Children's home run by McRae Residential Care Services Limited in Croydon

Inspection report children's home: SC025812 1 SC025812 Registered provider: McRae Residential Care Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people. The homes statement of purpose states that the home cares for (boys) who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 2007.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC025812 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/05/2018 Full Good 05/07/2017 Full Good 09/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/11/2016 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC025812 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers have high aspirations for young people living in the home. They know the young people’s needs and vulnerabilities very well. They nurture the young people and spend time listening to them. As a result, young people build trusting and secure relationships with their carers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make progress in all aspects of their lives. They become more confident and their self-esteem grows. One professional noted that good relationships with the staff had helped a young person to settle in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers are ambitious for young people to achieve educational success. They prioritise young people’s school attendance and pursue a wide range of learning alternatives to help young people to re-engage with their learning. This includes the home’s director supporting a young person to turn a creative idea into a future business plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers attend parents’ evenings at the young people’s schools and support them to make applications for further education. Young people successfully complete GCSE examinations. They also complete online education sessions in the home. Subjects include maths, English, healthy relationships and staying safe. This study enhances young people’s overall knowledge and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

‘Teen talk’ sessions run by the carers enable young people to increase their general knowledge and understanding. Recent ‘teen talk’ discussions include Brexit and the general election. A care leaver has revisited the home and talked to young people about their experience of becoming independent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are helped to gain independence skills. Young people’s detailed weekly planners set out their independence training programme. The programme includes the safe use of public transport, shopping, budgeting and cooking skills. One young person was very proud to have cooked a meal for the first time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers actively promote young people’s contact with their families. This helps to maintain their family relationships and identities. The home’s in-house therapeutic worker provides additional counselling and support to help to rebuild young people’s relationships with their families. This care continues as an outreach service and young people are able to return home successfully.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people participate in a large variety of activities. They join the local rugby club and the gym. They also enjoy basketball, go-karting, trips to the cinema and the home’s annual summer holiday in Europe. Detailed planning has enabled a young person to safely enjoy their first ever camping holiday. Inspection report children's home: SC025812 4

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improvement to be good

Young people’s risk assessments are comprehensive. They are kept up to date, and strategies to minimise risks are recorded. However, the home’s wi-fi accessibility has not been suitably filtered. This means that young people may have been able to access inappropriate websites. Appropriate website filters were applied immediately when this was raised during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Young people said that they feel safe in the home. However, when carers found that a young person was texting adults who were not known to the care team, and in contravention of the young person’s care plan, they did not report this concern in a timely manner. This placed a young person at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

The training available to staff to help them to meet the individual needs of the young people is wide ranging. Training includes knife crime prevention, specialist gangs and group offending and advanced level safeguarding.

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improvement to be good

Young people receive a comprehensive induction into the home. This includes a young people’s guide, and they agree to an ‘acceptable behaviour contract’. This helps young people to understand the home’s age-appropriate rules, routines and boundaries.

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improvement to be good

Positive behaviours such as settling in bed on time and attending to their personal hygiene are suitably rewarded. The incentives are effective, young people develop better routines and any challenging behaviours are reduced.

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improvement to be good

Young people are in good health. With patience and encouragement, carers support young people to attend their health appointments. As a result, young people are helped to address any long-standing health issues and their health improves.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed effectively by a permanent, suitably qualified and stable team of carers, the home manager and the registered manager. The culture of the home is characterised by high expectations for the young people; this is enhanced by the nurturing and compassionate approach of the care team. Carers describe their team as a ‘happy family’, and the home manager as ‘hard working’ and ‘caring’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Thorough checks are carried out on the suitability of staff who work in the home, in accordance with the principles of safer recruitment. All of the carer team have an appropriate residential children’s home qualification. The home is properly staffed and resourced to deliver high quality services that meet the needs of the young people. Inspection report children's home: SC025812 5 Leaders, managers and the carer team work dynamically with all of the professionals and parents to help to support the young people in their care. Leaders and managers are resourceful and highly active. They arrange multi-agency ‘reflective’ meetings and professionals’ meetings to help to ensure that young people’s care is comprehensive and effective.

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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. All of the requirements set at the last inspection have been met. Inspection report children's home: SC025812 6

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children’s access to the home's internet provider must have suitable filters in place to prevent children gaining access to inappropriate websites.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, carers must report any emerging risks to leaders and managers in a timely manner and actions to minimise those risks to children are put in place. 31/05/2020

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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: SC025812 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: McRae Residential Care Services Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 57-61 Lodge Road, Croydon, CR0 2PH

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Inspector

Victoria Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC025812 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 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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