Children's Home run by Charis Services for Children Ltd in Surrey

Inspection report for children’s home: 2633107 1 Registered provider: Charis Services for Children Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for up to four children. It is owned and run by a private organisation. The provider states in their statement of purpose that they are a therapeutic children’s home providing care for children with emotional, behavioural, and mental health difficulties, and associated mild to moderate learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since July 2021.

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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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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: Not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2633107 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2633107 3

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improvement to be good

This is the first inspection of this children’s home. There were no children living in the home at the time of the inspection. Since registration, two children have lived at the home. Both placement endings have been unplanned, which causes disruption to children’s lives.

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improvement to be good

Staff receive support from the organisation’s therapist to help them to work therapeutically with children. However, staff struggled to maintain positive relationships with the children placed. As a result, staff were not able to consistently provide nurturing care that fully considered and met the children’s needs, and this negatively affected children’s day-to-day experiences.

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improvement to be good

One child’s time in the home did initially demonstrate the potential for good progress. However, the dynamics in the children’s home changed when another child moved in. The children began to go missing together. Staff were unable to break this cycle of behaviour in order to keep the children safe. This led to both children moving on from the home at short notice, without opportunity for a planned ending and support to help them move on in a stable and positive way.

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improvement to be good

There are comprehensive processes in place to assess children before they move into the home. However, assessments based on children being the only child living in the home were not adhered to. As a result, children did not benefit from the one-to- one intensive staff support that was identified in their assessments. These factors contributed to unplanned endings for both children.

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improvement to be good

Children learn about their new home through a well-developed children’s guide. It details how children can complain. However, children’s views are not actively understood, listened to and then implemented in practice.

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improvement to be good

Individual risk assessments are reflective of children’s needs. Managers and staff identify and understand the individual risks to children. There is evidence of risk assessments being updated. However, it is not always clear who has updated these and when. This makes it difficult for the manager to review whether assessments are being reviewed regularly and in a timely manner after any significant event, and who has completed these important revisions.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand reporting processes and where their role sits within wider safeguarding processes. For staff who have not yet completed their training, there is a plan in place to ensure that they obtain the necessary skills to care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2633107 4 When children have gone missing, staff have responded appropriately. External professionals spoke positively about how the manager and staff respond to any safeguarding concerns.

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improvement to be good

Staff are recruited in line with safer recruitment practice. The relevant checks are undertaken and verified. However, not all staff files contain the documents that demonstrate these checks, as filing is incomplete and delayed. This makes it difficult for the registered manager to audit files and ensure that safe recruitment practice is being consistently applied.

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good

The registered manager promotes a culture where she has aspirations for children. Managers and leaders have acknowledged the challenges the home has recently faced. They are reflective of the unplanned endings for children and have active plans in place to learn from these experiences.

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good

The members of the staff team are new, but they are enthusiastic and motivated to provide a good standard of care. They come from diverse fields, not all of which are related specifically to children’s social care. The manager has identified a need to recruit more staff with residential experience.

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good

All staff receive regular supervision from their line manager. The home also offers regular therapeutic group and individual sessions to the staff team. There is a varied training menu on offer. Staff feel well supported by senior managers. Reflective practice is embedded in the ethos of this home.

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good

There are weaknesses in how the registered manager implements the organisation’s quality of care monitoring systems. Records are not always reviewed in a timely way. Supporting information is not always uploaded. This refers to both children’s individual records and staff recruitment files. Continued delay in oversight has the potential for poor practice to be left unchecked.

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good

Relationships between staff and external professionals are sound. External professionals shared that they had positive communication with the provider regarding the children in their care. The registered manager has plans in place to further develop relationships within the community. Inspection report for children’s home: 2633107 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(ii)(iii)) 4 April 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

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have 4 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2633107 6 the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ix))

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 4 April 2022

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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—

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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)(ii)(iii)) 4 April 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5). Inspection report for children’s home: 2633107 7

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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: 2633107 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Charis Services for Children Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Richard Place Dobson, 1–7 Station Road, Crawley RH10 1HT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rodrigo Ferreira

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Inspector

Skye Frain, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2633107 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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