Children's home run by Cornerways Children’s Services Limited in Reigate and Banstead

Inspection report for children's home: SC014848 1 SC014848 Registered provider: Cornerways Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by a private company that also runs a school. It provides care for up to six children. The service also provides individual children with support from therapists.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 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 outstanding

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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: SC014848 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/01/2022 Full Good 03/07/2019 Full Good 18/12/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 26/06/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC014848 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do well in this home. This is because staff work hard to ensure that only the best possible care is provided. There is good, personalised care because staff know the children well. Detailed pre-placement assessments ensure that staff know and meet children’s needs. Clear plans are in place to ensure that children make progress. There is a focus on positive behaviours. Children have good experiences and opportunities for learning and development. For instance, they are all involved in a live science project to grow butterflies from caterpillars.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with a range of professionals to ensure positive outcomes for children. Professionals report good relationships with the staff. One social worker requests places when there are vacancies. Professionals use such terms as ‘highly nurturing’, and say that staff respect children. Children say they have adults that they can go to if they are unhappy or concerned about anything.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in all areas of their lives. Staff promote children’s education well and work closely with their schools to ensure that they know their needs and that the children make progress. One child has made exemplary progress, from not attending school at all to now attending regularly. Another child has the potential to attend university and is being encouraged to look into this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have health assessments at the home, where they feel comfortable. The nurse works to build relationships with them before starting the assessment. The emotional well-being of children is at the centre of the care provided by staff. A range of external therapists support the children’s care. As a result, children make progress in their health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of giving children a say. Children have a range of opportunities to express their views, wishes and feelings. They do this informally at the dinner table or through one-to-one talks with adults in the house. Consequently, children have learned to listen to each other’s views. Staff support children to have time with their families. The home is warm and welcoming to families and visitors.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children in all areas of their lives. Because of this, children have good and varied experiences at this home. Staff provide group activities while also supporting children to have their own interests. Children attend football and kick- boxing as well as doing aerial skills. They go on holiday. Children cook and bake with staff. Children experience a warm and nurturing environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff commit to ensuring that new children receive a good welcome to the home. They support children already living at the home to prepare for a new child. Children are sensitive to the needs of new children and have learned to welcome them. Staff prepare children’s rooms for them with things that they like. Before a child moves in, Inspection report for children's home: SC014848 4 staff visit them as often as possible and the child visits the home. This leads to children experiencing positive moves into and from the home.

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

Children’s safety and well-being are central to all practice in this home. Effective risk assessments are in place. They contain details specific to each child. Staff update assessments as needed. Managers make staff aware so that they become familiar with the changes. This helps them to care for the children. Staff work with placing authorities to put safety plans in place when there has been a safeguarding incident. Good support is in place to keep children safe. When children report that the behaviour of other children is causing them to feel unsafe, staff work diligently to support them.

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

All children have risk assessments around going missing and exploitation. Clear processes are in place. Staff follow children when they attempt to leave the grounds and report them missing if they leave. On one occasion when two young children went missing together for several hours, Ofsted was not informed.

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

Staff receive training in e-safety. They work with children and placing authorities to devise safety plans when needed to keep children safe online.

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

Clear and consistent boundaries are in place. Children agree to these boundaries. Because of this, children know what staff expect of them. Positive behaviour plans are in place and staff know these well. All staff have received specialist training to manage behaviours that challenge. Staff know how to use physical interventions when necessary. However, staff prefer to use alternative approaches to manage behaviour and help children to feel safe.

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

Good safeguarding arrangements are in place that help to protect children. Staff work to keep children safe. They know how to respond to concerns about a member of staff. Staff are confident in understanding the role of external professionals, including the local authority designated officer.

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

Excellent safer recruitment practices are in place. The recruitment process is thorough and aims to ensure that unsafe people do not work in this home. The involvement of children in this process helps to recruit suitable people to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is a strong leadership and management team in place at this home. Their commitment and dedication to the children is a significant strength. They have high expectations for what children can achieve. They provide a staff team that is able to promote and enable these achievements. Leaders and managers are ambitious for the progress that children make. Personalised care is of a high standard and managers ensure care is regularly and consistently monitored. Inspection report for children's home: SC014848 5 Leaders and managers ensure that processes are in place to track children’s progress. These are strong processes that help them to understand children’s needs and areas where they need extra help to make progress. Managers act when necessary to ensure that children get what they need to make progress. For example, they make strong representation to education professionals to ensure that all children have a school place. This has been highly effective for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The leaders and managers manage staff effectively. They provide a supportive environment for staff, which enables them to develop their practice. Staff receive consistent supervision that meets their professional development needs. Leaders and managers are skilled in identifying areas for further staff development. They put effective plans in place to make these improvements. Staff receive copies of their supervision reports, however, these are not always signed. Staff speak positively about the quality of training that they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers promote a warm and nurturing environment for children. Regular consultations with the child psychotherapist help to support the work that staff do with the children. Research-informed practice further supports the style of care and parenting that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers show an exceptional commitment to diversity and inclusion. The ethos of the home means that children can speak openly about their identity and confidently be themselves.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers ensure that children take part in the development of the home environment. They encourage children to express their views. Children take part in the recruitment of new staff and give their views, which are considered by leaders and managers. This helps children to feel engaged and valued. Inspection report for children's home: SC014848 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 notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

is instigated; or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, notify the regulator of serious incidents such as younger children going missing and when the police have become involved. 20 May 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that a record of the content and outcomes of supervision sessions is kept and that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. In particular, ensure that these records of supervision are signed by the staff member. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4) Inspection report for children's home: SC014848 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 for children's home: SC014848 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cornerways Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ashcombe Court, Woolsack Way, Godalming, Surrey GU7 1LQ

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Inspector

Vevene Muhammad, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC014848 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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