Children's Home run by Children of the Mangrove Limited in Merton

Inspection report for children’s home: 1235653 1 Registered provider: Children Of The Mangrove Limited 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 five children aged 11 to 17. In its statement of purpose, the provider states that care is provided to children who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. There were four children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in April 2016 and the current manager registered in 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

Date of last inspection: 22 February 2022

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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: 1235653 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/02/2022 Full Good 06/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 06/08/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/01/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1235653 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive and trusting relationships with staff. This enables children to talk to staff openly about any issues that are worrying them. One professional said, ‘The staff have built a relationship with [name of child] that no one has been able to do before. As a result, we understand [name of child] better and what is going on for them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in developing their independence skills. Staff help children learn how to budget and cook their own meals. This helps children learn important life skills and prepare for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend and engage in their healthcare appointments. Staff supported one child to access a specialist service to address specific health-related issues. If children do not attend a scheduled health appointment, staff are proactive in addressing this and will rebook it for them. This helps to ensure that children’s health needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with children and their families to improve their relationships. Leaders and managers work closely with one child’s placing authority to provide outreach for the child and parent to improve their relationship. As a result, the plan is now for the child to return to the care of their parent. This demonstrates help to children to rebuild important relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are listened to. Children have the opportunity to share their views in weekly house meetings and with their key workers. Children’s complaints are recorded and responded to. As a result, children are more settled in the home and have positive experiences.

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

Children’s known and potential risks are well understood by staff. Children’s risk assessments and behaviour support plans are robust. They clearly identify risks to children and include clear actions to help staff to support children. Additionally, staff are curious, observant and proactive. They notice when children’s behaviours change and are able to ascertain what is going on for them. This helps to keep children safe and provide any additional support that might be necessary.

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

Key-work sessions focus on children’s individual needs and are in line with their plans. Frequent planned and unplanned key-work sessions ensure that they are relevant to the child and what is happening in their lives. Staff use information about children to plan effective key-work sessions. Positive relationships between staff and children allow key-work sessions to be meaningful and beneficial for children. Feedback from placing social workers and other professionals working with the home is positive. One social worker said, ‘I think that they are very thoughtful about Inspection report for children’s home: 1235653 4 the child’s specific needs. They have shown commitment throughout, even when the care plan may not have been as clear from the professional network as it could have been.’ This provides stability for children.

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

When children go missing from home, staff report this in line with local procedures. There is a strong and proactive response to ensure that children return to the home safely. When children return to the home, staff talk to them about where they have been and encourage them to engage in independent return home interviews. This provides support for children at times when they are vulnerable.

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

Room searches are conducted sensitively when there is a cause for concern. Staff remove items that pose a risk to children and talk to them about what they are worried about. This helps to keep children safe.

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

Staff work with external agencies to provide specialist help and support to children. This gives children further opportunities to help them learn how to keep themselves safe.

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good

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. The structure of the management team has been strengthened by the appointment of a deputy manager. Additionally, a new senior manager has been appointed in the organisation. The new senior manager plans to provide regular supervision for the registered manager, which has been lacking.

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good

Staff have regular team meetings that are effective and help to improve staff practice. Staff also benefit from the advice of a psychologist who helps them to reflect on the children’s needs and behaviours. This helps the staff to think about the best ways to support the children and improve their outcomes.

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good

Staff receive effective supervision. Supervision focuses on children’s needs, experiences and their plans. Safeguarding issues are discussed, as well as staff development needs. The quality of supervision is good. However, the registered manager does not complete records of supervision in a timely way and the supervision matrix is not up to date. This makes it unclear if all staff are receiving monthly supervision as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose.

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good

Staff are offered a range of face-to-face and online training. However, staff are not currently offered training that is specific to the needs of the children in their care. Additionally, the training matrix is out of date, and it is unclear if all staff have completed the mandatory training.

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good

Ofsted has not received a regulation 44 report for the month of May 2022. The registered manager informed the inspector that the independent visitor left and they did not find a replacement in time. This limits the external oversight of the home and is in breach of regulation. Inspection report for children’s home: 1235653 5 The condition of one child’s bedroom is a concern. Although the child is transitioning to their parent’s care and has not been sleeping in the home, the bedroom was not in an acceptable condition. It was cluttered with the child’s items, there were dirty plates and cups on the bedside table and the bed was broken and without a mattress. The bedroom checks for this room noted that there were no issues, which indicates poor practice and management oversight.

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good

Recruitment practice is still not sufficiently robust. Leaders and managers were unable to evidence that they undertake all safer recruitment checks when assessing the suitability of staff to work at the home. Some staff recruitment records do not include two written references, proof that they had been verified , or that Disclosure and Barring Service checks are updated. This does not demonstrate safe recruitment practice and potentially places children at risk.

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good

The workforce development plan is not up to date. This limits a full evaluation of the training and development needs of staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 1235653 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 recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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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, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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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 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they receive two written references that are verified, that Disclosure and Barring Service records are up to date and gaps in employment history are accounted for. 26 August 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 promotes their welfare. 26 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1235653 7 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 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)(a)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that records of staff supervision are written in time, staff receive training relevant to the needs of the children in their care and that there is ongoing oversight of the children’s bedrooms.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

HMCI. (Regulation 44 (1) (7)(a)) 26 August 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they have an up-to-date workforce development plan. The plan should include ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of the staff, including the home’s manager, to meet the specific needs of the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: 1235653 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Children Of The Mangrove Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Chester House, Fulham Green, 81-83 Fulham High Street, London SW6 3JA

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Inspector

Leanne Grant, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1235653 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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