Children's Home run by Reamcare Limited in Kingston upon Thames

Inspection report children’s home: SC423606 1 SC423606 Registered provider: Reamcare Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care and accommodation for up to seven children. The home’s statement of purpose states that the home accommodates children who have a learning and/or physical disability. Placements can be on a permanent or short- break basis.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager was registered with Ofsted in March 2016.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 10 to 11 September 2018

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: 21 November 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC423606 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/11/2017 Full Outstanding 14/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/10/2016 Full Outstanding 01/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC423606 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

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, the registered provider must ensure;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6(2)(b)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that the registered provider ensures that the signs of water damage in the hallway area and the missing plaster from a wall in one bedroom are repaired. 30/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13(2)(a)(d)(e)) 30/11/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC423606 4 In particular, the registered person should address the high staff turnover and consequent lack of consistency for young people. Fitness of workers

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only—

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all references for employees are verified prior to them commencing their employment in the home. 30/11/2018

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Recommendations

 No more than half the staff on duty at any one time, by day or night at the home should be from an external agency. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.17)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make positive progress in their home. One young person informed his social worker, ‘I will never forget the home for everything it has done for me.’ The inspector saw that young people were visibly more confident and communicative than he had witnessed at the previous inspection in November 2017. Inspection report children’s home: SC423606 5 Young people enjoy a new range of experiences, which include attending air cadets, the local care council and a local football club. These activities help build young people’s self- esteem and develop their social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Independence work with young people is positive and supports well-planned outcomes. Staff gently encourage young people to develop their skills in key areas such as cooking and finding directions to places young people wish to visit. Staff use internet map resources to support young people in this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people attend education and make progress. One young person has improved their reading age by one-and-a-half years in the one year that they had lived at the home, while another young person has successfully returned to education after a three- year absence. Staff support young people’s attainment by closing liaising with teachers and attending education progress meetings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Behavioural management is good in the home and restraint use is limited. Staff use simple prompts, such as saying ‘stop and reflect’, which young people understand and recognise. Young people respond well and remove themselves from potentially risky situations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consistently seek the wishes of young people. Support plans offer their views on how they would like staff to respond to them when they are struggling. Residents’ meetings and key-work sessions act as an important means for young people to develop their relationships and air their concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support young people to enjoy safe contact with their friends and family. Staff work in partnership with parents and allocated social workers to ensure that contact is positive and in the interests of young people. This promotes placement stability.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment practice in the home is not safe. One member of staff commenced work in the home without the home verifying their references. This posed a potential risk to young people.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments outline young people’s needs and allow them to take safe and managed risks at their own pace. This includes staff allowing them increased responsibility such as travelling to their school alone. Written assessments chart young people’s progress and evidence a reduction in their negative behaviours, such as one young person having a previous obsession with knives.

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improvement to be good

Close staff supervision ensures that young people do not go missing. When away from the home, young people maintain regular phone contact with staff. In the unlikely event that a young person was missing from the home, staff are very familiar with relevant policies and procedures. Inspection report children’s home: SC423606 6 Key-working between the young people and staff is reflective and creative and covers sensitive topics such as ‘safe-touching’. Staff make good use of resources such as young people’s mood diaries to check in with young people and identify if they have any concerns or worries. When required, staff share any concerns with the professional network, such as social workers, and take protective action when required.

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improvement to be good

Young people develop a greater understanding of themselves and their disability. Young people overcome considerable challenges to explore conditions such as autistic spectrum disorder and its impact on their behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Young people enjoy good access to advocacy services. Staff recently supported one young person to receive financial compensation from a placing local authority, following a poor care-planning decision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home benefits from a stable and long-standing management team. Managers said that they accepted the shortfalls found at this inspection and commented, ‘It’s been a bad year.’ Both the registered manager and her deputy display a drive and a child- centred approach to improving the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

High staff turnover and the regular use of agency staff remain a concern in the home. A further seven members of staff have left the home since the last inspection due to a number of reasons, including their poor performance. A professional raised concerns regarding a recent restraint that involved a young person and two agency members of staff. Managers have addressed the concerns following a subsequent investigation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

A visiting independent reviewing officer echoed these concerns. He commented on the unsettling effect of frequent staff changes on young people who thrive on consistency and familiarity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

High staff turnover and the subsequent lack of stability have limited the development of the home. As a result, plans to gain formal accreditation with a national charity for autism and implement a revised behavioural management system have been delayed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home environment requires improvement. Plaster is missing from one bedroom wall and the main hallway shows signs of water damage. This gives a poor and unkempt impression to young people and their families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Case files evidence good management oversight. When behavioural incidents occur, managers seek to learn from and unpick behaviours. When necessary, managers seek advice from specialist professionals, such as therapists, to further inform their analysis of young people and support behaviour management. Inspection report children’s home: SC423606 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 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: SC423606 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 361 Ewell Road, Surrey KT6 7BZ

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Inspector

Barnaby Dowell, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC423606 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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