Children's home run by White Lodge Centre in Runnymede

Inspection report children’s home: SC013828 1 SC013828 Registered provider: White Lodge Centre

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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 children’s home provides short-break care for up to six children who primarily have physical and/or learning disabilities. The home is located on a multi-purpose site and it is operated by a large charitable organisation. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 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 requires improvement to be 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: 12 February 2019

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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: SC013828 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/08/2018 Full Good 12/12/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 26/04/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC013828 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

Case records must be kept— securely in the children’s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there; and in a secure place after the child has ceased to be accommodated in the home. (Regulation 36 (2)(c)(d)) 30/08/2019

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Recommendations

 Children must be consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.11)

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Recommendations

In particular, staff should have a system that demonstrates that they recognise and respond to the children’s complaints or concerns.  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. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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Recommendations

In particular, ensure that pre-admission impact risk assessments consider the likely impact on both the children already living at the home and the child moving in.  As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) In particular, ensure that there is sufficient emphasis in staff supervision on performance management and follow-up actions when shortfalls in practice are Inspection report children’s home: SC013828 4 identified.  Where there is a possibility that a child will run away or go missing from a children’s home placement, their placement plan should include a strategy to minimise this risk.

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Recommendations

If the child is looked-after, their care plan (arranged by their placing authority) should include such a strategy. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9,24)

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Recommendations

In particular, ensure that each child has an individualised missing risk assessment that includes steps to minimise this risk.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children look forward to their stays at the home. One parent described how her son had run all the way to the home, in excitement. Families and professionals describe a welcoming environment, a place where the children spend time with their friends and enjoy the many experiences on offer.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive consistent and supportive care during their stay. Close links with schools and families ensure that close communication is maintained. This provides the children with continuity across these environments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A strength at the home is the staff focus on helping the children to communicate, and proactive support for the children who are non-verbal to express their needs. There is a good use of social stories, and individualised communication schedules. Promoting children’s choices, however small, is well embedded in the staff’s practice. Consequently, children feel listened to and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are good at recognising the signals that children express to indicate their feelings, wishes and needs. Staff create opportunities for the children to take part in day-to-day decisions and to voice their views. Staff respond to children’s requests and recognise if a child is unhappy or wants to make a complaint. However, there is no recording system in place to capture this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is careful consideration and planning of activities to ensure that the children make the most of their time at the home. Staff base this on their knowledge of the children’s needs, and what they know the children enjoy. Some of this is innovative, such as participation in a superhero disability sport event planned for the summer. Staff recognise that engagement in the wider community helps the children to develop independence and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consider how they can meet a new child’s needs before their arrival at the home. However, there are no assessments that consider the impact that a new child will have on the existing group of children. This is a missed opportunity to record how all children’s needs might affect this child and vice versa. Inspection report children’s home: SC013828 5

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

Staff respond and interact with the children in an attuned and nurturing manner. Children are treated with dignity and respect, and their uniqueness is valued. The day- to-day needs of the children are well met by staff. Staff provide children with routine, play time, personal space and enjoyable mealtimes. As a result, children are comfortable and relaxed in the presence of staff and each other.

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

Staff understand that some children communicate their feelings through their behaviour. Staff pick up on the smallest of signals of what the children are communicating. As a result, children have a sense of being understood and agency.

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

Child protection incidents are shared with the appropriate agencies and reported in accordance with statutory guidelines. New local authority safeguarding procedures have strengthened this. Staff are confident to know what to do if they have a concern about a child.

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

Risk assessments and care plans are reviewed to reflect the changing needs of the children. Strengths and vulnerabilities are identified and understood well by the staff. A vigilant and proactive response from the staff reduces risk for the children.

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

Staff rarely use physical intervention and no child has gone missing from the home. Specific guidance about what the staff should do if a child goes missing does not form part of individual risk assessments. While this has not impacted on the children’s welfare, it does not provide staff with helpful direction about what to do, if this should occur.

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

Daily care records do not reflect the work that is undertaken with the children. This information is recorded in the children’s communication books, which are not held within the home. This means that the children may lose this information, which represents a significant contribution to their life history.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has submitted his resignation to Ofsted. A new manager has been appointed who will take up the position in September 2019. Interim arrangements are adequate, with an experienced coordinator overseeing the day-to-day running of the home, supported by the leadership team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The changes in the home’s management have led to a period of insecurity in the staff team. This has been further exacerbated by a lack of strong management and leadership oversight, preceding the registered manager’s resignation. The absence of robust leadership has had the potential to undermine the quality of care the children received.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff supervision needs to be strengthened, with a greater emphasis on the children’s progress, performance management and follow-up actions when shortfalls in practice are identified. Inspection report children’s home: SC013828 6 The home is a welcoming environment with a large landscaped sensory garden. There are lots of good resources available for the children to have fun, socialise and relax. However, the bedrooms would benefit from some personalisation, especially for children who stay more regularly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The coordinator and leaders have embarked on a process of improving and developing the service. Strengths, weaknesses and priority areas for improvement have been identified and approaches to addressing these are being developed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Child-centred care plans are clear and relevant. The coordinator and leaders are developing a system for tracking the children’s outcomes. New plans break down goals into manageable steps which can be measured and reviewed more effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is appreciated by professionals and families who speak highly about the support and care the children receive. Despite some shortcomings in management oversight, a value-led culture permeates throughout the home. Staff interact and respond to the children with kindness and acceptance.

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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: SC013828 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: White Lodge Centre, White Lodge, Holloway Hill, Lyne, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 0FA

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Inspector:

Anne-Marie Davies, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC013828 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 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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