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Inspection report children’s home: SC036917 1 SC036917 Registered provider: Royal Borough of Greenwich

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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 local authority home provides care and accommodation for up to five young people who have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 2007.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 26 to 27 February 2019

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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 good

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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: 10 October 2017

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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: SC036917 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/10/2017 Full Outstanding 28/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/11/2016 Full Outstanding 29/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC036917 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— 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 (3)(a)(b)) 30/06/2019

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Recommendations

 Children’s homes should be nurturing and supportive environments that the meet the needs of 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)

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Recommendations

In particular, young people’s bedroom decoration should be regularly refreshed.

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Recommendations

 All children’s case records must be kept up to date. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Recommendations

In particular, young people’s risk assessments must include all risk information.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people receive highly effective individualised care from managers and staff who understand their needs very well. As a result, young people have positive experiences in the home, grow in confidence and make excellent progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Progress includes improved emotional regulation, fewer self-harming behaviours and reduced episodes of missing from care. Young people regularly receive awards and professional recognition for their outstanding achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people show an extraordinarily positive attitude to their education. A virtual Inspection report children’s home: SC036917 4 school headteacher said, ‘Staff are very clear around education being a priority which they promote to the young people. Staff keep them enthusiastic about education, their aspirations and outcomes.’ Consequently, young people are motivated and have excellent attendance at their schools and colleges.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people respond positively to the love and care around them provided by the staff team. Their bedrooms are highly personalised and there is a genuinely warm and convivial atmosphere in the home. Young people feel like they are part of a family, building trusting relationships and secure attachments to the adults that support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people’s voices are heard. The home’s ‘you said we did’ list captures young people’s requests. Staff have actioned recent requests for a bigger television in the lounge, changing the staff shift handover time so it doesn’t clash with young people returning home from school, a larger food budget and all-inclusive leisure passes. This increases young people’s sense of ownership in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people are very comfortable in their home. Their family and friends regularly visit. Young people enjoy making and sharing meals, and they celebrate birthdays and other special occasions together in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Preparation for adulthood is a focus of the home. The home’s independent living programme successfully develops young people’s independence skills, and they learn to take care of themselves. Staff also provide an exceptional outreach service to young people when they move on. This highly valued support helps to ensure that young people’s welfare continues to be promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people enjoy a variety of group and individual activities. The home’s annual one- week summer holiday is a highlight alongside trips abroad, golf lessons, paintballing, trips to the cinema and pampering sessions, which all enhance young people’s experiences. One young person recently enjoyed his first trip to the theatre.

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

Young people receive good support to help manage any health or well-being concerns. Staff make prompt referrals to the appropriate professionals when required and successfully encourage young people to attend their appointments.

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

Where possible, young people receive a planned transition to the home. They visit the home prior to placement and are then personally welcomed by the other young people at the residents’ meeting. Young people sign a ‘contract’ when they arrive at the home. This clearly sets out how staff will support them, along with the home’s behaviour expectations, boundaries, and consequences if these are broken.

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

Good risk management strategies ensure that the staff are aware of the specific risks to each young person and the actions that they must take to protect them. However, one risk assessment did not contain an explicit reference to the risk of substance misuse. Despite this, young people are kept safe and said that they feel safe. Inspection report children’s home: SC036917 5 The registered manager carefully considers each new referral. The home’s ‘matching matrix’ takes into account any risks and the potential impact on the young people already living in the home. This helps to ensure placement stability for all the young people in the home.

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

However, since the last inspection, there have been two occasions when young people’s referral information lacked the necessary detail, and this resulted in some short-term placement instability. The independent visitor reported, ‘It was a stressful time in the home.’ The registered manager has addressed this lack of essential referral detail with the placing authority.

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

The highly accessible and age-appropriate young people’s guide has been imaginatively developed by a previous care leaver. The resourceful registered manager is developing a ‘looked after’ pack for young people in the home. The meaning of care orders and explanations of the acronyms used in social care are intended to help reduce young people’s anxieties when they move into the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC036917 6

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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: SC036917 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Royal Borough of Greenwich

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Children’s Services, The Woolwich Centre, 35 Wellington Street, London SE18 6HQ

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Inspector

Victoria Jones, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC036917 8 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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