Children's Home run by Sankofa Care Ltd in Croydon

Inspection report for children's home: 1244386 1 Registered provider: Sankofa Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to nine children. In its statement of purpose, the provider states that care is provided to children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted on 11 July 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

This inspection was conducted on site and involved meetings with children, staff and managers. Email and telephone contact took place with family members and placing authority social workers.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspectors only inspected the social care provision at this school.

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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 28 October 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 requires improvement to be 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. Inspection report for children's home: 1244386 2 Date of last inspection: 28 October 2019

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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 for children's home: 1244386 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/03/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/01/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1244386 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have settled in the home and have made good progress from their individual starting points. They are supported to engage in their care planning and build on their independence skills. Children learn how to cook, manage their own laundry and maintain a clean bedroom. One child successfully transitioned into semi- independent accommodation. The support from staff helps children to learn and develop important life skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain positive relationships with their families. As a result, the children’s social workers are able to consider children returning to live with their families. One parent said, ‘Things were really difficult before, but we are in a good place now. He has done well there.’ This helps children to rebuild important family relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is prioritised in the home. The on-site education provision is successful in supporting children to engage in education. Often, children who have not been in education for some time have engaged well with the education provision. As a result, children make progress in their education from their starting points. Some children have successfully moved on to further education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well understood and supported by staff. Staff support children to attend their healthcare appointments. One child has been supported to have additional tests to ensure that their specific health needs are being met. This ensures that children make progress and improve their overall health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s voices are heard. Children are supported to engage in their care planning reviews. Regular house meetings ensure that children’s wishes and feelings are heard. Children are given choices in activities and when planning the weekly shopping. Children benefit from having independent advocates. Children’s social workers acknowledge that leaders and managers also advocate well for children in the home. This has helped children to get the right support and make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The COVID-19 pandemic has had little impact on the children who have lived in this home. Children who tested positive for the virus received appropriate support from staff. Throughout the pandemic, all children have been able to maintain contact with friends and families, in line with agreed plans with the placing authorities.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding practice is not consistent. On two occasions, staff failed to report to the police when children disclosed that they had been physically assaulted in the Inspection report for children's home: 1244386 5 community. This means that concerns about children’s safety are not consistently addressed, and children do not always receive the appropriate support.

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improvement to be good

Concerns about children are not consistently recorded as required. This means that managers and staff are unclear as to what incidents have occurred. Additionally, lack of recording means that not all staff are clear about the actions required to manage such incidents and how to keep children safe. This prevents sufficient safeguards being in place to protect children.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments for children are not sufficiently robust. Some risk assessments do not accurately reflect the known levels of risk to children. Additionally, children’s risk assessments are not consistently updated when new concerns emerge. Following an incident between two children, leaders and managers failed to update the children’s risk assessments and put in additional safeguarding measures. Although no further incidents took place, this shortfall compromised the children’s safety.

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improvement to be good

The quality and frequency of key-work sessions are variable. Some children receive regular and effective key-work sessions that help them with important issues such as education. However, not all key-work sessions address the areas of concern identified in children’s care plans. This limits the support offered to children to help them learn how to keep themselves safe.

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improvement to be good

Children’s bedrooms are not safe. Some of the bedroom wardrobes are not secured to the walls. This presents a potential hazard to children.

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improvement to be good

Safer recruitment practice is robust and ensures that staff are suitable to work with children. This ensures the safety of children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leadership and management are strong. The service is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. The registered manager is supported by a home manager who is in the process of completing a management qualification. Additionally, there are two team leaders and senior staff on shift at weekends.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers make child-centred decisions when considering new admissions to the home. The registered manager completes a thorough impact risk assessment before new children move into the home. This ensures that children are suitably placed and matched. This provides stability in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular and effective supervision. Supervision focuses on children’s needs, experiences and plans. Safeguarding issues are discussed, as well as staff development needs. This ensures that managers have effective oversight of the progress children make and staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are well informed and have a clear understanding of the progress children make. When children struggle, leaders and managers liaise with Inspection report for children's home: 1244386 6 the professional network to ensure that safety plans are put in place. This maintains the stability of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home continues to use closed-circuit television in the communal areas. This is without the signed consent of the children and their placing authorities. Additionally, there are health and safety signs on display in the living areas and the children’s bedrooms. This presents an invasion of children’s privacy and an institutionalised feel to the home. Inspection report for children's home: 1244386 7

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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 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 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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers should ensure that risk assessments are updated, that staff are undertaking direct work with children to help them to keep themselves safe, that all incidents are recorded clearly and that wardrobes are attached to walls. 22 April 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;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)) 22 April 2022 Inspection report for children's home: 1244386 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that as far as possible, the home maintains a homely décor, and that health and safety signs are only on display where absolutely necessary. (‘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: 1244386 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 15 Station Road, London SE25 5AH

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Olivia Osei-Asibey

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Inspector

Leanne Grant, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1244386 10 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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