Children's home run by Action for Children in Watford

Inspection report children’s home: SC432331 1 SC432331 Registered provider: Action for Children

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A charity operates this short-break home. The home provides a residential short-break service for up to six children at any time. The children have learning disabilities, and some have additional complex physical and health-related needs. The experienced and suitably qualified registered manager has been in post since 2011.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 27 to 28 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: 29 November 2017

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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: SC432331 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2017 Full Good 02/11/2016 Full Good 22/06/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/02/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC432331 3

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Recommendations

 Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, provide clear and consistent guidance for the safe storage of oxygen; ensure that personal emergency evacuation plans are individual to each child; and undertake a night-time fire evacuation practice.  Any home using closed-circuit television (CCTV) or other monitoring equipment should have a written policy describing how this will support the safeguarding and well-being of those living and working in the home in accordance with regulation 24. Homes must gain consent to any monitoring or surveillance by the placing authority in writing at the time of placement. The use of CCTV is

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Recommendations

regulated by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and the Surveillance camera code of conduct (Home Office 2013). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  Staff need the knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate a child is in any way at risk of harm. The registered person should ensure that skills in safeguarding are gained, refreshed and recorded in the home’s workforce plan. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12)  Ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Record information on individual children in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4.)  To establish whether an existing qualification is equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma

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Recommendations

for Residential Childcare; the registered person should check whether the existing qualification has appeared in previous children’s homes legislation or National Minimum Standards. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 68, paragraph 1.1)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The short-break service has undergone major change this year. The number of children who use the service has grown, and the children have significantly more complex needs. The manager and staff have worked exceptionally closely with parents and partner professionals to make this change a success. The manager has ensured that staff have a Inspection report children’s home: SC432331 4 comprehensive understanding of the children’s needs and are competent to deliver the bespoke care packages required. As a result, the children maintain optimum health during their stay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Meticulous planning before children begin to use the short-break service ensures that staff can meet their complex needs. A professional referred to a ‘really tight transition process’ that is individually tailored to each child and their family. The staff use social stories and regular tea visits to prepare children for the transition to the service. Consequently, the children settle well and do not become overly anxious or distressed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children really enjoy their short breaks and look forward to their stay. One child said, ‘It’s brilliant. I would absolutely recommend this place.’ The children enjoy seeing their friends and some plan their short breaks to spend time together. The children said that one of the best things is the wide variety of activities on offer; the staff do not let the children’s disabilities hold them back. The children have enjoyed meals out, cinema trips, and visits to London, theme parks and the National Space Centre. Some children have even had the opportunity to try skiing or to enjoy a short-break holiday with their peers. These are things that many of the children would not normally have the opportunity to experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff help children to develop their awareness of the world around them through sensory-based activities. All of the children enjoy the well-equipped sensory room. One child sat delightedly giggling for a long time while they played with a bubble machine and sensory light string and explored Christmas-scented pinecones with the assistance of the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The enthusiastic staff have consistently high aspirations. They are highly child focused and nurture the children, showing them love and attention. One staff member stepped forward as a foster carer to prevent a young person living with strangers. This young person said, ‘It was so nice to know that I was loved and wanted like that.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is a very inclusive service in which every staff member promotes each child’s ability to express their thoughts, wishes and feelings at whatever level they can. The staff seamlessly switch from supporting older more able and articulate young people to helping children who have profound disabilities make decisions and choices. For example, the children take their photo and stick it on the door of the bedroom that they want to stay in. Alternative communication systems are embedded into the service to provide information or to assist the children to express themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager is responsive to changing family needs. The staff support families in crisis through the provision of extra short breaks and share communication and behaviour strategies. A partner professional said, ‘The team [has] always had a strong knowledge of the children they support and demonstrate a real commitment to giving each child the very best possible experience.’ Another professional said, ‘There’s always a really strong feeling of warmth in the place. This is conveyed across the whole staff group. The staff all seem exceptionally caring and committed.’ Because of the support that the staff offer, the service makes a real difference for these children and their families well beyond their Inspection report children’s home: SC432331 5 short-break stay.

