Children's home run by Enhanceable in Kingston upon Thames

Inspection report children’s home: SC490136 1 SC490136 Registered provider: EnhanceAble

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

 EnhanceAble, a registered charity and not-for-profit organisation, commissioned by Achieving for Children (on behalf of the local authority) provides this short- break service for up to two children at a time.  In its statement of purpose, the provider states that care is intended for children who have learning disabilities, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, sensory impairment and/or physical disabilities.  The registered manager was registered by Ofsted in September 2018.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 12 October 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC490136 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/10/2017 Full Outstanding 30/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/08/2016 Full Good 04/03/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC490136 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 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

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 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 because 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 parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(3)(4)(a)(b)(5)) 31/03/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC490136 4 The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, verify the reason why previous employment ended whenever possible and obtain proof of relevant qualifications. 28/02/2019

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 . (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8) Specifically, ensure that the plan is updated.

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Specifically, attend to cleaning in some areas of the building, review some notices which appear institutional, consider redecoration internally and replacing marked carpets.

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Recommendations

 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) Inspection report children’s home: SC490136 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy good-quality short breaks in a positive and friendly home. They experience a wide range of activities, with regular trips to places of interest. Parents said they appreciate that their children experience some activities that they may not be able to provide themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s communication skills improve as they get used to the staff and each other. Staff use a variety of communication methods to ensure that they understand children’s needs. Children’s views are clearly respected and acted upon. For example, staff arrange quiet activities to suit those who find noisy environments upsetting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children practise skills to help them become as independent as possible. Some are now able to perform a number of personal care skills themselves without staff assistance. A parent said that they are very happy with the independence skills their child has learned and which are ‘improving life at home’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A social worker finds the service has been ‘beneficial in getting the child to socialise’ and to ‘manage the transition from home’. In some cases, children’s behaviour becomes less challenging. For example, a social worker said that a child they placed can now communicate how they feel rather than display challenging behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Mealtimes are ‘family’ occasions, which children and staff enjoy together at the table. Children can be sure that their favourite foods will appear at mealtimes. However, staff successfully encourage children to try new foods to broaden their diet. As a result, some children now eat more regular portions and healthier meals, both during their stay and when at home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The main shortfalls highlighted by this inspection, regarding the appearance of the building and insufficient staffing, do not appear to have affected the quality of children’s short breaks.

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

This service has a good track record of keeping children safe and is very child-focused. Incidents are few and well managed by staff; these tend to concern children’s complex health needs. A social worker commented, ‘Children are kept safe and the staff prioritise children.’

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

Parents value the service and trust the staff to keep their children safe. Children are relaxed and at ease in the home, choosing their favourite activities and enjoying time with staff. A parent described what they like about the home: ‘Good, thorough handover information. They make sure they have appropriate pairings of children staying together. Friendly, approachable staff that really care for the children.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC490136 6 To ensure that staff have current information about each child’s needs, they contact families before each visit and assess any risks to children well. They make plans to keep children safe, for example regarding how they would evacuate the building in the event of an emergency. Medication – often quite complex – is safely administered.

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

Staff are fully aware of children’s vulnerability due to their disabilities. As a result of close staff supervision, no children have gone missing from the home or when out on activities. However, staff do prepare for such an event, taking detailed descriptions of children with them on outings, which could be shared with the police.

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

Children are encouraged to behave well. Staff implement children’s behaviour management plans effectively. Staff use praise and reward, looking at the reasons behind any behaviour. Sanctions are not deemed appropriate because of the children’s limited understanding of these.

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

New staff are generally carefully vetted to make sure that they are suitable to work with vulnerable children. However, on one file there was no verification of why the staff member had left their last employment nor copies of relevant qualifications, which would be an additional check.

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

There has been a turnover of staff during this inspection year. The former registered manager resigned, and an experienced senior was appointed to the role. Currently, there is no senior to deputise in the registered manager’s absence. Some staff have been recruited recently but vacancies remain in the staff team.

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

The new registered manager has worked very hard to cover shifts so that staff shortages and sickness did not affect the quality of children’s care and experiences. However, prioritising the children’s care has limited the time available for her to perform some managerial tasks, such as reviewing the service. This situation has also limited her work towards gaining a level 5 qualification.

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

Parents and professionals are generally pleased with staff communication. Some social workers said that they would like automatic feedback following each child’s stay and clearer communication about whether children’s initial tea visits will result in the offer of a short break.

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

One recommendation made at the last inspection has not been met. Partly because of the uncertainty over the home’s future, redecoration has not taken place. The appearance of some parts of the home has deteriorated, some damaged furniture requires repair and a few areas would benefit from cleaning.

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

The second recommendation made at the last inspection, to create a workforce development plan, has been met. However, this has not been updated. Inspection report children’s home: SC490136 7 Families are encouraged to bring items from home to personalise the bedrooms their children stay in. Children choose bedlinen when they arrive, but consequently the bedrooms do not look inviting when children first enter.

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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: SC490136 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 13 Geneva Road, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey KT1 2TW

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Inspector

Jacqueline Graves, social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC490136 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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