Children's home run by Potton Homes Limited in Greenwich

Inspection report children’s home: SC393940 1 SC393940 Registered provider: Potton Homes 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 privately owned children’s home provides residential care for up to three children, aged eight to 17, who have a diagnosed learning disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 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: 21 January 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was judged to have declined in effectiveness at the interim inspection on 21 January 2019. This inspection identified that staff had failed to take effective action to keep the children safe. This failure contributed to the most serious shortfalls that were found during the interim inspection. Ofsted served two compliance notices in respect of the protection of children and leadership and management. Monitoring visits on 21 February and 8 April identified further shortfalls. A further monitoring visit on 2 May 2019 found that the provider had met all steps that were set out in the compliance notice. Inspection report children’s home: SC393940 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/01/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 09/05/2018 Full Good 04/10/2017 Full Good 30/01/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC393940 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only— employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there is a satisfactory explanation of any gaps in employment. 29/11/2019

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff work to make the children’s home an environment that consistently supports children’s physical, mental and emotional health, in line with the approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3) In particular, implement the recommendations from the occupational therapist.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff 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) In particular, record the rationale for using a listening device. Inspection report children’s home: SC393940 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff and the manager are working well together to improve the quality of care. Each child benefits from their efforts. The children make good, steady progress across all areas of their development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The physical environment has improved. Children’s bedrooms are highly personalised. Pictures and displays around the home help the children to understand what is happening next. Staff said that since these home improvements, the children make better use of the space, they enjoy the sensory space and the playroom.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from one-to-one care. They share warm, nurturing relationships with the staff. They have fun together, play games and laugh. The children and the staff share mealtimes, celebrate achievements and birthdays. This helps to create a family atmosphere. One member of staff said, ‘This is like a second home to me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s time with their families increases substantially. The staff go above and beyond to support the children’s significant relationships. Family members remain connected with their children and, as a result, their relationships improve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend full-time education. This is a significant improvement for each child. The children’s ability to communicate and verbalise their thoughts and feelings increases. A consistent approach to understanding each child’s individual character and personality helps to prepare the children for education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop their confidence. They take part in a range of stimulating activities in the local area, such as gymnastics, swimming and horse-riding. This increases children’s participation and reduces social isolation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Placement plans are highly individualised. An occupational therapist visits the home monthly to talk about the children’s progress. This input results in a detailed plan and specific steps to improve the children’s sensory processing. The staff discuss these plans and implement sensory play activities. However, they do not fully implement the suggested recommendations to enhance the children’s sensory diet.

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

The children’s families regularly visit the home. They said that their children are safe, and the quality of the help given to the children has improved under the current manager.

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

The staff provide high levels of supervision for the children, in the home and in the community. Waking night staff ensure that the children receive support in the night. The staff talk continually to the children. They help them to manage their transitions Inspection report children’s home: SC393940 5 successfully and teach them how to keep themselves safe.

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

The children do not go missing from the home. The staff are clear about the action to take in the event of this happening.

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

The staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities. They regularly discuss safeguarding and whistleblowing policies in supervision and team meetings. The manager is effective and quickly addresses any complaints or concerns. He works transparently with other agencies, and the staff, to identify solutions and help the staff improve their practice. Safeguarding allegations are referred without delay to the designated officer. This approach helps to create a safe culture.

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

The staff maintain good daily routines for the children. Star charts, praise and rewards help the children to recognise their own progress. The number of incidents, assaults on staff and physical interventions have significantly decreased.

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

The manager ensures that general and specific risks at the home are evaluated and recorded. However, the review of some specific risk assessments is not dynamic. This does not ensure that the risk assessments change as the children’s risks emerge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced in residential childcare. He has the ability and capacity to drive improvement. The manager has worked purposefully to meet the shortfalls identified at the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has the full cooperation of the staff team members, who value his support and constructive challenge. Appraisals and regular supervision help the staff to reflect on their practice. Staff induction is structured, and the focus of team meetings has improved. A balanced range of training courses ensures that each member of staff continues to learn and develop.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Communication with external agencies is good. Parents and professionals spoke positively about their children’s experience and recognise the progress they have made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The provider has recruited more permanent staff. This has reduced the use of agency staff. Although the team is relatively new, its members work well together to prioritise the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Generally, the recruitment processes have improved. However, the supporting records do not explain the gaps in applicants’ employment history. This means that applicants’ backgrounds are not fully explored.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager makes good use of the information gathered from external monitoring. Recommendations identify areas for improvement. The manager readily acts on this advice to make changes. Records have improved and new, personalised Inspection report children’s home: SC393940 6 books capture the children’s experiences. This helps the children and their families to have a memorable overview of their child’s experiences and progress.

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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: SC393940 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Potton Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Cresswell Park, Blackheath, London SE3 9RD

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Inspector

Rosie Davie, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC393940 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 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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