Children's Home run by Surrey County Council in Surrey

Inspection report for children’s home: SC040628 1 SC040628 Registered provider: Surrey County Council Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a local authority. It provides care and accommodation for up to six children who are experiencing emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in July 2020.

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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 on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Inspection date: 9 February 2022

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC040628 2

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined in effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Significant failings in the leadership and management of this home have resulted in poor practice which has led to children being left at risk of significant harm. Effective action has not been taken to address the emerging damaging dynamics between the group of children. Consequently, they have not had the opportunity to develop their social skills, personal safety skills or enhance their emotional well-being.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Leaders and managers did not give sufficient consideration to how the quick succession of children moving into the home, in October and November 2021, was impacting on those children already at the home. The analysis of how the needs and behaviours of some children would affect their peers was weak. This resulted in the staff not being able to effectively maintain positive behaviour within the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There have been two serious incidents when the safety of the children and the staff have been compromised. On both occasions, there were insufficient numbers of staff present to support and divert the children from engaging in increasingly dangerous behaviours. The assistance of the police was required to restore good order within the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Leaders and managers did not take effective action to address the situation. There was no management investigation following the first incident, and a coherent strategy for preventing a similar situation occurring was not put in place. This indicates a failure to use monitoring and review systems to identify learning and improve the quality of care being provided.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There are significant weaknesses in the assessment and management of risk. For example, the risk assessments for children who go missing from the home do not analyse the potential for a child to go missing due to peer pressure. Consequently, there are no strategies for mitigating against this. The strategies for preventing children from maintaining potentially harmful relationships with their peers are vague and often unrealistic. Consequently, staff failed to prevent an unhealthy relationship developing between two children.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Leaders and managers are unable to demonstrate that where risk reduction strategies are in place, they are consistently implemented in practice. Records are not kept of when children’s electronic devices are checked, despite there being known risks of online exploitation. In one case, there was no clear record to demonstrate that measures to prevent a child from self-harming had been followed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040628 3 The quality of care being provided to the children is not consistently adequate. There has been a failure to ensure that children consistently receive the support they need to address unhealthy lifestyle choices. This includes failing to support children to understand and avoid the detrimental impact of alcohol consumption.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has been a high turnover of staff at the home. Consequently, children do not always receive consistent care from staff they know well. In one month, the children were cared for by more than 30 different members of staff. These included bank staff and agency staff. It has therefore been difficult for the children to build meaningful relationships with their carers.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that adequate checks have been undertaken on the agency staff working at the home. They have not ensured that these staff have the necessary experience and skills to support the complex needs of the children at the home. Consequently, the children have received a poor standard of care from some of the agency staff working at the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff are not consistently well supported by their managers. They do not receive regular supervision, despite having to manage frequent confrontational situations and working long hours, particularly when responding to children who have gone missing from the home. There are no arrangements in place for agency staff to receive supervision.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children’s records are currently being transferred to an electronic data base. This process is not being managed effectively. Throughout this inspection, managers struggled to locate many of the documents requested by the inspectors. Many staff are not yet familiar with how the data base should be used.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children at this home are not making sufficient progress because their needs are not being met and their safety is being compromised. Ofsted will therefore consider what action needs to be taken to ensure that these shortfalls are urgently addressed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040628 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/05/2021 Full Good 26/06/2019 Full Good 27/11/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/05/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC040628 5

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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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to—

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well- being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular reference to ensuring that children are supported to address alcohol or substance misuse. 28 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; 28 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040628 6 encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix) (x)(xi))

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if 28 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040628 7 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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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)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular reference to ensuring that all relevant information is used to develop risk management strategies that are implemented in practice.

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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 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;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child 28 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040628 8 and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that arrangements are in place to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular reference to ensuring that prior to a child being admitted an effective assessment is undertaken of the likely impact on the children already resident and on the new admission. This should include how the relationships between the children are developing. 28 March 2022

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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,

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Requirement Due date

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 (2)(a)(b) (3)(d)) 28 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— 28 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040628 9 receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records kept electronically (regulation 38) can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view them and, if required, be reproduced in a legible form. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 61 paragraph 14.2)

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Information about this inspection

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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: SC040628 10

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Stephen Collett, Social Care Inspector John Pledger, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC040628 11 regulates and inspects 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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