Children's home run by SWAAY Child & Adolescent Services Ltd in Sutton

Inspection report children’s home: SC431807 1 SC431807 Registered provider: SWAAY Child and Adolescent Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides specialist care for up to four boys with a history of trauma, disrupted attachments and harmful sexual behaviour.

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Information about this children’s home

The organisation has its own separately registered school and an attached therapy team.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 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 good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit was carried out on 16 August 2022 to assess the provider’s progress against the compliance notices that had been issued following the inadequate judgement given at the full inspection in June 2022. The provider was found to have met all the compliance notices. Inspection report children’s home: SC431807 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/06/2022 Full Inadequate 16/03/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/05/2019 Full Good 19/12/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC431807 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home was judged inadequate at the last full inspection. The senior leaders have worked hard to address all the identified shortfalls. As a result, good progress has been made in the prevention of bullying, risk management, staff training, management oversight, safe recruitment, behaviour management and safeguarding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress educationally, socially and emotionally.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a well-maintained home. They have a strong say in the day-to-day decisions, engage in household tasks and can influence improvements to the environment. Children are proud of their bedrooms and have personalised them to reflect their identities and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and staff have positive and warm relationships. This is helping children to feel valued and well cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of promoting and developing children’s independence as children age. This is managed well and considers the specific additional risks for the current children in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are facing significant changes at the home with the departure of the registered manager, new management coming in, and staff and children from another home arriving following an amalgamation of two homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have thought hard about these moves by carefully assessing the impact. However, some improvement is required to be able to pre-empt any effects on children’s behaviours to minimise any potential problems that may arise because of these changes.

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

Staff show a well-developed understanding of the specific risks for each child. Senior leaders have invested in bespoke training to enable staff to be more mindful of risk assessments and following agreed protocols.

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

The registered manager has placed a strong emphasis on staff practice around managing risk and promoting the importance of effective recording. Staff have been involved in reviewing individual risk assessments and protocols and there are clear lines of accountability.

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

Staff can provide good examples of joined-up work with education and therapy and how this enables everyone to work together in a coordinated way to safeguard the children. Inspection report children’s home: SC431807 4 Staff have benefited from some intensive missing-from-care bespoke training to ensure that they are clear on their obligations around managing incidents of children going missing and ensuring that children are safe.

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

The registered manager engages well with the staff to ensure that everyone can recognise signs and symptoms of bullying and can deal with incidents quickly and effectively.

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

Staff have worked with children around positive relationships and supported them to better understand what constitutes bullying. As a result, there have not been any incidents of bullying since the last full inspection.

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

Staff manage behaviour effectively. They have received physical intervention training, and two members of staff have now gained qualifications to become trainers.

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

Staff use surveillance and monitoring sparingly. They ensure that the use of sounders on the front door is regularly reviewed and relevant to the current risks displayed by the children in the home.

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

Staff and leaders have spent time reflecting on safeguarding and behaviour management practice. This has led to improvements in day-to-day practice, reporting and recording of incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders have placed a clear emphasis on ensuring that staff have the skills and understanding they need to work with children with complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff now have individual development plans and there is good supervisory support that promotes continual professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders have made good use of external specialists and professionals to provide staff with more bespoke training. Examples include staff receiving training in online safety, working with offenders, and understanding conditions such as autism spectrum disorder.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has improved her oversight and monitoring of all areas of staff practice. She identifies weaknesses and puts in place training and interventions to support staff to improve. She has placed a strong focus on improving the quality of recording.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager demonstrates high-quality leadership that commands the respect of her team. The registered manager and senior leaders show willingness and determination to learn and develop following outcomes of recent inspections. They have created detailed and ambitious action plans, which demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvement at the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC431807 5 The registered manager deals with children’s complaints with diligence and seriousness. The registered manager keeps a clear chronology of all actions taken.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children feel that their concerns are taken seriously. Staff also engage in learning and reflection from complaints raised by children and ensure that this feeds into improved experiences for children. Inspection report children’s home: SC431807 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that there are procedures in place for welcoming and introducing each child to the home and that they are sensitive to the needs of the child at the time of arrival. In particular, the registered person should ensure effective planning and pre-emptive assessment of the impact of new admissions on the current children living in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.7)

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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 children’s home: SC431807 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: SWAAY Child and Adolescent Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 599a London Road, Cheam, Sutton SM3 9AG

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Inspector

Peter Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC431807 8 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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