Children's Home run by Fonjock's Social Work Practice Limited in Suffolk

Inspection report children’s home: SC487702 1 SC487702 Registered provider: Fonjock’s Social Work Practice Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a private company. The home is registered to provide care for up to three children who have difficulty managing their emotions and behaviour.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2020.

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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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this home on 15 September 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. 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: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC487702 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 05/06/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/01/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/08/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC487702 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is one child living at the home. The overall experiences for this child are positive and the child is making good progress. The child has established strong relationships with a staff team that is committed to her well-being. The child receives individualised support that is likely to enhance her future opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s views are central to the operation of the home. The child has been supported to write a child-centred placement plan capturing her preferences. The child can share her thoughts and feelings through reflective house meetings. When the child has had concerns, she has been supported to make complaints and has been satisfied with the home’s responses and actions. These inclusive approaches support the child to feel empowered, make informed choices about her care and ensure that her rights are respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education. Staff have supported the child with GCSE coursework and encouraged her to undertake education-based activities while a formal education provision is sought. The child has gained an accredited level 3 first-aid qualification. Staff have supported the child to write a curriculum vitae and seek voluntary employment opportunities. From the child’s individual starting point, this is a significant achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to make good progress with her life skills. She benefits from a bespoke independent living programme. The programme includes practical targets that enable staff to track and evaluate the child’s progress. As a result, she has improved her confidence and self-determination and is more prepared for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support a range of activities that reflect the child’s interests and hobbies. The child has recently joined a gym and regularly goes running in the local area with staff. These opportunities have enabled her to expand her social network and the breadth of her experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to stay in touch with her family. Staff support family visits and recognise the importance of these relationships. Consequently, the child has improved well-being and maintains her sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and well resourced. The child benefits from a personalised bedroom in line with her preferences and interests. Memorabilia including recent achievements are displayed, which supports the child’s sense of belonging. However, the kitchen is showing signs of wear which detracts from what is otherwise a nurturing and welcoming home. Inspection report children’s home: SC487702 4

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

Staff understand the risks for the child and actively help to manage them. Well- planned and effective one-to-one sessions cover important and emerging topics, including community risks, managing healthy relationships and understanding the impact of substance misuse. This enhances the child’s knowledge of personal safety.

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

Staff have good working partnerships with other agencies and professionals, such as the local authority, social workers and the police. The effectiveness of these relationships helps the child to be safe.

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

Staff successfully implement good-quality individual risk assessments. The child regularly reviews her risk assessment with staff during key-work sessions. The child understands why risks may change and what she needs to do to manage or reduce these.

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

Behaviour management plans are implemented effectively. The child has contributed to informing strategies so that staff fully understand the triggers to her anxiety. Staff maintain positive relationships and set clear boundaries. As a result, unwanted behaviour is minimised.

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

Staff are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities and they have good knowledge of whistle-blowing procedures. The depth of staff’s knowledge is continuously reflected on through practice-based meetings and supervisions. Effective execution of safeguarding policies provides assurance that there are suitable systems in place to safeguard children.

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

Physical interventions and consequential sanctions have rarely been necessary. The staff use interventions proportionately and as a last resort. However, one record of physical intervention was not evaluated by the manager. This lack of managerial oversight compromises the overall analysis and learning opportunities from the incident.

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

Safe recruitment processes are not consistently followed. The use of agency staff has recently reduced. However, managers have not ensured that recruitment records for agency staff always contain the required information. The checks for one permanent staff member have not included reasons for leaving employment in a role that involved working with children. As a result, current processes do not sufficiently reduce the potential for unsuitable people to gain employment at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is well qualified and suitably experienced. The management and staff team are child focused and have high standards and aspirations for children to succeed and achieve good-quality outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by managers. New staff have effective inductions to help them begin to work with the children. Regular supervision, effective appraisals and Inspection report children’s home: SC487702 5 well-developed training equip staff with the skills to meet the individual needs of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has tenaciously advocated for the child. Effective professional challenge to health services has ensured that the child’s medication has been reviewed. The staff have supported the child to obtain a recent diagnosis. These important developments ensure that the child’s health and welfare needs can be more effectively met and understood.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager continues to reflect on lessons learned from previous placements at the home. The child’s recent transition to the home was meticulously planned and ensured a warm welcome for the child. Since the last inspection, one child has left the home and, in this instance, the manager developed a detailed moving-on plan which supported the continuity of care in the next stages of the child’s life.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of managerial monitoring is effective. The manager makes good use of external visits from an independent person and conducts an objective internal quality of care review. The child’s records are thorough, well organised and fully inclusive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the home has experienced a high staffing turnover. The management team has managed this without compromising the number of permanent staff on shift. Although there is some understanding of why individual staff have left, no overarching review has taken place. Therefore, although the problem has been recognised and the immediate impact is being managed, opportunities to identify and address underlying causes are restricted .

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team has not ensured that the home’s statement of purpose and children’s guide contain accurate information on the policies regarding the use of restraint. The staff embody the values and ethos of the home’s behaviour management philosophy and use alternative methods to avoid using restraint. However, there are some instances when restraint has been necessary and proportionate. This contravenes statements made in the guides and has the potential to mislead children and other professionals. Inspection report children’s home: SC487702 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(e))

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the statement of purpose and children’s guide provide accurate information on the use of restraint;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that a review of negative staffing trends is included in the workforce development plan. 31 August 2021

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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

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

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, 30 July 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC487702 7 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

ensure that agency staff have had the required checks prior to their deployment;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that verification, as far as is practicable, is gained for the reasons why employment ended when staff have worked in positions involving work with children or vulnerable adults.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should provide a nurturing, homely environment. In particular, ensure that the kitchen is maintained to a good standard. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair. In particular, ensure that records include managerial oversight within the required timescales. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)

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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: SC487702 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Fonjock’s Social Work Practice

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Orchard House, 1 Old Convent Orchard, Bury St. Edmunds IP33 3PQ

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Inspector

Mark Anderton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC487702 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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