Children's home run by The Vine Residential Services (TVRS) Ltd in Barking and Dagenham

Inspection report children’s home: SC430320 1 SC430320 Registered provider: The Vine Residential Services (TVRS) Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company operates this home for up to five children. The statement of purpose states that the home provides care for children who have a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and/or learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in August 2011. The registered manager was registered with Ofsted in November 2016. At the time of the inspection, five children were living at the home.

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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 11 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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC430320 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/11/2018 Full Good 18/01/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/07/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC430320 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home where leaders and staff are aspirational for them. This encouraging atmosphere enables children to maximise their potential. A social worker highlighted that ‘the children placed here are loved, cared for and most definitely well supported’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are able to practise their faith and learn about other religions and cultures. Religious and secular events are celebrated, such as Eid, Black History Month, Halloween and Valentine’s Day. Children also enjoy eating appetising dishes from all over the world.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children make good progress. They grow in confidence, patience, kindness and maturity. They learn a wide range of independent living skills, which include taking responsibility for household chores, cooking, baking, budgeting and travelling independently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children quickly settle into life at the home, which helps to give them a sense of belonging. Older children act as positive role models to younger children. Children demonstrate a caring attitude towards each other. A good example of this is supporting each other when they are having difficulty managing their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff strongly advocate for children to receive the necessary support in order to reach their full potential. This includes helping them to get a personal advocate, a medication review and the necessary support from mental health services. When children are not attending school, the home’s education facilitator devises structured education programmes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy fun and meaningful activities, such as relaxing in the sensory room and having movie nights and themed parties. Children also enjoy trips out of the home, for example to the seaside. Some children are also able to attend youth clubs and holiday schemes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from good health arrangements. They receive encouragement to exercise and make healthy food choices. Children enjoy using the exercise equipment in the local park, riding their bikes, playing football, trampolining and going for walks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The uniqueness of each child is valued, and their birthdays are celebrated. Child- centred life-story books help children to develop a positive self-identity. However, the information recorded in relation to the children’s heritage is not always correct.

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

Children say that they feel ‘safe’ and they have ‘no complaints’ about the home. A social worker described the service as ‘safe, responsive and well-led’. Throughout Inspection report children’s home: SC430320 4 the COVID-19 pandemic, children have benefited from the support of the solution- focused leaders and managers and the highly resilient staff team.

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

Children respond well to the boundaries set and the individualised care provided by staff. Staff have a good understanding of how each child communicates through their behaviour. Consequently, there has been a reduction in children’s socially unacceptable behaviour.

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

Children become calmer when they move into the home and staff focus on enhancing their emotional well-being. A good example of this is the introduction of reading stories to children at night-time to help them to relax.

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

Safeguarding practice helps to protect children and promote their welfare. Leaders and managers proactively request multi-agency meetings where there are concerns. A social worker praised the work that staff have undertaken with one child in relation to ‘contextual harm issues, strategies to keep himself safe, taking responsibility and peer pressure’.

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

Staff benefit from training in a wide range of safeguarding issues. Their safeguarding knowledge is also enhanced by individualised support and training in their supervision meetings. Staff implement children’s safety plans effectively and they know how to respond to allegations.

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

The arrangements for staff recruitment and security at the home are good. Health and safety certificates confirm that the home is a safe place and staff undertake regular health and safety checks. One child assists with the monitoring of health and safety in the home, which gives the child a valued sense of responsibility. There has been a significant reduction in the number of times that children go missing from the home and the number of incidents and physical interventions. Staff rarely use sanctions; they prefer to reward children’s achievements. An example of this is the ability to earn the ‘Young Person of the Month’ award.

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

Occasionally, staff physically intervene to protect children from causing harm to themselves or others. Managers undertake debriefs with staff and children following the use of physical intervention or a sanction. However, records do not always include the date of the debrief. Therefore, it is unclear whether debriefs are completed within the required timescale.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are determined to develop a life-enriching service focused on children’s changing needs. Leaders and managers have addressed the requirements and recommendations made at the assurance visit in September 2020. A social worker stated that staff ‘go above and beyond to ensure the children with them get the best outcomes’. Inspection report children’s home: SC430320 5 Children have benefited from the introduction of the education facilitator post. This highly experienced teacher is also the manager of the activity centre. Children can spend time with their family in the activity centre, which also has an educational area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers demonstrate a strong commitment to children. An example of this is the development of their adult residential services, to provide ongoing care into adulthood. This provides good continuity of care for children in a familiar environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have strong links with professionals involved with children. A social worker praised the ‘very positive multi-agency work’. Parents, however, highlighted that they would like better communication and one parent felt that they did not have a relationship with staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are supported by a culturally diverse, competent and caring team of staff, who take pride in their work. Staff can nominate each other for an ‘employee of the month award’, which enables them to win a £50 voucher. Staff and their families are also able to access a confidential and independent employee assistance programme.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers demonstrate a commitment to the development of staff. Staff receive ongoing training and they attend regular team meetings. The introduction of online meetings has increased staff attendance and has provided valued support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive supervision, which enables them to reflect on their work. Staff appraisals highlight their strengths and areas requiring further development. Although children and professionals may share their views about individual staff members, these comments do not influence the appraisal system.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is regular monitoring of the home’s quality of care, which includes identifying and reflecting on trends and patterns. Leaders and managers gather the views of professionals, parents, children and staff. However, the views of parents and placing authorities are not included in the quality of care review report. Inspection report children’s home: SC430320 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 system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the quality of care must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (5))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to ensuring that the views of parents and placing authorities are included in the quality of care review report. 1 February 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful and clear recording. In particular, ensure that record-keeping accurately reflects children’s heritage, and that the date of staff and children’s debrief meetings is on sanction and restraint records. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home develops effective working relationships with parents. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.3)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff appraisals, where reasonable and practical, include the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: SC430320 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Vine Residential Services (TVRS) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Granary, Studio 4 1st Floor, 80 Abbey Road, Barking, Essex IG11 7BT

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Inspector

Sharon Payne, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC430320 8 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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