Children's Home run by Surrey County Council in Surrey

Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 1 SC370703 Registered provider: Surrey County Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This service is owned and run by the local authority, providing care and accommodation for up to 20 children who have learning disabilities for either long-stay and/or short breaks.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 9 April 2013.

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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: 16 November 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/11/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/05/2017 Full Good 16/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 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 compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (‘the statement of purpose’) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. The registered person must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI. The registered person must— keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1)(2)(3)(a)(b)) 31/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; a child protection enquiry involving a child— is instigated; or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. A notification made under this regulation— must include details of— the matter; the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter; must be made or confirmed in writing.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)(5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 31/03/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 4 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. In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating— the quality of care provided for children; the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. 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 as a result of the quality of care review (‘the quality of care review

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Requirement Due date

report’). The registered person must— 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 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. 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

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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. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and relaxed in this home and are making good progress in all aspects of their lives. They enjoy a safe environment in which they feel valued. Their individual differences are celebrated and nurtured. Staff spend quality time with the children individually and as a group, so that they are able to develop secure relationships, which lay the foundation for the children to learn to trust the adults who care for them. Children grow in confidence and self-esteem as they develop trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Written assessments, which detail whether the staff and services can meet a child’s needs prior to their arrival, are available, and the information is used to develop the child’s care plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who stay here for short breaks are prepared well to come and stay. Children reach a time that they feel ready to stay overnight at a pace which works for them and their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children extremely well and understand their anxieties, worries and ambitions. Consequently, they have a good understanding of why the children behave the way they do and know how to support and nurture them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Communication between staff and other professionals is regular and meaningful. This results in staff being well equipped to support children in all aspects of their health and education and to celebrate their achievements. One child spoke enthusiastically about her achievements in school, and positively glowed when talking about a certificate she had received.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff watch and listen carefully to children, demonstrating that their views and ideas really matter. Children’s wishes influence decisions made by managers and staff in relation to the decoration of the home, planned activities and the meals children eat, in addition to the detailed planning for children’s care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home does not present a homely and welcoming environment. Some decorations are shabby and insufficient timely action has resulted in one young person’s bedroom remaining undecorated and damaged for an unacceptable period of time.

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

Staff provide warm and friendly care in a safe and nurturing environment. Staff have good knowledge of safeguarding procedures. The manager has ensured that staff receive a broad range of relevant safeguarding training, which extends their knowledge appropriately. Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 6 The staff’s vigilance, awareness and close supervision ensure that children are kept safe in the home and while using the local area. Children are given the opportunity in the home to have time to themselves. Staff are risk-aware, not risk-averse. Children do not go missing from the home. Staff demonstrated an awareness of the home’s policy and procedures to use, should such an event occur.

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

Staff manage children’s behaviour well. Their knowledge of children’s needs and their responsive attitudes demonstrate that they are attuned to individual children’s methods of communication, their likes and their dislikes. Individualised assessments detail the risks associated with each child and outline, with clear guidance, the measures to be used by staff to protect children from harm.

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

Staff are trained in the safe use and delivery of physical intervention. Staff are able to defuse incidents calmly and skilfully before they escalate, thus reducing the necessity for physical intervention.

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

Meticulous attention to matters of health and safety promotes children’s welfare and provides a safe environment for everyone. Managers and staff undertake fire alarm checks and drills regularly and equipment is regularly maintained.

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

Good planning, including matching children who are compatible with each other, reduces the risk of serious incidents occurring.

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

Recruitment processes are robust, ensuring that those who work with children are fit to do so.

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

The manager has not ensured that Ofsted is informed of updates to safeguarding concerns. A requirement has been made in this regard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has suitable experience, qualifications and skills for the role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the children extremely well and her presence in the home is noticed and valued by staff and children. The manager has a clear vision to drive improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive effective and purposeful supervision, which supports them to respond to children’s needs and provides space for reflection and learning. Staff are suitably trained and have relevant experience to care for children with learning difficulties. One staff member said that, in addition to core training, specialist training is provided which is particular to children’s specific needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Relationships with external professionals are positive and provide a forum for meaningful discussions about children’s progress, in addition to providing a useful arena for staff to advocate and challenge on behalf of children. One teacher said that she welcomes the opportunity to share information about children’s progress at school and receive Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 7 information from staff about factors in children’s lives which may influence their demeanour and progress in school.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External monitoring visits take place monthly and are suitably challenging of practice. The registered manager values the external scrutiny and appropriately acts upon recommendations made. The manager’s internal monitoring of all aspects of the service is rigorous and comprehensive. However, a monitoring report has not been submitted to Ofsted since the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose is comprehensive and regularly reviewed, and appropriately describes the nature of the service and how this is provided. However, this has not been submitted to Ofsted as required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has successfully addressed the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection. Children’s risk assessments provide clear guidance to staff in relation to how to reduce and prevent harm. These are reviewed and updated appropriately. Transitions to and from the home are well managed. Independent visitor’s reports are submitted to Ofsted as required. Targets set for each child are specific and outcome-focused.

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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: SC370703 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Surrey County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Quadrant Court, 35 Guildford Road, Woking, Surrey GU22 7QQ

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Inspector

Jacqueline Georghiou, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC370703 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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