Children's home run by Enhanceable

Inspection report for children’s home: 2645163 1 Registered provider: EnhanceAble Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The provider is a registered charity and not-for-profit organisation. The home provides short breaks for up to seven children who have learning disabilities, and/or physical disabilities, and/or sensory impairment.

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Information about this children’s home

The service and the manager registered with Ofsted on 18 August 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

Date of last inspection: 8 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: 2645163 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2645163 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive high-quality care that meets their individual needs. They are invited to the home for ‘tea-time’ visits before their first stay to help them to settle well and get to know staff. Additionally, staff visit children in school to observe the care and support they receive. This ensures that children receive consistent care and support during their short breaks. During the inspection, children were observed to be relaxed and happy as they played with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to develop positive relationships with parents and professional networks. Parents spoken to say that their children enjoy their stays at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points, in line with their abilities. Staff are ambitious for children and actively encourage their independence, such as supporting toileting, brushing teeth, getting dressed or improving their language skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a variety of complex health needs. They have individual healthcare plans that help staff to support and manage their health needs well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views on the care they receive are regularly sought. Furthermore, staff build relationships with children that allow them to understand children’s cues and ways of communicating. Staff understand how to communicate with non-verbal children through a variety of tools, including using pictures and body language.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to range of activities when they stay at the home. Staffing ratios allow staff to provide individual attention to children to meet their needs. Staff engage children in social activities, such as going shopping, baking and trips to a cinema, ice-skating or bowling.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience a good balance between a low-arousal environment and access to a range of stimulating activities. The facilities include a relaxation room, sensory room and two gardens. There is enough space to accommodate the children staying at the home and for them to have personal space to be alone if they wish.

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

Managers and staff carefully consider children’s needs, skills and the level of care they require to ensure that they receive the best possible care and support. All children have individual care plans and risk assessments, which help staff to keep them safe and comfortable throughout their stay. However, the use of a safe-space bed was not reflected in one child’s care plan. Inspection report for children’s home: 2645163 4 The doors in and out of the home have key-fob access, which reduces the risk of children being able to leave unsupervised. Therefore, there have been no incidents of children going missing from the home.

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

Following a number medication errors, improved procedures have been introduced to avoid any further errors. The improved procedures include more scrutiny and oversight by the manager or team lead of the administration and recording of medication.

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

Children have personal emergency evacuation plans, and there are regular fire evacuation practices. This helps to ensure that staff and children are familiar with the evacuation plans so that they know how to safely leave the building if necessary.

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

Staff have undertaken safeguarding training and demonstrate a good understanding of the policies and procedures to follow if allegations are made against staff. This includes the home’s whistle-blowing policy.

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

Staff are trained to restrain children safely when required. Records demonstrate that the use of this measure is proportionate and only used when necessary to keep children safe. However, restraint records do not demonstrate that debriefs are undertaken with staff, and the recording of debriefs with children are not consistent. Furthermore, some of the incidents are signed off by the manager who was involved in applying the measure.

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

Safer recruitment and employment practices are followed to ensure that only suitable staff work at the home. However, reference checks with the last employer have not been completed for two members of staff. Furthermore, more could be done to assure the provider of staff’s suitability when overseas police checks cannot be obtained for staff who have recently arrived in the United Kingdom.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management of the home is strong and effective. The home is run by an experienced registered manager who is supported by two assistant managers and senior shift leaders. They have worked hard to create a safe and ambitious short- breaks service for children in the borough and local area. There is a high expectation to provide a good standard of care and positive experiences for children, while providing their parents/carers with a break from caring.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s records show evidence of management oversight. Leaders and managers use learning from practice and feedback to improve the experiences and care of children. For example, the leadership team now reviews significant incidents to identify any emerging themes and patterns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is high. The feedback provided by staff about the leadership of the home is, without exception, positive. Staff report that their views are valued and appreciated. They are offered opportunities to progress to more senior roles in the organisation. Staff benefit from induction, regular supervision and appraisals. The Inspection report for children’s home: 2645163 5 training provided for staff builds their confidence in meeting some of the children’s most complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are records of consultations between the registered manager and the designated officer about safeguarding and child protection issues. However, Ofsted has not been notified about an allegation against a member of staff. This compromises the external oversight of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers carefully consider information about new children staying at the home and fully explore the impact a new child will have on the children already receiving their short breaks. Consequently, care planning for children is effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers actively promote tolerance, equality and diversity through their practice. This was evident in children’s planning, how children’s identity and dietary needs are met and in staff employment and care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2645163 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 the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2;

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and

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Requirement Due date

the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d) (7)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 23 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2645163 7 In particular, the registered person must ensure that references are requested from the most recent employer for all new staff and any gaps in employment history are explored. The registered person should also assure themselves that all staff who have recently arrived from outside of the United Kingdom are suitable to work with children.

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff and, when appropriate, children are debriefed following incidents of restraint. Furthermore, the registered person must ensure that the manager does not review incidents or carry out debriefs with staff and children when the manager has been involved in the incident. 23 March 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 23 March 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any decisions to modify the child’s environment are only made to safeguard the child’s welfare and that they are informed by a rigorous assessment of that child’s needs, are recorded and kept under regular review. In particular, this relates to reflecting the use of the safe- space bed in children’s care plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they maintain good employment practice, as set out in regulations 31 to 33. In particular, this relates to the consideration of what additional safety measures could be taken for staff who Inspection report for children’s home: 2645163 8 have recently arrived from outside of the United Kingdom. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 2645163 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 13 Geneva Road, Kingston Upon Thames KT1 2TW

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Inspector

Aneta Wasilewska, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2645163 10 inspects 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or

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Inspector

medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspector

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Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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