Children's home run by White Lodge Centre in Runnymede

Inspection report for children's home: SC013828 1 SC013828 Registered provider: White Lodge Centre Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides short-break care for up to six children who primarily have physical and/or learning disabilities. The home is located on a multi-purpose site and is operated by a large charitable organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2020.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC013828 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/03/2022 Full Good 19/06/2019 Full Good 12/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/08/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC013828 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are looked after by an exceptionally skilled, caring and knowledgeable staff team. Children look forward to their short stays and come looking forward to spending time with friends and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals and parents speak positively of the experience that children have. One parent commented that their child would not have gone and played with another child before she started at the home and that she will now do this independently. This is significant for the child in terms of helping them to be able to manage relationships as they get older.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff manage complex health needs well. Robust medication procedures are well known and demonstrated by staff, who take the time to ensure they are correct. Children’s individual needs are well known by staff. When there are any changes, such as an increase in food doses, these are well understood and communicated between the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individual communication needs are well understood by staff. Care plans have clear guidance on communication needs that helps staff to understand what is being communicated by children. Staff respond exceptionally well to this. The impact of this is that children are consistently afforded choice throughout their time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that activities are inclusive and based on children’s views and wishes. Purpose-built play areas are furnished to give children safe experiences of play, and children are encouraged to make choices about what they want to do. As well as activities in the house, there are also activities in the community, such as trips to local parks and sea-life centres.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped by staff to develop independence skills, and this is done in relation to their starting points. A purpose-built kitchen allows for children who are wheelchair users to take part in cooking activities.

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

Risks for children are well understood. Staff demonstrated good safeguarding practice when with the children and were able to clearly explain procedures and expectations. Safeguarding is also discussed as a topic in both supervision and team meetings to ensure that it stays alive as a concept.

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

Children do not go missing, and there is a low level of incidents. This is due to the skill of staff to anticipate and manage behaviour. Staff and leaders respond well to recording of bruises. Staff are quick to report any concerns, and these are given a Inspection report for children's home: SC013828 4 good degree of scrutiny by managers. Any issues are shared as soon as possible with professionals. Leaders also ensure that there is a regular overall review to look at any themes and patterns. Guidance to staff on what to be aware of is also regularly reviewed.

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

Allegations and significant practice concerns are well managed. Communication to external safeguarding agencies happens immediately, and there is good collaborative working to ensure children remain safe while any follow-up work takes place.

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

The environment is safe. Weekly and monthly health and safety checks are supported by annual inspections of all key areas, such as fire and gas. When actions are identified on annual checks, such as the recent fire assessment, leaders immediately react to them and identify how they will be met.

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

Safeguarding training has not been consistently updated for all staff. The majority of staff have not had safeguarding refresher training, and their original training has expired. This was immediately rectified during the inspection. With training booked within a month of the inspection.

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good

A committed, enthusiastic manager leads the home with a clear vision of what he would like to change and a good knowledge of the impact that he has already made. However, despite the efforts of the manager, there has been a lack of oversight in this period, which has led to some significant shortfalls.

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good

The manager has applied to cancel his registration with Ofsted. There is a good succession plan in place and an organisational review of what leadership arrangements are needed to successfully run the home.

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good

Supervision for staff is inconsistent, and the records are hard to find. Some staff have had effective monthly supervision, whereas this is not the case for all. One new member of staff has worked for six weeks before supervision has taken place. This does not allow staff the opportunity to reflect on the challenges of the work and the impact that this can have. It also does not allow new staff to be given the opportunity for training and guidance.

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good

Care plans for children are not routinely monitored and reviewed. While there are some files that have been monitored recently, two care plans have not been reviewed since 2021. This means that guidance to staff is potentially out of date.

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good

Complaints are responded to well, and the robust investigation and findings are well shared. However, there is a lack of urgency in actions that were identified because of complaints. The medication policy was identified as needing updating following a complaint in August 2022. This is yet to be updated at the time of inspection. Inspection report for children's home: SC013828 5 There is a lack of oversight on training, as the current system does not allow leaders to effectively review when things are out of date. As a result, several members of staff have out-of-date training.

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good

Despite the issues raised above, staff, parents and professionals are all clear about the impact that leaders make and how available they are. They are all quick to comment on how supportive leaders are and that they always want the best for the children. Inspection report for children's home: SC013828 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, the 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 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager needs to ensure that staff training is kept up to date. 31 March 2023

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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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(g)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, when actions are identified in response to a complaint, they need to be completed within their identified timescales. 31 March 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC013828 7 The care planning standard is that children — receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager needs to ensure that there is a clear plan for monitoring care plans to make sure they are up to date. 31 March 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees —

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development; and

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff should receive regular supervision. 31 March 2023

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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: SC013828 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: White Lodge Centre, White Lodge, Holloway Hill, Lyne, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 0FA

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Inspector

Mark Newington, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC013828 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 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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