Children's Home run by S P Homes Limited in Lambeth

Inspection report children's home: SC065535 1 SC065535 Registered provider: S P Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to six children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s manager was registered in October 2019. There were three children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

This inspection was conducted on site and involved meetings with two children and a number of staff. Written and telephone discussions were held with one parent, placing authority social workers and other professionals, including an officer from the youth offending service. A staff questionnaire was also shared for those staff who were not working but wished to contribute their views.

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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. We last visited this setting on 6 October 2020, for an assurance visit inspection. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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Good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC065535 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/06/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 06/08/2018 Full Good 08/08/2017 Full Good 16/11/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC065535 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of care enjoyed by children in their home has improved. This is due to an improved admissions policy and the increasing confidence of the registered manager to lead and manage the home. Improved outcomes for children evidence such improvements. One child recently returned to his family after a year in the home. His mother attributed this successful move to the ‘excellent support of staff’. The allocated social worker reported it was attributable to the ‘relentless support offered to children’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to form close and trusting relationships with staff. One child told the inspector, ‘I love the house, staff and the food.’ Case files evidence that staff are supporting children to discuss previously difficult and traumatic events in their lives so that the children begin to make sense of them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Progress in education is variable. Teaching staff report improved attendance and engagement from children. Care staff are proactive in helping children research college courses and purchase equipment to meet their individual interests, such as music. However, two children receive minimal online education provision, with insufficient challenge from the home towards the placing authority to rectify this deficit.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Behaviour management is effective. Two children spoke of a points-based reward system which is used consistently, allowing them to earn extra privileges such as vouchers. During the course of the inspection, it was noted there was one instance of a financial sanction used for poor behaviour. This recourse is inappropriate as it fails to offer children the opportunity to fully reflect on their behaviour and consider strategies for avoiding a repetition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are sought, and they reported that they feel heard and represented in the home. One child spoke with excitement of having chosen a new colour scheme for his bedroom. In addition, children enjoy good access to independent advocacy and mentoring support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children learn valuable independence skills in their home. Staff prioritise the importance of developing cooking skills and learning to manage on a tight financial budget. Children are proud of learning to cook for themselves and enjoyed baking a cake for staff.

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

Children told the inspector that they feel safe in the home. They report that they are proud that they have reduced risk-taking behaviours, such as going missing from the home, and that they have reduced violent and aggressive behavioural outbursts. Inspection report children's home: SC065535 4 One child specifically attributed this positive progress to the home being a ‘calm place to live’.

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

Practice related to children who go missing has improved since the previous inspection. The home ensures that independent return to care interviews occur more regularly and staff understand and appropriately implement each child’s individual missing response plan. However, staff within the home need to develop a process for recording and evaluating evidence from independent return to care interviews. This deficit currently limits the sharing of key information and impacts on the quality of risk assessments.

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

The home’s COVID-19 procedures are effective, and the staff are proud that neither they, nor any children, have contracted the virus.

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

Multi-agency work is effective. During the inspection, staff worked in partnership with the allocated youth offending team officer to prepare evidence for a child’s breach of community order hearing. This helped to eliminate the risk of custody for the child and alleviated the child’s anxieties.

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

Risk assessments have improved since the previous inspection and case recording is now more thorough. Risk assessments clearly outline the individual needs of each child, though they still fail to consider the views of children, limiting their effectiveness.

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

Recruitment practice is now more robust, with personnel files increasingly evidencing an improved focus on the previous employment history of prospective employees. This supports a good safeguarding culture in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has strengthened managerial arrangements to positive effect. The registered manager is now supported by a deputy manager who is an experienced practitioner, currently undertaking the required management qualification. Staff and children appreciate the consistency and stability of the staff team and report that it benefits the promotion of a family-style atmosphere in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have addressed all but one requirement from the last inspection. Improvements have led to progress across several areas, including safer recruitment and better support for children who go missing. The requirement relating to risk assessments is repeated for this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management monitoring report completed under regulation 45 does not contain specific timescales for review of the improvement plan, which is a deficit. This limits the scope of future reviews and the effectiveness of plans and planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale has improved since the previous inspection. The home does not use agency staff and there have been no staff who have left since the previous inspection. Staff report that they feel valued and appreciated by managers and that Inspection report children's home: SC065535 5 they receive effective training and supervision. However, performance appraisals are not occurring regularly for all staff and, when undertaken, fail to include the views of children and professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Admissions practice is improved and supported by thorough risk assessments prior to the receipt of a referral. Managers appropriately consider the individual needs of all children in order to help them. They advocate well for children to access the appropriate support of their placing local authority. Staff value the stability of the children within the home and link this to the careful and well-considered matching of proposed placements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s website requires updating. It currently contains information dated from 2015 including an outdated and misleading inspection judgement. This presents a confusing insight for placing authorities and professionals. Inspection report children's home: SC065535 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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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

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(a) (2)(a)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the home should ensure that young people contribute to the development of their own risk management and behavioural support plans. 1 August 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff take account of information provided by return home interviews following episodes when a child has been missing. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that the management monitoring report clearly identifies any actions required for the next six months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. In particular, to ensure the improvement plan contains details and specific timescales with regards to when progress will be reviewed and measured. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.4)  The registered person should ensure that any placing authority is challenged to provide a complete and current relevant plan. In particular, the home should ensure that case files contain up-to-date care plans and personal education plans

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Recommendations

from the placing authority. This will inform care planning for the children Inspection report children's home: SC065535 7 concerned. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.5)  The registered person should ensure performance appraisals consider the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and the views of the young people in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 60, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should ensure that all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least annually. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 60, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of

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Recommendations

their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that staff challenge the child’s education or training provider if the child does not receive sufficient support to progress as outlined in their relevant plans. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 27, paragraph 5.12)

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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: SC065535 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 163 Manor Road, Mitcham, Surrey CR4 1JT

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Inspector

Barnaby Dowell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC065535 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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