Children's Home run by Quality Care Homes (UK) Limited in Slough

Inspection report children’s home: 1183799 1 Registered provider: Quality Care Homes (UK) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and can accommodate four young people up to the age of 18 years who have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 12 to 13 February 2019

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1183799 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/08/2017 Full Good 27/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 26/04/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1183799 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who–

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to–

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b), (2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that all maintenance work is carried out promptly and to a high standard. 30/04/2019

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children–

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14(1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that managers and staff set clear goals and track children’s progress and outcomes. 30/04/2019

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that–

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the 30/04/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1183799 4 registered person to–

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on–

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b), (2)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that the manager learns from incidents and incorporates the experiences of children into future work practice. Ensure that monitoring and analysis is used in the home to improve the quality of care for children.

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must–

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home. (Regulation 25(1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that all fire equipment is kept in good order. Ensure that appropriately skilled and competent professionals carry out a fire audit of the children’s home. Ensure that any outcomes are attended to as a matter of urgency. 31/03/2019

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments, 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 feel. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and Inspection report children’s home: 1183799 5 make best use of the information from independent and internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including

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Recommendations

the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  Children’s homes staff should seek to identify and provide appropriate opportunities for children to develop themselves in accordance with their wishes and feelings and as part of the home’s plan for their care. Each child’s talents and interests should be understood and nurtured, with children selecting activities based on their personal preferences and abilities, so far as is reasonable. Staff should also support children to try activities that are ‘new’ to them, where appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.4)  The registered person should ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities, both inside and outside of the home (where appropriate), and are encouraged to participate in those activities. Staff should support children to take part in school trips, out-of-school and other clubs, volunteering and leisure

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Recommendations

activities. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.5) Inspection report children’s home: 1183799 6

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in many areas. These include behaviour management, personal hygiene, living skills and education. However, staff do not record all aspects of children’s progress in the home’s records.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has worked hard to develop effective relationships with professionals and parents. Parents, teachers and social workers praised the manager and his team. All gave positive views about the care that children receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make choices with the help of communication boards and symbols. Staff seek their views on day-to-day decisions in the home, such as activities and menu planning. Children complete regular feedback questionnaires during key working. Staff work hard to engage children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and have positive relationships with staff. Staff are also very empathetic and show emotional warmth when talking about the children. The manager has a strong grasp of the individual needs of each child in the setting. The sensory room is a positive development. Children really enjoy using the space and interacting with the sensory equipment. However, staff told inspectors that a wider range of activities in the home would be beneficial to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff show commitment to delivering equal access for all. For example, children have visited local religious festivals and enjoy regular opportunities to engage with the wider community.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the risks faced by children. Risk management documents are clearly set out and known to all staff. Staff record information about presenting behaviours and associated management strategies.

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improvement to be good

Children are safe at the home. The local area has been effectively risk assessed, and staff have up-to-date safeguarding training. The team leader is a designated the risks faced by children. Risk management paperwork is clear. Staff record information about presenting behaviours and associated management strategies.

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improvement to be good

Children are safe at the home. The local area has been risk assessed. Staff have up to date safeguarding training. The team leader is a designated safeguarding lead. Anyone can report concerns without conflict of interest. Inspection report children’s home: 1183799 7 safeguarding lead, and staff can report any concerns about children to internal managers or to external bodies.

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improvement to be good

Staff clearly record all incidents of challenging behaviour, including all relevant information. There are some effective behaviour management strategies in place. Staff do not always reflect carefully on incidents that happen in the home. This means that there is a missed opportunity to use this reflection to improve practice.

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improvement to be good

The condition of the home environment needs improvement. There is evidence of significant wear and tear. For example, there are various areas of the home that are damaged. A redundant wire protrudes from a ceiling, a child’s curtain rail is damaged and there is a boarded-up window. The manager is not always ensuring that all maintenance work is completed and that the home is kept in good decorative order.

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improvement to be good

A noticeboard in the entrance of the home has some useful information for parents, carers, children and visitors. However, some of this information is technical and refers to in- house procedures. The display gives the home an institutional feel.

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improvement to be good

During the inspection, the fire alarm system was tested. The Staff record all incidents of challenging behaviours. Behaviour management strategies are in place. Staff should reflect on incidents that happen in the home. They could then use this learning to reduce future risks.

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improvement to be good

The condition of the home environment needs improvement. There is evidence of significant wear and tear. It appears the home may be having some difficulty keeping pace with this. The manager should improve the home environment. It is also important to reduce the institutional feel of the home. Inspection report children’s home: 1183799 8 manager was unable to silence the alarm due to a fault. This was repaired on the same day. A child’s bedroom door was significantly damaged. This is a fire door, and it needed repair to ensure that it gives adequate protection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good understanding of his role and responsibilities. He shows an enthusiasm and passion which the staff team share.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported and describe the manager as being open and accessible. Staff receive effective supervision. Training is comprehensive. The home benefits from access to the local authority’s online training resources. The manager also organises bespoke training for staff, when needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager reviews the home’s development plan each year. The manager carries out regular internal monitoring. The monitoring lacks critical thinking. External monitoring has not always been undertaking. The manager has taken steps to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff work in partnership with social care, health and education services. This gives the children a feeling of consistency as they move between home and school. Staff share information with other agencies when required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has improved the participation of children in decision-making at the home. The manager sees this as a critical area for future development. Inspection report children’s home: 1183799 9

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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 difference 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: 1183799 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Quality Care Homes (UK) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 6th floor, Amp House, Croydon CR0 2LX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Balwinder Randhawa

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Inspector

Peter Jackson, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1183799 11 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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