Children's Home run by Action for Children in Surrey

Inspection report children’s home: SC013743 1 SC013743 Registered provider: Action for Children Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home offers long-term care for up to 16 children who have profound and multiple disabilities, including communication difficulties, sensory impairment, complex health needs and challenging behaviour. The home is made up of three separate houses which cater for particular groups of children. There has been no registered manager since 1 July 2018.

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Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has improved effectiveness.

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young people since the most recent full inspection

A manager was appointed to the home last year but left before making a registration application to Ofsted. The organisation has made changes to the management arrangements and have appointed three managers. Two of these managers are in post and preparing to send in registration applications to Ofsted.

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young people since the most recent full inspection

Leaders, managers and staff, including those from the wider organisation, have effectively worked together to make significant improvements. The five requirements and two recommendations from the last inspection have been met.

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young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff continue to be ambitious about the care that they provide and liaise well with Inspection report children’s home: SC013743 2 other agencies such as schools to promote the consistency of children’s care. The changes to the kitchen in one part of the premises have enabled children with physical disabilities to be able to prepare and cook food when previously they could not. Parents remain very positive about the care provided and regularly send praise and thanks to staff.

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young people since the most recent full inspection

Plans for children’s admissions are good and support children to move in. Impact assessments have been improved and are completed before a child comes to live in the home. Some detail of the assessments is not recorded, for example the details of consultations with others. One assessment did not record whether any additional staff training was necessary to meet the child’s needs. However, an assessment occurred and training was provided.

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young people since the most recent full inspection

Leaders and managers continue to creatively find solutions to problems about having enough permanent staff. Their actions have:  significantly increased the number of permanent night-time staff  ensured that there is consistent use of a number of long-term agency staff to fill gaps  made changes to staff teams so that newer staff can learn from more experienced team members. Managers acknowledge that increasing the number of permanent staff is an ongoing challenge. They have instigated an open recruitment drive and changed how they recruit staff to achieve this aim.

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young people since the most recent full inspection

The changes to the environment since the last full inspection have improved the premises. The three residential units that make up the children’s home now appropriately meet children’s needs and are homelier. The significant number of health and safety concerns identified at the last inspection have been addressed. However, fire evacuation records do not always include the detail of who was present during the evacuation. The fire records also do not always show how issues identified as part of the evacuation are dealt with.

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young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff act on any safeguarding concerns appropriately. Nevertheless, the chronology of one safeguarding concern was sparse. A poor response from another agency to a safeguarding concern was not reflected on or used to consider how agencies may be challenged in the future. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that safeguarding practice is as good as possible and that other agencies take their responsibilities seriously.

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young people since the most recent full inspection

The workforce development plan has been improved. The document now provides full detail of all members of staff’s qualifications and training. Further work is needed to check that the staff are on track to complete their qualification within the specified timescales and records of how managers have decided that a member of staff’s qualification is equivalent to that required for residential childcare. Inspection report children’s home: SC013743 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/08/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/02/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/08/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. The Statement of Purpose is an important document in the process of care planning as it sets out the needs of children the home is set up and equipped to care for. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4) In particular, the registered person should ensure that impact assessments provide full detail of who they consulted during their assessment. The registered person should also ensure that the impact assessment provides detail of all actions they will adopt to mitigate risks and to meet children’s needs.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should oversee the welfare of the children in their care through observation and engagement with: each child; the home’s staff; each child’s family/carers where appropriate; and professionals involved in the care or protection of each child including their social worker, Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO), teachers, clinicians and other health professionals etc. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, pages 54 to 55, paragraph 10.23) In particular, the registered person should ensure that each chronology of a safeguarding concern contains all relevant information. The registered person should also ensure complete reviews of any significant safeguarding concerns and record how learning from these incidents has been taken forward.

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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 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should: • detail the necessary management and staffing structure, (including any staff commissioned to provide health and education), the experience and qualifications Inspection report children’s home: SC013743 4 of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s Statement of Purpose; • detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training (such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications); • detail the process for managing and improving poor performance; • detail the process and timescales for supervision of practice (see Regulation 33 (4) (b)) and keep appropriate records for staff in the home.

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Recommendations

The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4 and page 53, paragraph 10.8) In particular, the registered person should ensure that their workforce development plan clearly records how they have decided that a particular qualification is equivalent to those required for someone in a care role. The registered person should also ensure that the workforce development plan shows how each member of staff is managing to complete a relevant residential childcare qualification in an appropriate timescale. Inspection report children’s home: SC013743 5

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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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Action for Children

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford WD18 8AG

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Inspectors

Ruth Coler, social care inspector Liz Driver, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC013743 6 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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