Children's Home run by Essex County Council in Essex

Inspection report children’s home: SC044975 1 SC044975 Registered provider: Essex County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home is a short-break service for disabled children. The service provides support to families so that children can remain living at home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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: 4 February 2020

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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: SC044975 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/02/2020 Full Good 18/07/2018 Full Good 28/09/2017 Full Good 24/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC044975 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has continued to provide short breaks to 24 children throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This has provided children with consistency during an otherwise uncertain time as well as continuing to offer families a rest from their intensive caring roles. One parent said, ‘We don’t know where we would be without [the staff].’ Another parent said that the staff have helped them to be a family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a long-serving, stable staff team. Consequently, children receive continuity of care and have time to build relationships with staff. Staff speak positively about the children and are committed to ensuring that the children have fun and the opportunity to try new things during their stays. Staff have been creative during the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, offering children activities at the home including movie nights and tea parties. The manager has purchased items such as a popcorn and candy floss maker to increase the children’s enjoyment of these experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the children’s complex needs. As a staff team, they regularly discuss children, to review and develop how they can best respond to children’s individual needs. Staff work closely with parents and education colleagues to continually learn from each other’s experiences about how best to care for the children. This means that children can enjoy consistent, predictable care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are sensitive to how disabled children can experience change in their routine. The staff ensure effective information-sharing with the team around the child when planning for a short break. Staff choose bedding and place familiar toys and items in bedrooms in advance of the children arriving. The manager has successfully engaged the school in supporting children with social stories or sharing the home’s children’s guide in preparation for stays. This gives children the opportunity to process what is happening next, helping to reduce their anxiety and any distress about staying away from their family home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff contribute to children making progress. Staff identify each child’s aims through discussion with families, school staff and other professionals such as the speech and language team. Individualised daily records make sure that these aims are clear and visible to staff throughout the child’s stay. Examples of these aims include staff helping children to learn about road safety work, to use communication aids and to improve social skills at mealtimes. For one family, this means that they can now enjoy eating out with their child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Communication needs are clearly outlined in children’s plans. Most of the staff have undertaken specific communication training, and one of the staff members is a trainer in the chosen communication approach. Staff have a good understanding of the different ways in which the children communicate. Staff have developed ‘my Inspection report children’s home: SC044975 4 stay’ feedback forms to offer children lots of different ways of sharing their views about the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager continues to make improvements to the feel of the home. The home is spacious and clean and decorated in bright colours. Children have the choice of a variety of play equipment in the garden and have been helping to look after the kitchen garden, where staff have been growing vegetables and herbs. The local authority arranged for new standard lights to be fitted that do not contribute to a homely feel. The manager has requested on behalf of the children that these are changed.

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

There are few incidents at the home. When incidents do occur, staff respond appropriately to keep children safe. Staff record incidents clearly and share the details with families and social workers in a timely way. Parents and professionals are confident that their children are safe when at the home.

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

The staff team brings a range of experience and expertise in caring for disabled children. The team includes safeguarding, restraint and moving and handling trainers, who are available to share their knowledge and role model good practice. In addition, the specialist health team provides regular and bespoke training to ensure that staff are confident and competent in meeting children’s complex health and medical needs.

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

All except one of the staff have achieved a relevant level 3 diploma and many of the staff are qualified to higher levels. Due to working as an agency member of staff first, one member of staff is outside the two-year timescale for achieving a level 3 diploma.

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

Personal development plans are completed annually alongside staff appraisals to identify individual’s learning needs. Most of the staff have completed the home’s mandatory training. However, staff have been unable to refresh their behaviour management training due to rules on social distancing. A detailed risk assessment is in place, and staff have attended the theory element of the course.

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

Physical intervention is rarely used at the home. When staff use intervention, it is proportionate to keep children and staff safe from physical harm. The manager reviews the records of all incidents and staff update behaviour plans and risk assessments.

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

One child’s behaviour has required an increase in physical intervention. The manager is meeting regularly with other professionals to identify any additional support that the child may need. Staff are appropriately inquisitive about what this child is trying to communicate through his behaviour and are reviewing potential triggers. Inspection report children’s home: SC044975 5 Risk assessments are accessible and individualised. However, there are some omissions, and contradictions which could lead to inconsistencies in how staff respond to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home benefits from the leadership of an experienced and well-qualified manager and deputy manager. The managers have an in-depth knowledge of the service and are continually seeking ways to improve what they offer children and their families. An up-to-date development plan incorporates the views of others to inform improvements at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains good oversight of all incidents involving children. Monthly audits and review of statistics enable the manager to identify trends. However, due to other pressures, audits of the quality of documents have not been taking place. This means that some errors in risk assessments have not been identified and addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers know the children well. This knowledge was enhanced further this year with the manager and deputy manager working directly with children to cover shifts during periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, children are well matched for their stays. Thought is given to the safety of children alongside offering children the opportunity to spend time with their peers, to enjoy existing friendships and to make new ones.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are valued by staff, professionals and parents. Staff said that they enjoy their work and receive excellent support from their managers. This is further evidenced by an impressive staff retention record. Only one new member of staff has joined the home this year and he is a returning member of staff. However, this change has not been reflected in the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has established good working relationships with professionals and other relevant services. This helps to ensure effective planning for children and enables the manager to secure additional support to meet children’s needs in partnership with parents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is child focused. She is a good advocate for the children and will challenge plans when these are not in the best interests of the child. Inspection report children’s home: SC044975 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

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 16 (3)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the statement of purpose contains an accurate list of staff working at the home. 1 June 2021

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the Level 3 Diploma’); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1 April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1 April 2014, 1 April 2016. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b)) 1 September 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that risk assessments consistently provide staff with clarity on the arrangements to protect children and the steps that the Inspection report children’s home: SC044975 7 staff must take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.4)

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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: SC044975 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Essex County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Chelmsford CM1 1QH

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Inspector

Paula Edwards, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC044975 9 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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