.

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person‟s report to—

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 44 (1)(4)(a)(b)(7)(a)) 31/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children‟s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review 31/10/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC483779 4 and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(3)(4)(a)(5))

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Recommendations

 Young people should be supported to develop understanding and empathy towards each other. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 39, paragraph 8.11) In particular, staff must ensure that young people‟s individual snack and drink purchases are not consumed, without permission, by other young people.  Where young people placed in a home are not participating in education, in the interim the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 28, paragraph 5.15) In particular, staff must ensure that young people maintain an appropriate structure and routine to their day which includes informal learning opportunities when young people are not participating in education.  Young people must be consulted regularly on their views about the home‟s care,

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Recommendations

to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 22, paragraph 4.11) In particular, staff should ensure that young people‟s availability and appropriate incentives to attend the weekly house meetings are reviewed.  The children‟s home must produce a children‟s guide. The children‟s guide should help young people understand: what the day to day routines of the home are („what happens in the home‟). („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 24, 4.22) In particular, the registered manager should reconsider the guide‟s „no set mealtimes‟ policy and allowing young people to eat meals in their bedrooms.  Staff should encourage enthusiasm for positive behaviour through the use of positive behaviour strategies. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 39, paragraph 8.13) In particular, staff

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Recommendations

Inspection report children‟s home: SC483779 5 must review the effectiveness of the young people‟s rewards scheme to ensure that it is relevant to the individual young people in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make progress while living in the home. Examples include increased attendance at school, reductions in challenging behaviour and improved engagement with professionals. Young people‟s monthly reports also identify their increased confidence, which enables them to attend and contribute to their care reviews. A social worker wrote, „The placement is extremely positive for [X] and staff have enabled him to make progress in many areas of his life.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people live in a comfortable, calm and settled environment and build positive relationships with staff. The registered manager ensures that young people‟s requests are actioned. Young people‟s requests have resulted in upgraded wi-fi, new bedroom rugs, a regular supply of magazines and comics, alongside favourite food items.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people regularly invite their friends and family to the home. Young people prepare and cook meals for their visitors. The homely environment is further enhanced when previous residents return to visit the home on occasion.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people engage in a comprehensive independence skills programme. Practical skills from cooking to completing a CV and changing fuses help to prepare young people before they move on to semi-independent living arrangements. When semi-independent accommodation is identified, staff provide young people with reassurance by visiting the property with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The majority of young people attend school or receive tuition in the home and successfully complete their exams. When young people refuse to participate in their education, staff work in partnership with social workers and the virtual school head to access appropriate alternatives. However, when young people do not engage in education, they are not always suitably occupied with informal learning opportunities. This limits young people‟s educational attainment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people complete the home‟s written monthly questionnaires, which provides positive feedback on their quality of care, but their attendance at the weekly house meetings is poor. Staff work hard to encourage young people to attend the meetings, seek their input into meal plans and to make suggestions regarding activities, but this is not always successful. This limits young people‟s input into the running of their home.

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

The registered manager takes care to assess all new referrals. Using detailed impact risk assessments, he takes account of any impact on the young people already living in the home. The registered manager said, „I always want the right mix and the right match of Inspection report children‟s home: SC483779 6 young people.‟ The helps to enhance young people‟s stability.

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

Positive behaviour is encouraged in the home. While all staff have received physical restraint training, the home operates a no restraint policy. There have been no incidents of restraint since the last inspection. Young people spoken with during the inspection said that they feel safe.

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

A fully staffed and stable staff team provides young people with continuity of care. All staff receive training in child protection and safeguarding vulnerable young people. Young people receive help and advice during their regular key-work sessions. Key-work themes include staying safe, substance misuse and respect.

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

However, during the inspection, a young person said that some of his favourite food in the fridge is eaten by other young people. This was evident during the last inspection. The registered manager addressed this issue previously with the young people with discussions about respect, consideration of others and actions such as young people labelling their own food. The registered manager is actively considering an alternative approach to prevent this happening again.

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

Young people can receive financial rewards for positive engagement with their weekly plans. However, the targets and rewards are generic and not individualised to the young people. A young person described the rewards system as „old style‟. In addition, staff have not reviewed the effectiveness of the rewards system. As a result, young people are less likely to engage in some the home‟s rules such as tidying their bedrooms or coming home on time.

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

The young people‟s guide has been developed by previous residents. As a result, the guide is readable and accessible to young people living in the home. However, a „no set mealtimes‟ policy and no rules regarding eating meals in bedrooms encourages young people to prepare and eat meals at any time of the day and meals are consumed in their bedrooms. This impacts on staff‟s ability to implement consistent healthy daily routines for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a strong advocate for young people living in the home. For example, when a young person was temporarily excluded from school, he challenged the school‟s decision. He unfailingly chases placing authorities for missing or updated care records, and reminds them of their statutory duties if there are delays. This helps to ensure that young people‟s case files are accurate and care arrangements are up to date.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff spoken with during the inspection said that they enjoy working in the home. They described the registered manager as „good‟ and „supportive‟ and said that they value their regular supervision. Professionals compliment the registered manager for his effective and coordinated partnership working with schools and his quick responses to any enquiries that the home receives. Inspection report children‟s home: SC483779 7 All staff are qualified in the appropriate level 3 qualification. Staff also receive comprehensive training that helps to meet the needs of the young people. This includes recently published care legislation which outlines the responsibilities of placing authorities and the rights of young people when they leave care. This training enhances staff‟s knowledge about young people‟s rights and the support that young people should expect to receive when they leave care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has met the requirements set at the last inspection. Internal and external monitoring systems are in place. However, the registered manager‟s six- monthly quality of care review does not include direct feedback from young people, parents and involved professionals. This is a lost opportunity to further enhance the development of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Quality assurance includes the independent person‟s monthly visits and reports. However, the independent person‟s report does not provide an opinion on whether young people are safeguarded effectively and the conduct of the home promotes children‟s well-being. Furthermore, Ofsted does not receive the reports in a timely manner.

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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: SC483779 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Ownlife Limited 02932099

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 8 Poole Hill, Bournemouth BH2 5PS

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Inspector

Victoria Jones, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC483779 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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