Children's home run by Progress Care and Education Limited in Hammersmith and Fulham

Inspection report children’s home: SC044231 1 SC044231 Registered provider: Progress Care and Education 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

This is a privately owned children’s home. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who have learning disabilities. The manager has been registered since January 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 24 to 25 September 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC044231 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/04/2018 Full Outstanding 11/07/2017 Full Outstanding 13/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 30/11/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC044231 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(e)) 29/11/2019

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Recommendations

 Children’s care plans should reflect that they are receiving care which meets their needs and promotes their welfare, taking into account the child’s gender, religion, ethnicity, cultural and linguistic background, sexual identity, mental health, any disability, their assessed needs, previous experiences and any relevant plans. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2)

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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)

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Recommendations

Specifically, the rear garden requires remedial action to ensure that it is a safe environment for outdoor play.

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Recommendations

 Just as in a family home, children should be able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each Inspection report children’s home: SC044231 4 child in the home (regulation 21(c)(i)). Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home, must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

Specifically, individual risk assessments should be kept updated.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children who live in this home are making good progress. They receive individualised care tailored to meet their complex needs. The staff have built warm and trusting relationships with the children. One parent said, ‘The staff are amazing with him. You can tell by the way they are that they genuinely care about him.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s communication methods are well understood by the staff team. Staff use pecs symbols and visual timetables to aid their communication with some of the children. This supports children to make choices and helps alleviate anxieties as they understand the sequence of events. Photographs of the staff on duty are displayed so that children know who will be supporting them. One child’s vocabulary has begun to expand, and staff are working in partnership with school to support this development further. This is maximising the child’s opportunity to communicate his needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children attend full-time education. Staff understand the importance of this and encourage their attendance. One child who had previously refused to attend school now attends regularly. One parent said, ‘[Child’s name] has amazed us all. He has done so well. I couldn’t have even imagined him going to school and now he goes every day.’ The staff communicate regularly with staff in the children’s schools. This means that children benefit from consistent practice. Inspection report children’s home: SC044231 5 Children are growing in confidence and learning new skills. Staff encourage them to take part in daily activities such as setting the table and helping to prepare meals and snacks. Children are making good progress with their independence skills. The management team has developed individual targets to maximise independence in all aspects of the children’s lives. For example, staff have supported one child to become more continent

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

through consistent approaches and sensitive support. One social worker said, ‘[Child’s name] is the happiest I have ever seen him. Both his parents praise staff and the way in which they care for their son.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s transitions into and out of the home are extremely well managed. The staff are sensitive to children’s needs, and children are well prepared in advance. This has reduced their anxieties. For example, prior to one child moving in his bedroom was decorated to replicate the one in his family’s home. This gave him a sense of familiarity and helped to make him feel more comfortable.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from regular trips out and participate in activities in the local community such as going to the swimming baths and walks in the local area. One parent said, ‘He is going out to access community activities which he wasn’t doing when living at home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have developed good relationships with families and promote regular contact. One social worker commented, ‘[Child’s name] has regular contact with his parents both at the home and in the local community. Staff work hard to facilitate this. They have got to know his parents and support them to have meaningful, fun family time together.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and generally well maintained. The children’s bedrooms are personalised. Staff respect each child’s individuality and support them to decorate their rooms according to their own personal tastes. There is a large garden to the rear of the property and the children enjoy playing outside. However, the lawn has become very muddy with frequent use, and this makes it difficult for the children to access it safely. A recommendation has been made to address this.

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

The staff have a clear understanding of each child’s needs and vulnerabilities. This helps to ensure that children are protected from harm. All parents spoken with during this inspection said that they have confidence that their child is being cared for safely. One parent said, ‘I can’t fault them. [Child’s name] has got such a good bond with staff. He is properly settled and safe there.’

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

All children have comprehensive behaviour support plans which help staff to respond in a consistent manner. At times, some children do present challenging behaviours and staff have to physically intervene in order to keep them safe. However, there has been a notable reduction in the incidents of restraint. One social worker said, ‘Managers encourage the staff to find out what triggers send [child’s name] into crisis and how best to address this as soon as possible. This has been very positive in supporting him to feel Inspection report children’s home: SC044231 6 safe.’

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

Due to the complex needs and behaviours displayed by the children, it is sometimes necessary to limit their access to certain areas of the home for safety reasons. A recommendation has been made that any restrictions applied are risk assessed and kept under regular review, and that the outcome is recorded.

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

Children’s sensory needs are well documented and understood. The staff team benefits from regular access to a behavioural analyst, occupational therapist and speech and language therapist employed by the organisation. This supports the staff team’s understanding of the children’s needs and assists staff to develop new approaches. One social worker said, ‘The home’s understanding of autism is exceptional.’

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

Staff have developed social stories with pictures and symbols to help children to understand events and situations. This supports children to anticipate the event, prepare their response and ease any anxieties they may have. For example, staff used a social story, as part of a sensitive and graduated approach, to enable one child to access a dentist in the local community for the first time.

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

Staff understand the importance of healthy lifestyles and children are encouraged to eat a balanced diet and take part in more exercise. The manager has sought advice from a dietician and some children have lost weight as part of a planned approach.

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

In line with their complex needs, all the children have constant staff supervision and support. As a result of this, children do not go missing from home. The management team has ensured that each child has a missing-from-home profile that gives staff clear instructions to follow. This means that staff are equipped to respond swiftly and effectively if required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is child centred and passionate about securing the best outcomes for children. The manager and deputy manager work well together. They have high expectations about the standard of care that the children should receive, and they lead by example. They are a visible presence in the home and are available to support both children and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager demonstrated a comprehensive knowledge of the children’s complex needs and is committed to ensuring that disability is not a barrier to their participation. He listens to children’s wishes and feelings and advocates on their behalf. The manager works in a positive and proactive way with external agencies and involves professionals when required in order to ensure that children’s needs are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Liaison with parents is good. They receive regular updates on the children’s progress and experiences. Parents value this and speak very positively about it. One parent said, ‘Communication is great. They keep me updated with all the things [child’s name] is Inspection report children’s home: SC044231 7 getting up to and the progress he is making. He is coming on in leaps and bounds.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. The manager does undertake analysis of significant incidents in order to improve practice. However, there have been occasions when the manager has not responded quickly enough to remedy identified areas for improvement. Furthermore, a new regular internal monitoring system has not been fully embedded. A recommendation has been raised to improve practice in this area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision which allows them to reflect on their practice. The staff work as a team and have access to training that is specific to the needs of the children. Those staff without qualifications are working towards them. However, a number of vacancies in the staff team has led to a reliance on the use of agency staff and bank staff to cover gaps in the rota. This has had an impact on the children as they require a consistent and skilled workforce to meet their complex needs. A requirement has been made to address this.

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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: SC044231 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Progress Care and Education Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5th Floor, 80 Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UD

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Inspector

Sophie Thomson, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC044231 9 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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