Children's Home run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Hampshire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC467155 1 SC467155 Registered provider: The Priory Group

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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 privately owned home is run by a large provider organisation. It is registered to care for up to four children who have learning disabilities, and focuses on caring for children who have complex needs that may include autism spectrum disorder and associated difficulties. The home is located on the edge of the provider‟s school campus, which all of the current residents attend.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered by Ofsted on 25 June 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 requires improvement to be 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: 26 February 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC467155 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/02/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 05/07/2017 Full Good 15/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 14/06/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC467155 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 prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out— (a) how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children‟s home; and (b) the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home. (Regulation 35(1)(a)(b)) 08/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out— how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children‟s home; and the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”) has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(b)(c)) 08/03/2019

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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. 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. Inspection report children‟s home: SC467155 4 („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 Each child‟s placement plan should set out the permissions that their placing authority has delegated to the registered person. This should provide clarity on the home‟s ability to give permission for school trips, sleep-overs or the child‟s involvement in sporting, leisure and cultural activities. Wherever possible the home should secure the appropriate authority to support children to be involved in the same positive activities as their peers. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 17, paragraph 3.22) In particular, placement plans should contain up-to-date information about children‟s religious preferences.

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to: respond to the health needs of children; administer basic first aid and minor illness treatment; help children to manage long-term conditions and where necessary meet specific individual health needs arising from a disability, chronic condition or other complex needs. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 34, paragraph 7.12) In particular, staff should have an awareness and knowledge of the effects of different types of prescribed medication for children.

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Recommendations

 The home‟s policies and procedures around the protection of children should reflect any requirements of other relevant legislation. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 44, paragraph 9.22)

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Recommendations

 Children should be encouraged by staff to see the home‟s records as „living documents‟ supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 58, paragraph 11.19) In particular, ensure that all records relating to children are produced in a format that is easily understood by children.

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Recommendations

 As set out in regulations 31-33, 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: good

Staff ensure that children make good progress at the home. Staff are compassionate and they genuinely care about the children. There are good relationships between staff and children. Children themselves have positive views about the care that they receive and know how to raise concerns. Positive quotes from children include: Inspection report children‟s home: SC467155 5  „Staff have turned me around.‟  „Staff talk to me and help me to walk away and calm down.‟  „I can sit with staff and tell them what‟s up.‟  „I have staff who look after me.‟  „Food is really nice.‟  „I can speak to [responsible individual] who is the boss of the houses.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The health needs of children are positively addressed by staff. Staff are alert to any subtle changes in children‟s presentation, and work well with partner agencies to review any ongoing or new health needs. Medication is subject to robust monitoring and review. However, staff are not always as knowledgeable as they could be about the different types, and effects, of prescribed medication given to children in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff compile a range of records that show in detail the progress that children are making. There is a wide range of recording systems. Some of these are lengthy and overly complicated. For example, children’s placement plans contain many pages of text. Although efforts have been made to simplify them, the plans remain difficult to read and the information is hard to digest.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is on a large site where there are also other registered children‟s homes and a school. The staff team has worked hard to make the home as non-institutionalised as possible. There are homely touches, and children‟s bedrooms are highly personalised. However, the front door to the home needs replacement or effective repair.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Cultural diversity is recognised and celebrated in the home. There has been some excellent work with children about helping them understand different customs and cultures. Children have really enjoyed sampling a range of cultural foods and learning about different ways of life. This enriches children‟s understanding of the world. Although care plans are clear with regards to meeting individual needs, there is some out-of-date information relating to a child‟s preferences with regards to religion.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that the home is safely maintained. They are vigilant to potential risks and also make sure that children are supervised at all times. As a result, there have been no incidents of children going missing from the home. Staff know what actions to take should this change.

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improvement to be good

The staff team is settled and there is no use of agency staff. There have been periods of staff absence and some staffing vacancies. These have been well managed, and when new staff have joined, there are appropriate systems in place to ensure that they are safely recruited. However, one staffing file that was checked did not evidence a thorough and detailed review of a person‟s previous employment history.

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improvement to be good

In August 2018, an incident occurred when staff used a non-approved physical intervention with a child. Furthermore, staff involved in the incident were not able to Inspection report children‟s home: SC467155 6 debrief appropriately with somebody who was not involved. This means that opportunities to fully, and objectively, review the incident have been lost.

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improvement to be good

Sanctions, where used, are appropriate. Staff use sanctions to encourage children‟s positive behaviour. However, some records lack required detail, and not all children are spoken to in the required timescales after these measures have been imposed. Complaints from children are rare, but when they do happen they are quickly and appropriately resolved.

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improvement to be good

The organisation‟s child protection policy relies on staff referring all child protection concerns to designated persons in the organisation. The decision to refer matters to statutory agencies lies with these persons. There is the risk that information could be lost, or misinterpreted, and these additional layers of decision-making could contribute to delays in passing relevant information to statutory bodies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2018, and prior to this date she had been managing the home since December 2017. Since she started at the home, improvements have been made and outcomes for children are positive. The manager has worked hard to build and maintain a stable and strong staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that children‟s voices are heard and that they are reflected in the home‟s operation. Children are regularly consulted, and their views have influenced the running of the home. There are continuing, and ambitious, plans for further improvement. The manager has a clear vision and awareness of the home‟s areas to improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager‟s own quality monitoring is good. The manager has worked hard to be visible and accessible to her staff team. For example, she visits the home in the early hours to spend time with the night staff and ensures that all colleagues feel valued. Although several improvement areas have been identified in this inspection, there are no indications of systemic failing or a lack of management oversight. Supervision of staff is regular and effective. The manager is well supported by the responsible individual. There is an appetite for further improvement, and children live in a home where their safety and welfare are promoted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff are trained effectively, and their knowledge and skills are regularly assessed. Regular team meetings focus on developing staff competence, and there are clear expectations with regards to professional standards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working is a key strength in the home. Comments from partner services are positive. These positive comments include:

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

 „[Managers] are very approachable and happy to listen when needed. They seem to have a good core of staff who work well together.‟ Inspection report children‟s home: SC467155 7  „I have witnessed a vast improvement in [child‟s] presentation and overall well- being since moving to this home from the previous setting.‟  „There is a good working relationship between school staff and the home which means that strategies and necessary information are shared consistently.‟

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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: SC467155 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Priory Education Services Limited, 80 Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UD

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Inspectors

Pete Hylton, regulatory inspection manager Joe Davys, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC467155 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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