Children's home run by Surrey County Council

Inspection report children's home: SC405933 1 SC405933 Registered provider: Surrey County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This short-break home is run by a local authority and provides care for children with a range of complex disabilities, including those with autism spectrum disorder.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 11 February 2014.

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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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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC405933 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/08/2019 Full Good 23/10/2018 Full Good 25/07/2017 Full Good 15/02/2017 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC405933 3

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outstanding

The quality of individualised care and support provided to children and their families is exceptional. Staff place the well-being of all children at the centre of their practice.

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outstanding

Children who are new to the home are welcomed sensitively and with careful and considered planning. Managers and staff develop and sustain quality relationships with children’s parents, social workers and other professionals involved in the specialised care of the children. One social worker, who has multiple children placed at the home, said the staff are flexible and go above and beyond to support the families.

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outstanding

Children build trusted and secure relationships with the adults who care for them. Staff know the children well and are meticulous in their approach. They provide the children with a stimulating and versatile level of care. Staff invest time in listening to the children to enable them to enjoy their experience at the home. Staff protect the children effectively and promote their welfare.

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outstanding

Staff have a significant impact on the progress and experiences that the children enjoy. The level of care provided by the staff exceeds the expectations of parents. Positive feedback from parents is commonplace and includes, ‘My child loves going there,’ and, ‘The staff are amazing.’ Consequently, the impact of the quality of this provision is far-reaching and benefits entire families.

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outstanding

Children’s day-to-day needs are seamlessly incorporated into safe and reliable routines which include meaningful goals and targets. As a consequence of a previous inspection recommendation, these are now better captured in the children’s written plans, derived from strong consultation with parents, schools and health professionals. The children enjoy their time here because vital care tasks are punctuated with a range of social and recreational opportunities, including activities in the local community.

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outstanding

Staff work effectively with health professionals to support their understanding of the children’s health conditions. These relationships help the staff to promote good health for all children. This partnership working ensures staff are equipped with the skills and knowledge to manage effectively the administration of medication and elements of care, including gastro feeding.

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outstanding

The physical environment of the home and the outside space is maintained to a very high standard. Children benefit from being able to enjoy a large sensory and soft- play room. Children’s bedrooms are equipped with specialist furniture designed to meet their needs and keep them safe. The garden has a range of play equipment Inspection report children's home: SC405933 4 and relaxation areas that provide children with opportunities to stimulate their senses.

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outstanding

Children benefit from exceptional and consistent care that adds considerably to their life experiences, progress and development.

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outstanding

Managers understand the children’s risk factors before they come for their stays. They comprehensively assess the ability of the staff to meet the children’s needs. They develop clear risk assessments and placement plans, which the staff follow competently.

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outstanding

All staff members have undertaken relevant safeguarding training. They use this in their daily practice. They are alert to, and follow, clear procedures for responding to concerns about the safety of the children. Staff fully understand the safeguarding procedures and are alert to the potential of child protection incidents. They record any safeguarding events so that trends and patterns can be monitored, and concerns are quickly identified and reported. The staff work closely with relevant professionals and children’s family members to ensure that they are all aware of the actions they must take to maintain the children’s safety. In one example, staff acted quickly to report a concern to the relevant safeguarding agency. This ensured that prompt action put a stop to further incidents occurring.

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outstanding

The staff’s strong focus on building safe and trusting relationships helps the children to feel settled and secure when they stay. The staff’s knowledge and understanding of the children’s unique traits and personalities means that they read the children’s behaviours extremely well, such as when a child makes a specific sound or word. Consequently, staff divert, distract and intervene positively, to avoid the need to use restrictive measures, such as physical restraint.

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outstanding

The staff are highly attuned to the risks presented by the children’s particular, and sometimes very complex, healthcare needs. Staff were observed during this inspection making complex feeding arrangements appear relaxed and easy, such is their skill.

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outstanding

In response to a previous recommendation, the local authority’s advocacy service has received greater attention. There is clearer evidence of advocates being represented at staff team meetings, bringing strong representation for the children. Children’s experiences and voices are actively sought, and this adds an additional layer of safety.

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outstanding

The careful recruitment and routine monitoring of staff provides effective safeguards for the children. Following a requirement made from the previous inspection, additional layers of scrutiny have been added, to thoroughly question perceived gaps in a person’s work history and make rigorous checks if the person has lived or worked abroad. Inspection report children's home: SC405933 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed by a permanent and experienced registered manager, who is supported by an experienced and confident assistant team manager. There is a consistent staff team that is well resourced to meet the complex needs of the children. Managers consistently demand high standards of individualised care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers have a clear understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. A clear and precise monitoring schedule is used effectively to help identify weaknesses and areas that require improvement. Managers take decisive action to address shortfalls and implement effective improvement plans. This has included a thorough response to the requirements and recommendations that were made from the previous full inspection, which have all been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Before this inspection, the local authority commissioned an independent audit of the service. This has ensured that staff focus on the areas that matter to children to ensure that the level of care and support provided is of exceptional quality.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

All staff show ambition and have high expectations for what the children can achieve. The ethos of the home is demonstrated in consistent staff practice. Children have individual plans and work on specific aims and objectives that improve their lives. One child was observed learning to use cutlery to feed himself.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers and staff are excellent at developing effective relationships with parents and a wide range of professionals. Staff are accessible and keep parents informed about their child’s stay at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

All adults involved in the children’s lives feel confident leaving their child at the home for their stay. One parent said it is hard to get her child to leave the home because she enjoys it so much. Another parent said the only word her child speaks is the name of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A regular parents’ forum ensures that parents have a voice and are fully involved in the running of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers lead by example. Staff report they are well led and managers are approachable and supportive. A consistent drive for improvement and creative practice helps sustain the highest quality care for children. Inspection report children's home: SC405933 6

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Surrey County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Quadrant Court, 35 Guildford Road, Woking, Surrey GU22 7QQ

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Inspector

Paul Thomas, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC405933 7 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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