Children's home run by London Borough of Croydon in Croydon

Inspection report for children's home: SC041887 1 SC041887 Registered provider: London Borough of Croydon Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The local authority owns this short-breaks service. The home provides short-break care and accommodation for up to seven children with severe learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since 2007.

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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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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 requires improvement to be 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC041887 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/05/2019 Full Good 12/06/2018 Full Good 10/10/2017 Full Good 30/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC041887 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good, individualised care from staff who understand their needs very well. Children benefit from their positive experiences in the home and make good social and behavioural progress. Notable achievements include improved communication skills, learning to make independent choices and the confidence to join in group activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Based on their abilities, children develop age-appropriate independence skills. With staff support, children learn to help clear up after dinner, make their own breakfast, bake cakes, help tidy the bathroom and learn to wash and dress themselves. A parent praised the staff and the progress that their child had made. She said that the service was ‘excellent’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy their short breaks and safely participate in a wide range of activities. While a service-wide budget review has at times limited the staff’s ability to organise activities spontaneously, children have continued to take part in community activities such as picnics in the park, trips to the shops and bowling. A trip to visit a Christmas light display is planned.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s experiences in the home are further enhanced with time spent in the home’s soft play area, sensory room or interactive gaming in the computer suite. During the warmer months, children enjoy sand play and the paddling pool.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff visit the children’s schools and talk to parents and other professionals before children’s first visits. This helps to ensure that children’s care and support is appropriate and consistent during their short breaks. A social worker said, ‘This is an excellent service, alongside good partnership working with schools and social care.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are sensitive to parents’ and children’s needs to familiarise themselves with the home prior to their first short break. Children are invited to tea visits, followed with a longer day-care option before their first overnight stay. This means that children become familiar with their new environment, which helps them to settle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are successfully encouraged to give feedback at the end of their stay. Children say that they like their short breaks in the home. Staff meet parents annually to review and update their child’s needs, risks, health and progress. This helps to ensure that staff’s individualised care and support remains effective.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff’s communication with parents is good. Parents receive a regular home newsletter. Although regular parent meetings with staff are temporarily paused due to the pandemic, they are planned to restart. These meetings give parents the opportunity to talk about their experiences and gain valuable knowledge of the services and support that are available to them and their children. Inspection report for children's home: SC041887 4 The building is suitable for the care and accommodation of children. Children’s bedrooms are comfortable and suitably equipped and furnished to meet their social and mobility needs. However, the inspector found some shortfalls in the home environment. A damaged sofa and a dirty towel discarded on an outside bedroom window ledge detract from the homely environment. A ‘fire action’ advice card was missing in the dining room. A bedroom wardrobe used to store office equipment was

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

not lockable. The wardrobe contents potentially pose a risk to children. The deputy manager made arrangements to address these shortfalls during the inspection.

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

The home has strict COVID-19 protocols in place. There have been no COVID-19 outbreaks in the home during the pandemic. Staff went above and beyond during lockdown restrictions and offered some outreach services to families, such as helping with family shopping or caring for the children in their own home. The home has recently won a local authority award for the staff’s contribution to the continuity of the service during the pandemic.

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

Staff know the children very well and work skilfully and compassionately to ensure that they enjoy their time at the home. A parent reported that she trusted the staff, and that her child is always safe in the home.

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

Staff understand children’s complex behaviours and risks. Behaviour management plans set out strategies to de-escalate challenging behaviours. Staff complete children’s risk assessments and identify strategies to minimise those risks. Staff rarely use restraint to manage complex behaviour. If restraint is used, the action is necessary to prevent harm or injury to children or others.

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

Staff record-keeping is not sufficiently robust. The inspector found inconsistencies and shortfalls in children’s records. A physical intervention record did not record the duration of the physical restraint nor the debrief with the child. This does not meet regulatory recording requirements.

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

Some other records were either not up to date, signed or processed in accordance with the home’s agreed procedures. For example, a child’s supervision levels were inaccurate, a child’s particular risk was not recorded, incident logs were not up to date and a parent’s consent to their child’s night monitoring was missing.

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

Despite these mistakes and omissions, the inspector found no evidence that these shortfalls have placed children at any increased risk.

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good

The local authority has recently undertaken a review of all its services, which includes this children’s home. During this review, some staff’s fixed term employment contracts ended. These staff chose to leave the service. Leaders and managers are actively recruiting to address the staff vacancies. Inspection report for children's home: SC041887 5 Despite staff vacancies and some long-term staff sickness, staff have worked hard to ensure that there is a continuation of the service to children and their parents. The dedicated staff team has offered to work longer hours and additional shifts. A parent said, ‘What the staff do is wonderful.’

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good

Staff resilience has been further tested recently. As a result of additional staff supervision levels to help keep all the children safe during their stays, some children have experienced unplanned changes or the cancellation of their respite arrangements. This is disruptive to the families’ care arrangements. The registered manager has kept parents informed of the reasons for these changes.

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good

Staff say that they have been anxious and their morale is low. The registered manager is aware of staff concerns. She reported that she has spoken with staff individually. To further support staff, they have recently undertaken resilience training, and a team day is planned. The responsible individual reported that the current issues are short term and will be resolved in due course.

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good

Staff generally undertake all the necessary training to meet the needs of the children in their care. However, not all staff have undertaken physical restraint training. This could result in unsafe practice in the home.

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good

The registered manager’s quality of care review report does not include feedback and opinions from parents, carers, staff and professionals as required. This is a missed opportunity to further develop the service. Inspection report for children's home: SC041887 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 registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that incident logs, children’s behaviour management plans and children’s risk assessments are accurate, kept up to date and signed. 31 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report"). 28 February 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC041887 7 The registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)— 31 December Inspection report for children's home: SC041887 8 has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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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 staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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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)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff are suitably trained in the home’s physical restraint model. Also, that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. 28 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children; 31 December Inspection report for children's home: SC041887 9 the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance;

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Requirement Due date

so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that written parental or placing authority consent is gained for the monitoring or surveillance of their children.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a homely, domestic environment. In particular, the registered person should replace the damaged sofa in the lounge, replace the missing ‘fire action card’ in the dining room, remove the dirty towel from the first-floor bedroom ledge and ensure that any items that pose a risk to children are stored securely. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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 for children's home: SC041887 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: London Borough of Croydon

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: P2P Team, PO Box 1967, Bernard Wetherill House, 8 Mint Walk, Croydon, Surrey CR90 9FL

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Inspector

Victoria Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC041887 11 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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