Children's Home run by Autism Sussex Ltd in Bexley

Inspection report for children's home: 1264841 1 Registered provider: Autism Sussex Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a charitable organisation on behalf of the local authority and provides short-break services for disabled children. There are currently 32 children accessing the service on a rotational basis. Children have a wide range of physical and learning needs.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two different pairs of children staying at the home each night during this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in December 2017.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking 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: 25 November 2021

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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: 1264841 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/11/2021 Full Good 11/12/2019 Full Good 14/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 31/07/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1264841 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met well. Some of the children have complex medical conditions that require daily medication. Staff have a comprehensive understanding of the children’s individual needs, guided by detailed individual care plans. Parents feel confident that their children are well cared for and that their health needs are supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s visits are well planned. Children mostly stay with the same group, and this supports the friendships they have made. Detailed planning ensures that children enjoy each other’s company and that there are no incidents of bullying. Children like coming to the home and some see it as a sleepover to socialise and meet their friends in a safe space.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities that are specific to their interests and talents. They benefit from having good routines and structure when they visit the home. This gives children opportunities to have new experiences in the home and in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s voices are central to the home. Staff use visual aids and short stories that describe social situations to help children to share their views and choices, alongside increasing their level of understanding. Children are supported to choose their activities or what they eat. Children’s views and wishes are listened to on all aspects of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s privacy is not always respected. CCTV cameras have been installed in communal areas and children’s bedroom doors have alarm sensors that alert staff when the door is opened. The purpose of the camera surveillance is not for the immediate safeguarding of children but to replay footage to observe past events. This form of surveillance has been installed without regular reviews and adequate consideration of children’s rights.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s physical environment is safe for children. However, leaders and managers have not ensured that repairs and redecoration in the home are completed promptly. This does not provide a warm and comfortable environment for children.

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

Children are safeguarded effectively. Staff have a good understanding of whistle- blowing policies and procedures. The stable and consistent home environment, together with the warmth and confidence of the staff, makes the children feel safe and secure. Parents and social workers say that children feel safe and that the staff protect them. Inspection report for children's home: 1264841 4 Children benefit from high staffing levels and there are clear behaviour support plans to support their needs. Staff support children to understand boundaries and routines. This is done in a child-friendly way, using the child’s preferred method of communication. Incidents are well managed by staff, who use de-escalation techniques to support children. This means that even children with the most significant needs have positive experiences.

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

The known and potential risks to the children are well understood by managers and staff. Risk assessments are clear and detailed. They are informed by the children’s professional network to ensure that staff take the appropriate action when required. However, risk assessments are not always updated following incidents.

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

The admissions process for new children moving into the home is not sufficiently robust. Despite extensive meetings with new children and parents prior to admission, leaders and managers do not evidence in records that they consider all aspects of the children’s needs and how they can meet these. This limits the manager and staff’s ability to provide the most appropriate care to meet children’s needs during their stay.

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

Safer recruitment and employment practices ensure that staff are suitably vetted. This prevents unsuitable people from working at the home and helps to promote the children’s safety. However, recruitment practice could be further strengthened by leaders and managers ensuring that all references from previous employers are confirmed as official, by being on headed paper or including a company stamp.

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good

The home is led and managed by a committed and experienced registered manager. The manager and staff know the children well and hold high aspirations for them, by setting and reviewing individual goals. Feedback from professionals and parents about the leaders and staff is very positive.

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good

The management team works well with other professionals, including social workers and education staff, and with families. Working collaboratively enables the team around the child to strive towards helping children in a more coordinated and effective way. Parents are very positive about the care provided to their children.

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good

Staff access training in core areas, which include safeguarding, medication, and health and safety. They undertake more targeted training that includes epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder awareness. However, not all staff have completed the training offered, which limits their understanding of the individual needs of the children they care for.

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good

Staff say that they feel well supported and they work well as a team. However, they do not always receive regular practice-based supervision in line with the company’s policy. As a result, staff members do not have the opportunity to reflect on their practice and consider their developmental needs. In addition, the workforce Inspection report for children's home: 1264841 5 development plan does not give clear plans for induction, and the probation and supervision process.

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good

Leaders and managers do not have effective monitoring systems in place to review the quality of care provided to children and identify key themes. Therefore, management oversight is compromised. Inspection report for children's home: 1264841 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that all known and potential risks to children are thoroughly considered and assessed at the point of referral and that they consider if the staff team has the knowledge, skills and experience to meet the needs of children placed in their care. Leaders and managers must ensure that risk assessments are updated regularly following incidents. 28 April 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1264841 7 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;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff are suitably trained, and that there are effective monitoring systems in place to review the quality of care provided to children, and they take action to address any shortfalls identified. 28 April 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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff receive supervision in line with the statement of purpose and that records reflect the needs of children. 28 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance; 28 April 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1264841 8 the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to having CCTV cameras in the home’s communal areas and to bedroom door sensors.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, in order for the children’s home to be a nurturing and supportive environment, that they continue to repair and decorate all areas of the home’s interior. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that they maintain good employment practice, as set out in regulations 31-33. In particular, this relates to ensuring that all references from previous employers are on headed paper or include a company stamp. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should be updated to include the induction process, supervision, and any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the

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Recommendations

home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager. (‘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: 1264841 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Autism Sussex Ltd, Sussex House, 19 High Street, Battle TN33 0AE

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Inspector

Dorothy Thompstone, Social Care Inspector Paul Bailey, Principle Officer Safeguarding (shadow) Inspection report for children's home: 1264841 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 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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