Children's home run by Cornerways Children’s Services Limited in Reigate and Banstead

Inspection report children’s home: SC014848 1 SC014848 Registered provider: Cornerways Children’s Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is one of two children’s homes owned and run by a private company that also operates a fostering agency and a school. It has accommodation for up to six children. The service also provides individual children with support from therapists.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since 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 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: 18 December 2018

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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: SC014848 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/12/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 26/06/2018 Full Good 20/02/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/03/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC014848 3

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Recommendations

 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, all new staff should receive a well-organised induction, regular supervision and ongoing continual professional development.  All staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. As part of the performance management process, poor performance should be addressed by a timely plan to bring about improvement. (‘Guide to the children’s homes

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Recommendations

regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers take a considered approach when deciding who should move into the home. The thorough referral and assessment processes ensure that the staff have the skills and training to meet children’s individual needs. These also enable the clinical psychologist to provide staff with a real understanding of children’s experiences and guidance on what strategies to use to support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work together with placing authorities and parents to help children develop. Their consistent approach and detailed records help to track children’s growth. However, although children are making progress, their specific outcomes are not always captured in reports. This has been recognised by the interim manager and there are already plans in place to implement a new tool to capture areas that require more support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good relationships with staff. They like spending time with them and value their advice and guidance. The staff implement consistent routines and boundaries. As a result, children are very clear about what is expected of them. However, the staff recognise that not all children like structure and therefore they adapt their plans and approaches accordingly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend and engage in education by taking a very individualised Inspection report children’s home: SC014848 4 approach. This has helped children who have previously found school challenging to feel more confident and positive about learning.

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

Staff work hard to keep the children safe. Managers ensure that there are high levels of supervision and that staff understand children’s individual risks. Staff are very clear about the strategies required to minimise risk and use these effectively. Overall, this practice has contributed to a reduction in incidences of children going missing or engaging in self-harm.

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

Managers and staff have created an environment in which bullying behaviours are not tolerated. They are very proactive and quickly address conflict within the group. Staff take a restorative approach which means that children are given the opportunity to reflect on their actions and make amends. This helps the children to manage relationships with their peers and feel safer in their home.

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

Children are very engaged in work to keep safe. The staff actively encourage them to complete online courses in a range of topics. This includes work on bullying, which strengthens their understanding of this issue. During the inspection, the children present were very keen to show the inspector their certificates of achievement. They also talked positively about doing courses on child sexual exploitation and emotional abuse.

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

Children are helped to manage their health needs, which includes their mental health. Staff regularly spend one-to-one time with them and talk through things that are affecting them. During these meetings, children can explore their feelings and learn ways to manage their emotions more appropriately. As a result, children feel more in control of their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager left his post in February of this year. Since then, the interim manager has led the team through this period of change. Her day-to-day presence has meant that the staff and children have continued to feel supported throughout this time. The staff have also benefited from extra input from the clinical psychologist. This has included improved staff support systems and opportunities to reflect on practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The interim manager is continually looking for new ways to develop the service. She has recently recruited a new manager, who is already helping to raise standards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff turnover has been high over the past year. While this does not appear to have had a negative impact on the children, senior managers have done a lot of work to understand why. Formal consultation with staff has resulted in improved benefits for them. This has helped retain core staff and attracted new staff who are very enthusiastic.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The current induction process for new staff is under review. As a result, the records for Inspection report children’s home: SC014848 5 new staff do not evidence that staff have received a full induction. Equally, not all existing staff have had an annual appraisal. Managers are aware of this and have a plan in place to address this. Staff spoken with during the inspection said that they feel supported and well managed and are fully committed to working in a therapeutic way with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The interim manager has good systems in place to monitor and oversee practice. This shows that, overall, incidents of concern are rare. However, records show that staff can and do identify and report safeguarding concerns. These are followed up appropriately.

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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: SC014848 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cornerways Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ashcombe Court, Woolsack Way, Godalming, Surrey GU7 1LQ

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Inspector

Amanda Harvey, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC014848 7 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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Inspector

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