Children's Home run by Castle Homes Limited in Bromley

Inspection report for children’s home: SC419334 1 SC419334 Registered provider: Castle Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in November 2010. The manager registered in June 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home. The inspector saw all of the children during this inspection. Feedback was also received from a young person who had recently left the home.

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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: 16 December 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: SC419334 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/12/2021 Full Good 31/07/2019 Full Good 20/11/2018 Full Good 22/11/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC419334 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work tirelessly to advocate for children and meet their individual needs. All children make some level of progress. Children are more confident, more communicative and resilient. A parent felt the care was ‘absolutely fantastic’, and a social worker felt this was a ‘brilliant placement’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s experiences are varied. Some children appreciate all the help on offer and they are able to make excellent progress. Other children, due to their levels of trauma, are unable to utilise all of the available support. Leaders and managers do not wish to give up on children, but they acknowledge if the home is not meeting children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. For some children, this is significant, as they had needed significant dental work or mental health support. Children receive encouragement to lead a healthy lifestyle. Children are safely supported to self- administer specific medications or creams, which gives them a sense of responsibility.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are developing their independent living skills. One of these children rated this support as ’10 out of 10’. Staff take pride in the ongoing support they offer to young people who have left the home. The home continues to be a secure base for these young people, who still return to visit.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have the opportunity to enjoy a fulfilling life. A range of festivals and events are celebrated and these help to raise children’s cultural awareness. Children enjoy a range of activities, which include new experiences such as going to the theatre. The home also funds activities which children can enjoy with their friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The majority of children are in school and the organisation benefits from an educational liaison manager. An example was seen of a child who had not been in school for a long time enjoying full-time education at a resource suited to their interests. Children receive encouragement to be aspirational. However, despite staff efforts, one child continues to not engage in any form of education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work proactively and positively with parents and former carers to promote meaningful and safe family time. There is a notable example of staff taking a child to meet their family hundreds of miles away. Staff also demonstrate a caring attitude towards parents, and a parent praised the way staff work with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s birthdays are celebrated to ensure that they feel special, which helps children to develop a positive identity. Their achievements are celebrated and there are examples of children receiving external awards. Children are encouraged to think about others and staff endeavour to involve them in charitable causes. Inspection report for children’s home: SC419334 4

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

There are effective safeguarding arrangements in place, which help children to feel safe. Where there are issues regarding children’s safety, staff work in partnership with other professionals to ensure that they have an effective protection plan. The home benefits from a bullying champion, and an anti-bullying week was held to further raise children’s awareness.

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

Staff know children’s strengths and challenges. Since they have been living at the home, there has been an improvement in some of the children’s emotional well- being, an example being a reduction in self-harming incidents. A mental health professional highlighted that ‘staff went above and beyond’ in their support of a child’s emotional well-being.

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

Staff help children to develop coping strategies to manage their negative thoughts. Children learn to express themselves through writing poems, drawing and writing song lyrics. A positive example was seen of a staff member sharing their artistic and musical talents to help a child to learn to play musical instruments.

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

There are good behaviour management strategies, which help to de-escalate situations and reassure children. Staff understand children’s trauma and they have not had to physically restrain children. Children are now able to reflect and compromise and they are developing trusting relationships with staff.

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

Staff prefer not to give consequences for negative behaviour, instead favouring a positive reinforcement model. There is a personalised incentive system, which rewards achievements and socially acceptable behaviour. Consequences are used to educate children and help them to take responsibility for their actions.

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

Children live in a safe environment. Extensive health and safety certificates further confirm the safety of the home and staff undertake regular health and safety checks. Robust recruitment practices protect children. Staff benefit from safeguarding training and they know how to whistle-blow any concerns.

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

A comprehensive risk management system is in place, which addresses individual and environmental risks effectively. Children’s risk assessments are regularly updated to ensure that all staff are aware of the current issues. If children are missing from the home, they are usually with their family and staff maintain an ongoing dialogue with children to ensure their safe return.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from compassionate and effective leadership. They receive help from a committed staff team that is determined to make a positive difference to children’s lives. There is good partnership working with placing authorities and parents. Inspection report for children’s home: SC419334 5 The experienced registered manager has relevant qualifications in leadership and management. Strong deputy, senior staff arrangements and a very supportive responsible individual help to strengthen the management structure. A social worker described the deputy manager as being a child’s ‘rock’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are efficient monitoring arrangements to keep track of children’s progress. The home has a good-quality-assurance system, which is focused on enhancing children’s quality of life. The feedback from regular questionnaires from children, relatives and involved professionals also helps to develop the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children receive care from a diverse, resilient, creative and flexible staff team. Staff take pride in their teamwork and their continuity of care to children, despite staff shortages. Leaders and managers have assisted in covering shifts and additional children have not moved into the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team benefits from ongoing training. New staff benefit from mentors and a structured induction process, which helps to equip them for their role. The organisation has increased salaries and allowances to help with staff retention. Regular feedback from staff is also sought to ensure that senior leaders are aware of any staff concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff benefit from regular supervision. However, there has been an issue resulting in one staff member not having regular formal supervision. Staff receive performance appraisals, which highlight their strengths and focus on their personal development. However, the appraisal system misses the opportunity to take account of the views of children and involved professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The majority of the requirements and recommendations raised at the last inspection have been actioned. Children benefit from the ongoing refurbishment of the home to make it more homely. The bathroom is due to be modernised imminently. There is also still a need to ensure that children not in school receive ongoing support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s case records reflect their experiences and take account of the quality standards for children’s homes. Some of records do not reflect homely language; for example, the records use the word ‘unit’ to describe the home. When children leave and return to the home, some staff refer to this as being ‘off site’ and ‘on site’. This language is not in keeping with the ethos to provide a nurturing, homely atmosphere for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC419334 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of 30 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC419334 7 exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(x)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision (Regulation 33 (4)((b)) 30 April 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff appraisals consider, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful and clear recording. In particular, this refers to using appropriate language when referring to the home and when children leave and return to the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that, in order for the home to be a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children, they continue to refurbish all areas of the home’s interior so that they are all of a similar

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Recommendations

suitable standard. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC419334 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Castle Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Forge, Church Street West, Woking, Surrey GU21 6HT

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Sheila Powell-Doyley

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Inspector

Sharon Payne, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC419334 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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