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

The children feel safe and trust the staff. A child said, ‘There’s never been a moment when I’ve ever felt that they are not doing everything that they can for me.’ The relationships that the staff have with the children mean that there is a very warm atmosphere in the home and always someone the children can turn to.

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

The staff are fully aware that keeping children safe is their core duty. The staff receive training in safeguarding, but this does not cover the needs of disabled children. Consequently, there is the potential for staff not to be alert to the issues that can increase disabled children’s vulnerabilities.

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

Many parents were extremely reticent about their child having short breaks at the service. One parent said, ‘I was incredibly frightened about [my child] going there, but that’s totally changed.’ Many parents did not believe that the staff would be able to meet their child’s complex needs. However, parents consistently described how the calm, reassuring approach of the staff and the attention to detail in planning stays completely won them around. As a result, parents have absolute faith in the staff and are confident that they have their child’s best interests at heart.

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

Effective collaborative working arrangements promote children’s welfare. For example, specialist health professionals have worked exceptionally closely with the manager. The manager knows that medication management and the delivery of complex care is an area of risk. She has ensured that the staff are well trained and have the knowledge, skills and competence to meet the children’s complex health needs.

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

The staff actively challenge the use of environmental restraints, such as high-sided beds, as part of admission planning. Consequently, many of the children are safely supported at the home with much less intrusive support than they have previously experienced. When there is a clear safety need, the use of any restrictive or intrusive equipment is agreed and documented in the child’s care plan. The home does sometimes use audio monitors to alert staff to children’s epileptic seizures. However, there is no written policy on the use of these measures to ensure transparency and that children’s dignity is not potentially unnecessarily undermined.

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

The building is well maintained, and the current building works to extend the service have been very well planned to maintain safety and minimise disruption. Fire systems are well maintained and effective. The staff discuss emergency planning on each shift. However, there is a lack of clarity about the best storage of a small oxygen cylinder. The children’s emergency evacuation plans are not sufficiently personalised, and no night- time fire drill has been undertaken. This means that some staff have not practised how to quickly and successfully evacuate the children from their bedrooms at night in an emergency. Inspection report children’s home: SC432331 6

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides enthusiastic and effective leadership. She works closely with the senior team to ensure that the service is consistently well managed. The manager and the senior leadership team aspire to provide a very child-centred service, and this ethos is threaded throughout the short-break service. However, the manager has not maintained the previous level of oversight of some of the documentation, and one recommendation from the previous inspection has not been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are well supported and highly motivated through regular team meetings and supervision. As a result, reflective practice is embedded. Staff changes are few and staffing levels are high. This allows staff to spend valuable time supporting each of the children and to develop a comprehensive knowledge of the children’s individual needs. The staff said that they really enjoy their work; this shines through. The staff all spoke warmly about the children, highlighting their strengths and personalities. This nurturing atmosphere is valued by the children and their parents. A professional said, ‘I’m really impressed with the service. The staff have been absolutely amazing. The team has a definite can-do attitude.’ Another professional said, ‘I would always sing their praises. They [the staff] are amazing. I can’t speak highly enough of them.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff benefit from comprehensive training arrangements, which help them to gain the proficiencies and confidence needed to carry out the highly skilled complex care tasks that they perform daily. The staff individually present as knowledgeable and operate at an enhanced level. However, staff have not received training in safeguarding disabled children. There is no clear mapping of knowledge when the manager considers a qualification to be equal to the level 3 diploma for residential childcare. This means that there is potential for the manager to wrongly assume levels or aspects of staff knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff generally maintain good-quality records. However, on occasion there is not enough attention to detail. For example, staff induction records are not always fully completed to reflect work undertaken. One staff recruitment record does not contain copies of professional qualifications, and one child’s records do not state the legal arrangements for their placement. This means that important information is not consistently clearly documented.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC432331 7 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: SC432331 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Action for Children

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford WD18 8AG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Shelagh Frankcom

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Inspector

Joanna Heller: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC432331 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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