Children's home run by The St Christopher School in Southend-on-Sea

Inspection report children’s home: SC052398 1 SC052398 Registered provider: The St Christopher School Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The centre is a purpose-built residential short-breaks home for six children with learning and/or physical disabilities. The centre is attached to a special school, and both are run by a charitable organisation. The inspector only inspected the social care provision.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2018.

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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 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: 25 January 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 children’s home: SC052398 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/01/2022 Full Good 13/08/2019 Full Good 26/09/2018 Full Good 07/06/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC052398 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with enjoyable stays at the home. Children take part in a range of fun activities in the community as well as having access to the on-site school facilities, which include a swimming pool.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Careful planning means that children can spend time with friends and family during their stays. Staff have a good understanding of children’s needs and recognise when children would benefit from individual activities. A child with a family caring role is given one-to-one time with staff, as well as being supported to take part in group activities with his family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff maintain good relationships with schools, parents and social workers to ensure that care plans are up to date for each child’s stay. This means that children are provided with consistent care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents and carers are very complimentary about the service. They feel confident in staff’s skills and knowledge. Parents and carers are also very positive about the regular, detailed communication they have with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans clearly outline how children like to communicate. Staff ensure that pictorial aids are available throughout the home to help children communicate their needs and choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to learn new skills. Staff focus on supporting children to improve skills that they are working on at home and at school. Children have made progress with personal care, social interaction and independence skills appropriate to their abilities, such as helping with the laundry and washing up.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and functional. Children benefit from a soft-play area, sensory room, craft room and a computer room. A few items of furniture need replacing and repair. Extension leads were not positioned safely, presenting a potential trip hazard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers ensure that restrictions on children are considered on an individual basis and permission is obtained from parents. However, permission for the use of surveillance equipment, such as closed-circuit television and bedroom door monitors, are not recorded on children’s files.

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

There are minimal incidents at the home. Children are provided with good levels of supervision from staff, who know them well. Inspection report children’s home: SC052398 4 Behaviour management plans for children are detailed. They contain guidance for staff on identifying triggers, including changes in body language. This allows staff to act quickly and avoid behaviours becoming more challenging.

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

Staff regularly manage complex behaviour related to a child’s reluctance to accept the intimate personal care they need. Children’s plans acknowledge the limitations on children’s privacy and choice in these circumstances. However, the plans lack the views of children and the adults who know them best to help inform these decisions. Staff recognise the importance of ensuring children’s dignity and privacy. They provide care that is sensitive and least intrusive. There are examples of children making good progress with their self-care. Children’s parents recognise that this progress is attributable to the skill of the staff team.

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

Physical intervention is rarely used. Parents are informed of all incidents, including when children are held. Managers lead debriefs with staff to explore the incident and what can be learned from it. However, discussions with children about incidents and the subsequent limitations on their privacy are not always meaningful. This means that children are not being supported to share their views about incidents or about the care that they are receiving.

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

Children’s risk assessments are individual and up to date. They enable children to undertake a range of activities. One child’s risk assessment contained information that was contradictory to the generic swimming risk assessment. This could lead to staff not following the most-appropriate guidance.

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

Staff monitor children’s well-being, and processes are in place to escalate any concerns if needed. Staff have a good understanding of the home’s whistle-blowing process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an appropriately qualified manager and deputy manager. Staff feel well supported by the management team, who regularly work on shift to role model practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff recruitment processes have improved. A consistent core staff team is supported by bank staff who have previously worked at the home or who work at the neighbouring school. This means that children are cared for by adults who they are familiar with.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff undertake regular training. This includes face-to- face training in behaviour management, first aid and safeguarding. Staff also access training that reflects the individual needs of the children they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains effective oversight of all incidents involving children. The manager completes regular reviews of the quality of care provided to children. However, these are not informed by the views of children. Areas of development Inspection report children’s home: SC052398 5 identified during the review are not captured and are not reflected in the home’s current development plan. This limits the effectiveness of the review.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the children’s needs. This helps to inform decisions about which children have overnight stays together. Inspection report children’s home: SC052398 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 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 understand how the child’s privacy will be respected and the circumstances when it may have to be limited. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, find meaningful ways to communicate with children in relation to support provided with intimate personal care and the limitations on children’s privacy;

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Requirement Due date

explore children’s views and feelings following the use of physical intervention to help children understand these restrictions. 30 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children; 31 January 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC052398 7 the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the review is informed by consultation with children and that any areas of development identified in the review are recorded and actioned to improve the service.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s homes are nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children. This specifically relates to the worn sofa and chair in the communal room and the cupboard door in the dining room. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered provider should ensure that they gain written consent for the use of monitoring and surveillance equipment at the time of the child moving in. This specifically relates to the use of close-circuit television and the use of bedroom door monitors. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16  The registered person should work in partnership with relevant people as appropriate to ensure that each child is provided with support (appropriate to their age and understanding) to communicate their views, wishes and feelings

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Recommendations

and participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. In particular, involve children and relevant professionals in agreeing approaches to the intimate personal care that children receive and the management of behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively address the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. In particular, ensure that the guidance for staff in relation to swimming is consistent with the general activity risk assessments, and staff follow guidance in relation to the use of extension leads. (Guide to the to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report children’s home: SC052398 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 children’s home: SC052398 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The St Christopher School

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jacqueline Mullan

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Inspector

Paula Edwards, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC052398 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 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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