Children's home run by Cornerways Children’s Services Limited

Inspection report children‟s home: SC013613 1 SC013613 Registered provider: Cornerways Children‟s Services 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

The home is one of two children‟s homes owned and run by a private company that also operates a fostering agency and a school. It has accommodation for up to five young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The service also provides individual young people with support from therapists.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 2014.

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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: 11 January 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/01/2018 Full Good 30/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC013613 2 06/12/2016 Full Good 21/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC013613 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 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

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that monitoring systems are linked to enable the registered manager to effectively analyse and evaluate the information. 31/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25(2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the internal fire risk assessment should be in a format where hazards and actions are clear. The document should also reflect the advice and feedback from the external consultant 31/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and 30/01/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC013613 4 have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33(4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, supervision and appraisals should take place at the frequency outlined in the organisation‟s policy The registered person must keep under review and, as necessary, revise the home‟s child protection policies. (Regulation 34 (6))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, review content to ensure that it reflects changes in legislation. 30/11/2018

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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

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Requirement Due date

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 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; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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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 31/12/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC013613 5 parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45(1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(3)(4)(a)(b)(5))

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people benefit from living in a caring and stable environment. Staff have embraced the therapeutic approach that was introduced just over a year ago. Using the model, they focus on building relationships with the young people to gain their trust and develop attachments. The registered manager is an excellent role model for the approach and helps the staff to understand it and put it into practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people moving in do so in a planned way. Leaders and managers use referral information effectively to decide whether young people‟s needs can be met. Once a young person has moved in, written documentation provides the staff with clear guidance to follow. Acting as good parents would, staff consistently help the young people to make progress in all areas. For the majority of the young people, this has led to long-term successful placements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the young people well and understand their individual needs. Through the approach of staff, the young people experience consistent routines and structure. This includes encouraging and supporting the young people to access education. As a result, the young people know what is expected of them and respect the boundaries.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transition planning for young people who move out of the home is well organised. The registered manager is passionate about ensuring that new placements are suitable, and that young people are ready. Pre-arranged visits and collaborative working with the relevant agencies help to alleviate young people‟s anxieties and ensure that they move in a timely way.

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

Safeguarding of young people is imbedded in everyday practice. Led by managers, the staff strike a good balance between allowing the young people to take appropriate risks and preventing them from coming to any harm. The staff team is newly established. Although the staff have undertaken core and mandatory training, they are not fully up to date with all relevant safeguarding matters, such as in relation to Working Together 2018. The internal safeguarding policy has not been reviewed for over a year. While this is not good practice, inspectors did not identify any impact upon young people in terms of the response by staff to safeguarding matters.

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

Young people rarely go missing. On the odd occasion that they do, the staff diligently follow internal and external protocols to find them. Expressing genuine concern, they actively look for young people and keep in constant communication with the relevant Inspection report children‟s home: SC013613 6 agencies to ensure their safe return.

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

Staff and managers work closely with the internal clinical psychologist. Together, they help the young people to learn to cope and to manage their emotions. The staff also use dedicated sessions with the psychologist to understand the young people‟s complex needs and challenging behaviours.

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

The registered manager promotes a positive approach to behaviour management. Staff use de-escalation strategies effectively when responding to incidents and, as a result, restrictive physical intervention is very rarely used. When it is used, it is very low level and the staff and young people are provided with an opportunity to talk events through to see how such incidents can be avoided in the future.

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

The young people live in a safe environment. Health and safety arrangements and fire safety measures are kept under constant review by managers. Internal documents, including fire risk assessments, are informative, but contain historical information. This makes it difficult for the reader to see the most up-to-date hazards and actions. These documents also do not reflect recent advice from an external consultant.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is very experienced and holds a relevant qualification in leadership and management. Her child-focused approach is appreciated by the staff, who are very positive about her. She is a strong advocate for the young people, and continually and appropriately challenges the professional network to ensure that decisions are in young people‟s best interests.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is readily available and of good quality. Senior managers are responsive to the emerging needs of individual young people and they respond quickly by delivering bespoke training to help the staff to support the young people appropriately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff induction programme is effective; it quickly guides new staff into the culture and ethos of the home. The induction programme includes a mix of formal training and learning on the job, and helps new staff to develop the necessary skills and knowledge and to feel prepared to undertake their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of staff supervision has improved, and staff say that they feel supported. However, the frequency of meetings is not consistent with the home‟s procedure. This, coupled with the lack of annual reviews of staff performance, is a missed opportunity to improve practice and drive up standards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good oversight of the home. This includes using monthly feedback from the independent visitor to monitor the quality of care provided. However, the monitoring systems that are in place do not link together sufficiently. As a result, the report written by the registered manager, following a review of the quality of care, lacks analysis, evaluation and intended actions. The registered manager has recognised this Inspection report children‟s home: SC013613 7 and is looking at a new system for tracking the young people‟s outcomes. She is also considering how to improve her monitoring of management tasks.

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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: SC013613 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cornerways Children‟s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ashcombe Court, Woolsack Way, Godalming, Surrey GU7 1LQ

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Inspector

Amanda Harvey: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC013613 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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