Children's Home run by SureCare Residential Ltd in Essex

Inspection report children's home: SC462729 1 SC462729 Registered provider: Surecare Residential Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to four children who have experienced significant trauma resulting in a range of behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered in October 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 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: 27 November 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC462729 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/11/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/12/2017 Full Good 07/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/08/2016 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC462729 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are beginning to make good progress. The children have positive, trusting relationships with a staff team that understands children’s past traumas and the impact that traumas can have on their behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spoke positively about the staff and said that they enjoy spending time with them at the home and out on activities. Staff understand the importance of celebrating children’s achievements. Each child has an achievement file and photo album, which they can take with them when they leave the home. This means that children will have positive memories of their time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively encourage children to attend and engage in education. Two children are progressing well and have high attendance levels at school. However, one child, who was out of education for some time before coming to the home, still has no education placement. The manager has been proactive in trying to work with the placing authority. Despite the manager raising concerns, this has been a slow process. Consequently, the child is missing out on education, which will have an impact on their future life chances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individual plans are informative and regularly reviewed by staff. Children are involved in and understand their plans. However, children’s paperwork is not signed or dated by the author. Consequently, the records lack clarity and accountability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel valued and listened to. Children attend weekly house meetings, during which a wide variety of topics are discussed. Actions from previous meetings are read out so that children know that their views have been listened to and acted on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When appropriate, and in consultation with the social worker, children are supported to have contact with their friends. Children benefit from valuable opportunities to build and maintain friendships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that they are involved in choosing the decor for the house and their bedrooms. However, the main areas of the house are sparse. The dining room has no furniture and the lounge would benefit from being made homelier. The staff have begun to put photos of the children around the home, but it lacks a warm, nurturing feel.

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

Children said that they feel safe, because they can talk to the staff if they are worried or upset and that staff listen to and help them.

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

Staff have been proactive in ensuring that children have advocates when the children do not agree with plans that have been made for them. Children have appropriate support to challenge their plans and make their views known. Sanctions are fair and proportionate. Staff reward children for positive behaviours. This Inspection report children's home: SC462729 4 reinforcement lets children know that staff recognise when they have done well.

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

Physical interventions have decreased since the last inspection and mainly relate to one child. Records have improved since the last inspection. Children benefit from a debriefing that is followed up by a key-work session. This means that children have the opportunity to recognise unwanted behaviours and receive help to try strategies to manage their behaviour more positively.

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

Staff challenge unwanted behaviours and reinforce boundaries. They understand the need for consistency with the children and are able to de-escalate potentially difficult behaviours.

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

Children have comprehensive individual risk assessments. These assessments are reviewed and updated after an incident. Regularly reviewed and updated risk assessments help the staff to work consistently and to keep children safe.

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

Fire equipment checks are not carried out regularly. This means that issues may not be identified and rectified in a timely way.

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

A child said that, at times, she feels bullied. The staff are aware and have spoken to her. However, there are no records in the bullying log of the behaviour or the actions taken by staff. Consequently, there is a lack of information about the way in which incidents have been managed. This makes it difficult to monitor practice to ensure that the child feels supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Eight requirements from the last inspection have been met and one will be repeated. Two recommendations have been met and one will be repeated. The manager has made great improvements to the paperwork systems since the last inspection. Consequently, staff have a better understanding when completing paperwork and can better evidence children’s progress. The manager recognises the strengths of the home and areas for further development. The manager and deputy have a clear vision for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision that supports them to work with the children effectively and enables each staff member’s personal development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have undertaken the organisation’s mandatory training. However, four staff members have not achieved a relevant level 3 qualification within the required timescale. Consequently, not all staff are suitably qualified to work at the home. The directors have written to staff who have not achieved the qualification within the timescales, to reiterate the requirement to hold a relevant level 3 diploma.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals and parents said that the manager is committed to the children and works hard to support their progress. There is clear evidence that the manager confidently raises issues with professionals if she feels that actions, or proposed actions, are not in the best interests of a child. Inspection report children's home: SC462729 5 Inspection report children's home: SC462729 6

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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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority. ( Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(vi)(vii)) 24/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on–

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable: and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(xii)(xiii) 24/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the requirements of the 06/05/2019 Inspection report children's home: SC462729 7 Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, carry out regular fire checks and make a record of the checks. For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained–

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the Level 3 Diploma’); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1 April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1 April 2014, 1 April 2016. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b)(5)(a)(b)) 25/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which–

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 06/05/2019

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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. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report children's home: SC462729 8

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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: SC462729 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Surecare Residential Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 13a Apton Road, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire CM23 3SP

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Inspectors

Trish Palmer, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC462729 10 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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