Children's home run by Evoke Care Group Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2626961 1 Registered provider: Evoke Care 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 five children with social and emotional difficulties, aged eight to 17 years old.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in February 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection since registration. At the time of this inspection, no children were living at 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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2626961 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has lived at the home since the home registered with Ofsted in February 2023. The child has now moved on and there are currently no children living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a welcoming and homely feel. The physical environment is modern and to a good decorative standard that is well maintained. During their time at the home, the child was encouraged to personalise their bedroom. This helped the child to feel valued and comfortable in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child was encouraged to participate and share their views at regular house meetings. House meetings were opportunities for the child to plan their daily activities and meal plans alongside staff. Suggestions made by the child were acted on, such as purchasing new garden furniture. The child was supported to make any complaints, and the registered manager responded to these appropriately.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Key-work sessions were planned to support the child’s individual needs. The sessions addressed important topics that were relevant to the child and in line with their care plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff worked hard to support and promote the child’s individual interests. The child was offered a range of activities in the local area. Important milestones for the child were celebrated, such as a birthday. The child was encouraged to invite family members and friends into the home to mark these occasions.

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

Staff had a good understanding of the child’s risks and vulnerabilities. Staff considered the child’s history and experiences to inform their individualised care plans and risk assessments. The child’s risk assessments were regularly reviewed and updated.

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

Safeguarding incidents are managed well. Staff know how to respond and take effective action in response to incidents. Staff were proactive when the child went missing from the home. They made attempts to locate the child and followed the missing-from-care protocol appropriately. There has been effective management oversight recorded on all incidents.

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

Staff benefit from the advice and support of a specialist systemic practitioner and a systemic psychotherapist. They offered additional insight and advice for staff on how to understand and best support the child when they were distressed. This is reflected in the child’s individual behaviour support plans and risk assessments. Inspection report for children’s home: 2626961 3 Staff complete training that helps them to support children effectively. The staff training includes: safeguarding, child sexual exploitation, self-harm awareness, prevent and radicalisation, mental health awareness and de-escalation techniques. As a result, the staff are skilled and were able to support the child to become increasingly safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers share a clear and ambitious vision for the home. They are committed to providing good-quality care. The registered manager has extensive experience and is suitably qualified. Additionally, the registered manager is also a qualified systemic family therapist, and she is passionate about embedding this approach within the home. The home’s statement of purpose includes the details of the commissioned systemic practitioners involved. However, it does not clearly explain their management arrangements at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers show good knowledge and understanding of children’s experiences and their individual starting points. They make child-centred decisions about children coming into the home. To ensure that they met the child’s needs, they did not admit any further children while the child was living at the home. Leaders and managers have reflected on the child’s time at the home and are learning from the experience.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers support staff development. The staff team values the training and career development opportunities. Staff report that they feel well supported by managers. One staff member commented that the manager’s open-door policy has created a ‘strong sense of trust.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular and reflective supervision sessions. Staff team meetings are enhanced by the input of the external psychotherapist. This clinical supervision offers space for reflection for the team as a whole to build cohesion and resilience, with the aim of retaining a knowledgeable and stable staff team. This ensures consistency of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager receives regular monthly supervision sessions from an external consultant and receives clinical supervision on a monthly basis. The registered manager feels well supported by the responsible individual. Inspection report for children’s home: 2626961 4

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home’s statement of purpose is updated to reflect the necessary management arrangements of all staff commissioned to provide health services. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraphs 10.8, 10.10)

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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: 2626961 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Airport House, Purley Way, Croydon CR0 0XZ

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Inspector

Amanda Burrows, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2626961 6 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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