Children's Home run by SureCare Residential Ltd in Essex

Inspection report children’s home: SC462729 1 SC462729 Registered provider: SureCare Residential Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private organisation. It provides care for up to five children who have experienced significant trauma that has resulted in behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in July 2021. There is an acting manager in post who is not yet registered.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 2 March 2021, to carry out a monitoring 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

Date of last inspection: 23 January 2020

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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: SC462729 2 Inspection report children’s home: SC462729 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/01/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 23/04/2019 Full Good 27/11/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/12/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC462729 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have begun to make progress since moving to the home. A social worker said that the difference in one child was amazing. The child is happy, settled and engaging with the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff see education as an important part of the children’s daily routine. They support children to recognise the importance of attending school on time. The morning routines are structured to ensure that this happens. Children have good school attendance and are supported to attend after-school clubs. This helps the children to build social relationships outside the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend regular house meetings and discuss a variety of topics. Staff use these meetings to gain the children’s views, wishes and feelings. The manager responds to these and children are informed of any decisions made. This helps the children to feel that their views are important, listened to and acted on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are able to stay in touch with their families and friends. The staff support this in line with the child’s care plan. A social worker said that the staff successfully managed a recent family visit by working with the child and parent before the visit. Any concerns about family visits are reported to social workers in order that potential issues can be monitored.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection there have been several changes to the management team and staffing. Children feel sad that staff have left, although they have built good relationships with new staff. However, one child said that they were worried that the staff would start leaving again. Staff changes limit the children’s ability to maintain positive relationships with the adults who look after them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have been involved in choosing the colour schemes for their bedrooms. Bedrooms are personalised. The lounge was in the process of being repainted. However, the dining room does not have enough chairs, meaning that the children and the staff cannot sit around the table and eat together. The kitchen needs refurbishing. The downstairs shower has mould in the shower tray and on the tiles. This does not provide the children with a homely and well-kept environment.

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

The staff have had the appropriate safeguarding training and know how to report concerns. Staff understand their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children. All safeguarding concerns are reported and managed effectively.

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

Staff understand the children’s individual risks and concerning behaviours. Risk assessments guide staff in understanding and managing children’s risks. However, Inspection report children’s home: SC462729 5 these are not always updated straight after an incident, meaning that staff may not be aware of recent incidents.

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

Children understand their risks. The staff discuss these with the children in key- worker sessions. The staff debrief children after an incident and this supports the children to understand and manage their behaviours in the future.

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

Children go missing from the home, but recently this has happened less frequently. The staff actively search for and contact the children if they are missing, and welcome them back when they return. The social workers provide some return home interviews. However, the manager does not always get feedback from the social workers and this means that staff may not be aware of why the children left the home.

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

Children have individual placement plans. However, some children’s plans are not updated after an incident and some lack detail, which could lead to inconsistencies. The staff regularly seek children’s views and update these in key-worker sessions every three months. This ensures that children know and understand their care plans.

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

Sanctions are fair and proportionate. The children have the opportunity to comment on and sign the records of sanctions. The manager then evaluates these records. Staff know the importance of rewarding children for positive behaviours rather than focusing on negative behaviour. This has had a positive effect and the use of sanctions has reduced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in post since July 2021 and is applying to register with Ofsted. He has suitable experience and is qualified to level 5.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and the deputy manager work well together. They have a shared vision to develop the staff team and make improvements to the home. Staff have confidence in the changes that are being made, and are supported by the manager and the deputy in implementing these. Professionals said that the manager has implemented some new practices which have a positive effect on children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff have undertaken the organisation’s mandatory training. Some staff have a relevant level 3 qualification or are working towards it. Other staff will start studying for this qualification once they have passed their probation. This means that staff have the appropriate training and qualifications to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive regular supervision. The staff spoken to said that they find supervision supportive, and this helps them when working with the children. Team meetings are held regularly and support the staff to work in a consistent way. Inspection report children’s home: SC462729 6 The manager addresses concerns with professionals if he feels that actions or proposed actions are not in the best interest of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has met one of the two requirements from the last inspection, and one has been restated. Inspection report children’s home: SC462729 7

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the home is maintained to a good standard throughout.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 15 December 2021

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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, ensure that children’s risk assessments and placement plans are updated. 15 December 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC462729 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that information from return home interviews undertaken by the local authorities is used to inform children’s plans and risk assessments. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure continuity of staffing so that children’s attachments are not overly disrupted. In particular, build a stable staff team so that the children can develop and maintain relationships with the adults who care for them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1)

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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: SC462729 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: SureCare Residential Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Surecare Residential, The Old Snap Factory, Twyford Industrial Estate, Twyford Road, Bishop’s Stortford CM23 3LJ

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Inspector

Trish Palmer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC462729 10 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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