Children's Home run by London Borough of Southwark in Southwark

Inspection report children’s home: SC031479 1 SC031479 Registered provider: London Borough of Southwark

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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 home is a local authority service. It provides short-break stays for up to five young people who have complex learning and/or physical disabilities and/or challenging behaviours. Young people usually stay from Monday to Friday or at weekends. The short-breaks service shares the premises with a similar service for adults. There is one registered manager for both the young people’s and adults’ services. All staff work across both provisions. The Care Quality Commission regulates and inspects the adult service.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s statement of purpose states that staff aim to improve the independence and life chances for young people by taking a multi-agency approach to ensure that they can reach their full potential and achieve positive life outcomes. The registered manager was registered with Ofsted in March 2014.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 31 October to 1 November 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 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: 19 February 2018

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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: SC031479 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/02/2018 Full Good 12/09/2017 Interim Not judged 22/02/2017 Interim Not judged 01/11/2016 Interim Not judged Inspection report children’s home: SC031479 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that young people’s ‘s individual case records contain up-to-date behaviour support plans that specifically refer to the support needs of theyoung person at times of crisis. 04/01/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC031479 4

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Recommendations

 The children’s home’s staff should seek to identify and provide appropriate opportunities for young people to develop themselves as part of the home’s plan for their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.4) Specifically, the registered person must ensure that written records of goals and targets set for young people include details of the young person’s achievements and progress, and provide evidence that such goals and targets are continually revised.  Young people who have disabilities can be disadvantaged and socially isolated from friends, especially if they attend a school which is not in their local community such as a residential special school. The registered person in a short-break setting should ensure that the short-break service offers the chance for young people to develop friendships, by carefully matching groups and, where possible, by arranging for young people to frequently stay with the

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Recommendations

same group. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 40, paragraph 8.20) Specifically, the registered person must ensure that overnight stays for young people are planned and given some priority over the competing need for emergency placements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make progress and enjoy safe, fun breaks in the home. Staff provide personalised, comprehensive and well-planned care that considers the individual welfare needs and wishes of young people and the views of their families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A parent commented: ‘The staff are fantastic. They have quickly grown to understand my daughter’s needs and behaviour. This has meant that I was comfortable when she recently enjoyed two consecutive overnight stays.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Behavioural management is good and young people experience positive stays. Young people often transfer to the home from a fostering short-break service when their behaviour becomes overly challenging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Outcomes for young people are positive. Staff gently push young people to achieve, progress and complete independent tasks for themselves. This supports young people’s positive and planned moves to the adult unit. However, evidence of this significant progress is often not recorded or clearly evidenced

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have developed positive relationships with the members of the staff team, Inspection report children’s home: SC031479 5 who know them well and prioritise making them feel safe and comfortable. Despite this, managers often have to juggle the planning of short-break stays together with the local authority’s need for emergency accommodation. As a result, planning of short breaks can be compromised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers are sensitive to the impact of young people’s support needs on each other and carefully match peer groups and ensure that sufficient staffing is in place to enable young people to socialise or have quieter places.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have good opportunities to engage in a range of activities both in the home and the local community. This supports their personal development and aids their independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Written records do not consistently support the, often significant, progress young people have made because of their short-break stay. Target-setting is not routinely in place. As a result, it is difficult to track a young person’s experiences and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s environment is of an outstanding quality. It is warm, welcoming and designed to the highest standard. This adds to the positive experiences or young people.

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

Young people receive good, safe care in a nurturing and stable environment from a staff team that is adept at understanding their complex needs. High staffing levels and care delivered by staff, who understand that individual behaviours are often due to communication difficulties, ensure that young people are kept safe from harm to themselves and their peers.

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

All staff are well trained in a number of appropriate safeguarding topics. They have good access to the procedures to follow in relation to any safeguarding concerns.

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

Individualised risk assessments and behaviour support plans cover all aspects of potential risks for each young person. The service works closely with education and parents on behaviour support plans, ensuring consistency for young people. However, when changes in behaviour occur, plans are not consistently reviewed and amended to reflect the change.

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

Physical intervention and sanctions are rare in this home. Staff prefer to use praise and diversion techniques as alternative methods. At times when physical intervention is necessary to keep young people and staff safe, this has been proportionate to the circumstances.

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

Young people stay in a protected and safe environment. Close supervision in the community ensures that there are no incidents of young people going missing. Good security systems ensure that there is no unauthorised access to the home. The location risk assessment covers potential risks in the immediate community. Inspection report children’s home: SC031479 6 The home is equipped to care for and meet the health and safety needs of young people during their short-break stay.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

At the time of the inspection, the home has an experienced and qualified registered manager. The registered manager is supported by two experienced deputy managers and together provide an effective and efficient service to young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive good-quality formal supervision and appraisals of their performance on a regular basis. Staff reported that they receive a good level of training which is adaptable to the changing needs of young people. Staff carry out their roles with a sense of commitment and confidence and link their training to the good care that they provide to young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Parents/carers who commented reported that they share good relationships and communication with the staff team. They all said that staff are approachable, supportive of them and ensure that the parents play a role in young people’s short-break experience.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is appropriately staffed and resourced to meets its statement of purpose. Staff come from a variety of backgrounds and can meet the needs of young people who have diverse and complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Admissions to the short-break service are well planned. Managers and staff carry out home and educational assessments on young people. The staff team works closely and in partnership with schools to ensure an integrated approach to providing young people with consistent care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are committed to developing a culture of improved outcomes and good-quality care for all young people who use the service. They described the staff team as ‘enablers’, who aspire for and enable young people to be the best they possibly can.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Reports from the independent visitor give good scrutiny of the service and play an important role in its future development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a detailed statement of purpose that informs young people and parents about the services provided.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC031479 7 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: SC031479 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Southwark Council, 2nd Floor, 160 Tooley Street, London SE1 2QH

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Inspector

Juanita Mayers, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC031479 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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