Children's Home run by Sankofa Care Ltd in Croydon

Inspection report children‟s home: 1244386 1 Registered provider: Sankofa Care 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

This privately run children‟s home provides care and accommodation for up to nine young people who have social and/or emotional difficulties. The registered manager has been registered since June 2017.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children‟s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 30 January 2018

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: 1244386 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/01/2018 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: 1244386 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

Review of quality of care 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. In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating— the quality of care provided for children; 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. After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review 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”). The registered person must—

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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; the system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45(1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(3)(4)(a)(5)) 31/01/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: 1244386 4 Independent person: visits and reports The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children‟s home at least once each month. When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person— if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires; and to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home‟s records (except for a child‟s case records, unless the child and

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Requirement Due date

the child‟s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires. A visit by the independent person to the home may be unannounced. 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— children are effectively safeguarded; and the conduct of the home promotes children‟s well-being. (Regulation 44(1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(4)(a)(b)) 31/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

Other records Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children‟s home. The registered person must— maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4; ensure that the records are kept up to date; (Regulation 37(1)(2)(a)(b)) In particular, the home must ensure that it maintains a register of children. 31/01/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: 1244386 5 Statement of purpose The registered person must— keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16(3)(a)(b)) In particular, the registered person must ensure that the home‟s defined model of therapeutic care is an accurate description of staff knowledge and practice in the home. 31/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child‟s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)) In particular, the registered person must ensure that young people‟s behaviour management plans are comprehensive and up to date. 31/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— understand the children‟s home‟s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult; (Regulation 6(1)(a)(2)(vi)) In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that a comprehensive independence skills programme is available for young people to develop their practical skills such as cooking and budgeting. 31/01/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: 1244386 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  There should be clear lines of accountability. Each home must have clear arrangements in place to maintain effective management when the manager is absent, off duty or on leave. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 54, paragraph 10.20)  Children‟s homes must comply with the relevant health and safety legislation (food hygiene). („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The children‟s home must produce a children‟s guide. („Guide to the children‟s

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Recommendations

homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 24, paragraph 4.21) In particular, the guide should include an accurate description of the home‟s environment and facilities.  Measurements of progress should include qualitative information. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 26, paragraph 5.2) In particular, this should include a system to identify young people‟s targets and monitor their progress.

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improvement to be good

Young people make reasonable progress while living in the home. Examples include staff encouraging a young person to attend school instead of receiving tuition in the home, and another young person has successfully completed GCSE exams. However, there was no evidence available of any other recorded targets, progress or outcomes for young people, which limits young people‟s overall development potential. The home‟s young people‟s guide advises that young people will be helped to prepare for adult life, learning skills such as budgeting and cooking. However, the home does not have an independence skills programme in place and, as a result, young people are not fully equipped for their futures when they move on to independent living. The deputy manager reported that he is developing an independence skills programme for young people. Young people are encouraged to choose their favourite food for menu plans. Despite

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improvement to be good

this, during the inspection one young person said, „Staff don‟t buy me what I want,‟ and Inspection report children‟s home: 1244386 7 „I didn‟t get any dinner last night.‟ The inspector explored these concerns with staff and the young person during the inspection and the matter was resolved successfully. The inspector found food in the fridge which was only suitable for the freezer. Although staff removed the item immediately and placed it in the rubbish bin, if it had been eaten this may have put the young people‟s health at risk. Young people have a voice in the home. For example, young people asked to have regular opportunities to meet with the registered manager. Consequently, a weekly „open door‟ session for the young people has been arranged. This provides young people with the opportunity to talk informally with the registered manager and share any ideas or concerns. Young people are offered a broad range of community activities. This year‟s summer

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improvement to be good

holiday included trips to the zoo and the seaside. The local gym and go-karting trips are popular. At the time of inspection, staff and young people had recently temporarily moved to the home‟s four-bedroom „annexe‟ home while refurbishment works are being undertaken in the main home. The annexe accommodation provides young people with a suitable and comfortable environment.

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improvement to be good

When young people are missing from the home, staff follow the home‟s missing policies and procedures. When young people return home, staff inform the relevant placing authority but do not consistently request return home interviews. This means that staff lack a comprehensive awareness of why young people go missing from the home, which limits staff‟s ability to learn from incidents or update young people‟s care plans. Restraint in the home is rarely used and there have been no episodes of restraint since the last inspection. However, young people‟s behaviour management plans are either not completed or lack detail. This raises the risk that staff responses to any challenging behaviour could be inappropriate or inconsistent. Positive behaviour is encouraged in the home and young people can receive financial rewards. Incentive examples include attending school, returning home by any agreed curfew time, or settling in bed on time. However, one young person‟s reward schedule

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improvement to be good

was out of date, and the same young person‟s home time curfew reward target had been ineffective in bringing about a positive change. Young people receive a helpful guide when they arrive at the home. However, following the recent move from the main home to the annexe home, the young people‟s guide has not been updated to reflect the environment or facilities of the annexe home. Staff recruitment practice is robust and prevents unsuitable people working in the home. All staff are either qualified to the appropriate level 3 qualification or have recently enrolled on the course. This means that young people receive support from suitably qualified staff. Inspection report children‟s home: 1244386 8 All staff receive training in child protection and safeguarding vulnerable young people. Training to meet the individual needs of young people is further enhanced by the home‟s specialist consultant who delivers bespoke training to staff and young people such as

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

During the inspection, the registered manager was absent, with the deputy manager having overall responsibility for the running of the home. However, the deputy manager and responsible individual were not able to access some of the home‟s records that are required for inspection purposes. For example, the registered manager‟s monthly monitoring of young people‟s goals and achievements could not be viewed or verified. Many of the staff are relatively new to their posts. Staff spoken with during the inspection said, „We help and support each other, but we need to be more consistent with our responses to the young people,‟ and, „We are still gelling together.‟ The registered manager acknowledges that, as a result, the staff team has not been as co- ordinated and consistent as it could have been and has provided the team with additional team-work training. The home‟s statement of purpose is not an accurate description of the services available

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

to young people. While staff have received training in therapeutic care techniques, they have not received training in the therapeutic programme that the statement of purpose outlines. The registered manager‟s quality of care review does not capture the views and opinions of young people, professionals, parents or staff. While the registered manager understands the home‟s strengths and weakness and has plans in place for further improvement, gaining valuable feedback from others is an opportunity to further inform the home‟s development plan. The independent visitor conducts monthly visits to the home. The registered manager swiftly actions any recommendations that are made. However, the independent visitor‟s reports do not provide an opinion as to whether young people are effectively safeguarded or how the conduct of the home promotes their well-being. Regular team meetings, alongside detailed staff shift handover discussions, enable staff

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

to provide dynamic care. Staff make suitable arrangements for young people and encourage young people to attend their appointments and any professional meetings. Some staff members are nominated as „champions‟. There are champions of activities, education support, healthy eating, drugs awareness and sexual health. These roles include staff co-ordinating and delivering training to young people and the staff team, which further enhances the knowledge and understanding of everyone in the home.

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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 Inspection report children‟s home: 1244386 9 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: 1244386 10

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Olivia Osei-Asibey

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Inspector

Victoria Jones, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1244386 11 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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