Children's Home run by Ownlife Residential Limited in Lewisham

Inspection report children’s home: SC025664 1 SC025664 Registered provider: Ownlife Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to three young people. The home’s statement of purpose states that it is a home for young people who present with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and as a result may display challenging behaviour because of their early traumatic life experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered since 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 requires improvement to be 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: 29 November 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC025664 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2018 Full Good 19/02/2018 Interim Not judged 08/06/2017 Interim Not judged 24/01/2017 Interim Not judged Inspection report children’s home: SC025664 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people receive good individualised care from managers and staff who understand their needs very well. Young people develop trusting relationships with the staff. As a result, young people settle and make good progress from their challenging starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff monitor the young people’s progress. Monthly reports identify the young people’s good progress in areas such as independence skills, school and college attendance and family relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff review the young people’s progress and set new targets. This helps to ensure that young people continue to progress in all aspects of their lives. Staff have developed a new ‘behaviour tracker’, to further enhance their understanding of the young people’s progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people achieve great success at school and college. They complete GCSE examinations and continue their studies in further education. Staff support the young people to create their own CVs, and young people secure valuable part-time work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are unquestionably committed to the young people. Staff ensure that the young people’s wishes and feelings are taken into account at their care planning reviews. Staff also advocate for the young people to ensure that their transition plans are agreed in advance. Staff arrange for colleges to provide young people with any essential computer equipment to help them to complete their studies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the progress that young people make, some young people are not attending mainstream education or making the most of the staff support available in the home. The registered manager is proactive and challenges placing authorities, the virtual school head and other professionals for further support. However, this is not always successful.

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improvement to be good

The young people’s risks are identified well, and any developing risks are assessed and kept up to date. However, not all of the staff have signed to acknowledge that they have read the risk assessment updates. This may limit staff’s understanding of the young people’s developing risks and the strategies to minimise those risks.

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improvement to be good

The young people’s guide sets out clearly what advice and support young people can expect in the home, alongside the home’s routines and boundaries. However, the boundaries in the young people’s guide are inconsistent with the home’s ‘house rules’ notice. This means that young people may be unclear about what is acceptable behaviour. Inspection report children’s home: SC025664 4 Staff do not consistently apply the agreed consequences to the young people’s inappropriate behaviour. Furthermore, leaders and managers do not review the effectiveness of the consequences. As a result, there are occasions when sanctions have been unsuccessful in bringing about positive change.

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improvement to be good

Thorough checks are carried out on the suitability of staff who work in the home, in accordance with the principles of safer recruitment.

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improvement to be good

Staff help the young people to understand their vulnerabilities and keep themselves safe. Young people’s key-work sessions cover important issues, such as staying safe and healthy relationships. Where episodes of young people going missing from the home are a concern, the proactive staff team requests training and advice from the local police missing person’s coordinator. As a result, episodes of young people going missing from the home have reduced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A suitably experienced registered manager manages the home effectively. The home is properly staffed and resourced to meet the needs of the young people. Leaders and managers encourage the continuing professional development of the staff team. Staff spoken with said that they feel valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most members of the staff team have an appropriate children’s home qualification. However, some staff have an alternative qualification. The registered manager should reassure himself, and record, how alternative qualifications correspond to the residential children’s home qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The wide-ranging training available to staff helps them to meet the individual needs of the young people. Staff also presented key training to their colleagues at the team awayday. This enhances the whole staff team’s knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals praised the commitment and dedication of the registered manager and the staff team. The home employs a clinical psychotherapist. She provides advice and support to the staff team to help the young people achieve successful outcomes. A young person said, ‘I love it here, it is like a real home.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers regularly monitor the quality of care provided to the young people. The registered manager’s quality of care report is comprehensive and includes actions and recommendations to further improve the service. The home’s independent visitor further monitors the overview of the service. However, Ofsted has not received these reports in a timely manner. Inspection report children’s home: SC025664 5

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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 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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff sign to acknowledge young people’s updated risk assessments and behaviour management plans. 30/06/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

This relates to HMCI’s timely receipt of the independent person’s monthly report. 30/06/2020

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs; 30/06/2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC025664 6 if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, where a placing authority’s response to concerns is inadequate, the registered person must take steps to escalate the concerns to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met.

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Recommendations

 All staff in a care role must have the qualification in regulation 32(4). The term ‘equivalent’ as used in the Regulations in relation to qualifications will be a judgement for the registered person based on whether the content of any qualifications held by the individual closely corresponds with the qualifications set out in regulation 32(4) (for those in a care role). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraphs 10.12 and 10.13)  The children’s home must produce a children’s guide. The children’s guide should help children to understand: what the day to day routines of the home are (‘what happens in the home’). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraphs 4.21 and 4.22)

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Recommendations

In particular, the boundaries set out in the children’s guide must be consistent with the boundaries set out in the children’s house rules document.  The behaviour management strategy should be understood and applied at all times by staff, and must be kept under review and revised where appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)

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Recommendations

In particular, the effectiveness of young people’s sanctions and consequences for poor behaviour must be kept under review and revised where necessary.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC025664 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 8 Poole Hill, Bournemouth, Dorset BH2 5PS

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Inspector

Victoria Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC025664 8 to 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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