Children's Home run by SWAAY Child & Adolescent Services Ltd in Bracknell Forest

Inspection report children’s home: SC431806 1 SC431806 Registered provider: SWAAY Child and Adolescent 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 owned and operated by a private organisation that specialises in the assessment and treatment of male adolescents who have experienced some form of abusive situation. The overall aim of the service is to offer four young people the opportunity to embark on specialised educational and therapeutic training programmes within a safe, supportive and nurturing environment.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 20 July 2016.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 21 to 22 November 2018

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 24 January 2018

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC431806 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/08/2016 Full Outstanding 14/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/10/2015 Full Outstanding 16/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC431806 3

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people are happy and settled at the home. Staff provide nurturing care which supports the young people to develop self-esteem and confidence. Young people make excellent progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff listen to the young people’s wishes and feelings, respond and are strong advocates on their behalf. Regular house meetings give opportunities for the young people to have their voice heard, and to consider and reflect on the views of others. Young people have access to independent advocates. Staff have recently been instrumental in supporting one young person to access an advocate to help him to express his views about future plans. The young people feel listened to and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff communicate sensitively, while keeping boundaries and challenging unacceptable behaviour. This demonstrates respect for the young people, who respond positively to the high-quality care they receive. As a result, the young people feel safe and enjoy excellent relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff are proactive in supporting the young people to develop their own interests, as well as providing new and exciting opportunities. Group activities are particularly valued by the young people, who enjoyed a successful activity-based summer holiday. This has helped improve the young people’s social skills and resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff support the academic progress of each young person and take pride in their achievements. Young people are well prepared for the start of the school or college day. There is good liaison between home, school, and support workers. Young people enjoy attending school or college and have an excellent attendance record.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Promoting independence is integral to placement planning and is a strength of the home. Staff actively encourage the young people to develop age-appropriate independent living skills. For example, all the young people are supported to cook one evening meal a week and have daily incentivised chores and tasks. This helps prepare them well for their adult lives. Inspection report children’s home: SC431806 4

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

Staff develop warm and nurturing relationships with the young people. They help equip the young people to become more assertive, and the young people are taught how to identify feelings and name unsafe situations. Staff recognise that helping the young people to name risk makes them safer.

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

There is a strong emphasis on helping the young people to accept responsibility for conduct without experiencing this as shameful. Sanctions are rarely used. Staff use a restorative approach and encourage the young people to repair relationships. For example, one young person made a cake for everyone to say sorry for a behaviour that disrupted the group. When the young people are unhappy or uncomfortable, they are relaxed in approaching staff for support. Feelings of other young people are given high priority, and this helps to resolve any issues. As a result, young people come to understand expectations, and endeavour to improve their behaviour.

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

Staff are knowledgeable about the developmental effect of disrupted attachments, neglect and trauma on the young people. Staff use an attachment-based parenting approach to nurture emphatic and attuned relationships. There has been no use of physical intervention since the last inspection.

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

A strength of the organisation is the provision of specialist therapeutic interventions to meet the specific needs of the young people. This is a well-developed, staged programme that provides the young people with individual and group therapy conducted by psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists. There are clear strategies to guide the staff in providing consistent, responsive support. This helps the young people to understand and reflect on their behaviours.

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

Plans are compiled and reviewed in collaboration with the staff and the therapy team. Staff ensure that risk assessments are kept up to date and are undertaken in consultation with the young people. Staff understand that this joined-up way of working promotes engagement and trust.

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

Staff are committed to partnership working with professionals and families. Social workers who were spoken to said that the staff communicate well with them and keep them informed and up to date. Staff support the young people with their family relationships. This includes the availability of family therapy, and staff supervising family visits. Staff understand the benefit of young people of maintaining links with their family and developing their sense of identity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The culture of the home is characterised by the manager’s high aspirations, and sense of pride in all the young people’s achievements. The staff have an excellent understanding of the needs of the young people. The support and care they give helps young people make progress in all aspects of their lives. Leaders are confident to challenge other Inspection report children’s home: SC431806 5 professionals appropriately to ensure that young people receive the services that they need. Relationships between the staff and the children are meaningful and sincere.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders provide good oversight of young people’s placement plans, which are linked to the placing authorities’ care plans. These are maintained to an exceptionally high standard. Achievable goals are set in consultation with young people and followed through in key-work sessions. The manager sets high expectations in relation to key- work sessions to help young people achieve their goals. Staff use a variety of creative methods to engage with young people. This is effective, as the young people readily participate in these sessions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff recruitment is generally good, as is the induction of new staff. However, there were some gaps in relation to safer recruitment. These included references that had not been verified, and a record of a new staff member’s full employment history that was not on the recruitment file seen during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is warm, welcoming and maintained to an extremely high standard. Bedrooms are personalised according to the young people’s preferences. The manager ensures that the staff also have a comfortable space in the office and staff bedroom. There is a well- equipped games room that works well as an additional space for the young people to relax and socialise. Throughout the home there are photographs of young people taking part in various activities. The care and attention to detail in the home provides a message to the young people that they matter, and that they are cared for by adults who place their safety and well-being at the heart of their practice.

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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: SC431806 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: SWAAY Child and Adolescent Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 591 London Road, Sutton, Surrey SM3 9AG

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Inspectors

Anne-Marie Davies, social care inspector Stephen Collett, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC431806 7 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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