Children's home run by Surrey County Council in Woking

Inspection report children’s home: SC040631 1 SC040631 Registered provider: Surrey County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a local authority. It provides care and accommodation for up to eight children. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it looks after children who have experienced family difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in 2007.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 27 September 2017

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC040631 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/09/2017 Full Good 16/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/09/2016 Full Good 03/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC040631 3

p.2

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises— is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home; is necessary and proportionate; is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iv)) 07/09/2018

p.3

Recommendations

 Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  Staff must help each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or to live independently. This includes supporting the child to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope without the home’s support and, where the child is moving to live independently, practical skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting and personal self-care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)  A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the

p.3

Recommendations

quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3) Inspection report children’s home: SC040631 4

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience warmth and responsiveness from experienced staff who understand their complex needs. With understanding and insight, staff help children to manage their emotions and to keep themselves safe. In this nurturing, welcoming home, children feel safe and respond to high-quality care from the staff.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend education placements appropriate to their specific needs. Children access various forms of education to help them to achieve and succeed, even when they are experiencing significant mental health difficulties. Activities are tailored to each child’s individual interests and their stage of development.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children very well. They provide sensitive support which helps children to develop resilience and confidence in their own ability to manage their emotions. Staff are ambitious for children to achieve their potential. Despite setbacks, staff inspire children to believe in themselves and have hope for their futures.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to put forward their views. Through key-work sessions and children’s meetings, children confidently put forward their opinions in matters affecting their day-to-day experience of living at the home. The records do not demonstrate how the staff’s response to children’s views is communicated to the children.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are aware of the importance of helping the children to develop independence. Plans are not providing clear enough guidance for staff to prepare children to become young adults.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are not able to access all the shared areas of the home, as some areas are routinely locked at night.

p.4

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

The staff have successfully established a stable, calm and safe environment. They respond to the children’s complex individual needs and are skilled in identifying the potential risks associated with children’s mental health difficulties and self-harm behaviour. Working closely with external mental health professionals, they follow detailed plans to reduce risk. These plans are kept under close review to ensure that children assessed to be at high risk of serious harm through their self-harming behaviour are receiving the appropriate level of support and supervision to keep them safe.

p.4

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

Personalised plans and individual approaches, in collaboration with the child and adolescent mental health services for children in care, are significantly assisting children who are experiencing a crisis in their mental health. The staff help them to develop coping strategies to keep themselves safe. Children are gradually learning how to manage their emotions, anxieties and worries. Through warm and trusting relationships, the staff encourage positive behaviour. Inspection report children’s home: SC040631 5 Sanctions and physical intervention are used infrequently. Staff are increasingly using a restorative approach to resolve any issues and help children to take responsibility for their actions.

p.4

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

Incidents of children leaving the home without permission are not frequent. If this happens, staff respond proactively and effectively, applying agreed procedures and sharing information appropriately.

p.5

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

The registered manager has a good understanding of safeguarding concerns in the local area. Staff are diligent in reporting safeguarding concerns, and managers ensure that appropriate referrals are made to external agencies.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has extensive experience, and he uses his knowledge and skills to provide strong support for the staff team. With his passion for helping children to achieve their best outcomes and his knowledge of the children’s needs and the progress that they are making, he leads the staff team to help the children to achieve their goals.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff, many of whom have worked at the home for a considerable period, undertake training to continually update and widen their knowledge and understanding in order to meet children’s complex needs. Currently, the focus of training and support is on increasing the staff’s awareness of the mental health issues affecting the children.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Effective partnership working with external agencies is embedded in practice. Specialist support from the child and adolescent mental health services for children in care provides valuable support for the staff in dealing with children’s complex and significant mental health difficulties.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff feel supported by the management team. The managers lead by example and model good practice. Supervision is regular and effective, but not all supervision records are up to date.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Internal and external monitoring of the home is thorough, to drive continuous improvement. The registered manager closely evaluates staff practice to ensure that children receive high-quality care. He recognises the areas for development and has plans in place to drive forward improvements.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The recording of children’s experiences at the home has improved. The records provide an excellent description of their life at the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC040631 6

p.5

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.

p.6

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: SC040631 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Quadrant Court, 35 Guildford Road, Woking, Surrey GU22 7QQ

p.7

Inspector

Jan Hunnam, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC040631 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8