Children's Home run by Surrey County Council in Surrey

Inspection report for children’s home: SC040638 1 SC040638 Registered provider: Surrey County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

From January 2022, this children’s home has been undergoing a restructuring programme. The home is now part of an integrated service that comprises a range of professionals who provide different ways of working with children and their families. The council has developed an innovation project called ‘no wrong door’.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered by Ofsted on 13 September 2018.

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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 16 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 requires improvement

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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: 11 December 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Recent inspection history

Inspection report for children’s home: SC040638 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/12/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 21/05/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/10/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 15/05/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC040638 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are fully supported and welcomed into the home. Some children have complex needs and staff work hard to build effective relationships from the time a child arrives. A social worker said that the staff had helped a child to settle quickly and be confident about living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers complete appropriate assessments of whether they can meet a child’s needs. The assessment includes actions to minimise risks to the child and others who live here. However, these actions are not always recorded. Therefore, clear evidence of how leaders make decisions about how they can care for a child before they arrive at the home is not available. This also means that, where a child’s placement does not go to plan, there is a lack of information to help leaders reflect on lessons learned or opportunities which may have been missed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work together to support children receiving consistent care which incorporates children’s views and feelings. One child wrote to the manager to say that the thing that he liked the most about his support was that he ‘felt listened to’. After incidents, the staff talk with children about what they can do differently to support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know how to work with children’s families, which means that they have confidence in the care and safety of their child. A parent said that better information for parents when their child arrives would have been helpful, especially as the service is so new. Leaders and managers are developing a parent guide which is not yet ready for use. This is a missed opportunity to support parents’ understanding of the ‘no wrong door’ model and what kind of support they can expect for themselves and their child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children regularly attend education. This can be attributed to the complex needs of some children and the previously disrupted educational history for others. However, most children are encouraged and supported to engage in meaningful and educationally related activities. One child is currently lacking consistency in how staff follow the child’s planned routine.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For children who have been living in the home for some time, their educational progress is very good. A member of staff spoke about ‘never giving up’. This related to a child who has been supported into a full-time educational placement, despite originally refusing to attend any form of education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to move into adulthood. The staff made a significant difference to a child’s ability to live independently, and they have ambitions for him. The child has developed better relationships with his family, is in full-time employment and now lives semi-independently in the community. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040638 4 Children are encouraged to lead healthy lifestyles and are supported to take appropriate responsibility for their own health needs. For children who have complex health needs, the staff have not ensured that they are as knowledgeable about these needs as they could be.

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

Staff are able to recognise, and respond effectively to, the complex needs and vulnerabilities of children.

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

The staff manage and reduce the risks that children face. From the time a child arrives at the home, the staff build on their knowledge of the child and how they should best support them. For example, the staff use their understanding of how trauma affects children when responding to behaviour which others could find challenging. Staff use shift handover meetings to learn from each other. This improves their abilities to support children effectively. Where the staff from the wider ‘no wrong door’ service have already established good relationships with a child, these are used to support children who may be finding things difficult. Children are, therefore, helped to trust the staff and accept the help which they offer.

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

Managers do not carefully check the accuracy of children’s risk assessments. This means that information in some documentation can be out of date and does not provide staff with consistent detail about how to care for a child. However, staff know how to provide safe care to children and they communicate well with each other about children’s needs.

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

Recruitment is well organised and follows safe recruitment guidance. However, a clear record of how the managers have checked out any gaps in a person’s work history is not always recorded.

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

Health and safety practices are mostly well organised and have been developed further to include a new online system, which further enhances some checks. Where damage to the property occurs, this is quickly made safe and rectified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

There are shortfalls in how the home is led and managed. This is because managers have not had sufficient time to develop their systems and processes due to management shortages. This situation is now improving and the responsible individual, who was present throughout the inspection, confirms that stabilising the home’s management is a top priority for the authority.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

A serious incident occurred in March 2022. A fire was started in the home and damage was caused to a child’s bedroom. Staff acted quickly to evacuate the home and worked with emergency services to ensure that all children and staff were safe. The local authority has instigated a thorough review into this event and has taken appropriate actions, including liaising with the fire and rescue service and internal health and safety colleagues. Furthermore, the authority is working with external Inspection report for children’s home: SC040638 5 partners to identify learning from this event, and has taken decisive actions in light of initial findings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

Managers are approachable and helpful, and have developed an open culture where staff feel able to challenge each other and to reflect on their own practice. The staff are curious and caring, putting children’s well-being and safety at the heart of what they do.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The monitoring systems are being adapted to fit the new remit of the service. However, this has not been without issues or weaknesses. This includes the monitoring of the new ways in which the residential service operates. Some aspects of monitoring have improved, such as audits of supervision practice, but there continue to be shortfalls. For example, the revised statement of purpose does not contain all of the necessary information, and there is outdated information in some care plans. The requirement from the last inspection remains unmet. However, the other three requirements made at the last inspection are now met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

Two recent incidents involving the police were not appropriately notified to Ofsted. This prevented Ofsted from being able to monitor the home’s operation and response to these events. All other necessary actions in relation to these incidents were undertaken. However, it is a concern that there was a failure to notify Ofsted and this further demonstrates a lack of rigour in the home’s management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

Staff supervision and appraisals are well organised and meetings occur regularly. These meetings assist the staff to develop their practice well, and support them to consider how working with vulnerable children affects their own well-being so that they can consider this when supporting children. However, recently employed agency staff have not completed the written induction form that was previously used. Therefore, there is no record of the induction that took place for these staff. There is the potential for new staff to have their skills thoroughly assessed as part of their induction and development to the role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

Not all staff are up to date with their training. Leaders acknowledge that there are some gaps, and there are clear plans in place to address these. This issue affects temporary and casual-use staff and has, to date, not had an adverse effect on the outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

Staff build and maintain appropriate relationships with other agencies. A social worker said that the home’s staff ‘communicate with me well and let me know of any difficulties that are occurring [for the child]’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040638 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 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—

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii) 30 April 2022

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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

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

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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)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they carefully monitor all records for omissions and errors and 30 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040638 7 that staff have the required training. The registered person must also ensure that they take remedial action in response to any shortfalls they identify. The registered person must ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction. (Regulation 33 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that agency staff receive an appropriate written induction during their first shift at the home. 30 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)) 30 April 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they promote the educational achievement of children, which includes, as set out in guidance, seeking a school or other education setting that is best suited to the child’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 27, paragraph 5.5)  The registered person should ensure that the assessments which they complete about whether they can meet a child’s needs before admission include detail of the actions that they will take to reduce the any risks which they identify. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.3)  The registered person should ensure that a person’s recruitment records show that they always check any gaps in a person’s work history. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should complete and put into operation the parent guide to

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Recommendations

the service provided as a matter of urgency. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.5)

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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 for children’s home: SC040638 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Surrey County Council

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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

Ruth Coler, Social Care Inspector Pete Hylton, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home: SC040638 9 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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