Children's Home run by Wandsworth Borough Council in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: 2683463 1 Registered provider: Wandsworth Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home provides longer-term care for up to eight children aged between eight and 19 years. According to its statement of purpose, the children have Autistic Spectrum Conditions, Severe Intellectual Disabilities and associated behaviours that challenge.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been registered as a children’s home since the 25 April 2023. Before this, it was a home providing residential care for children as part of a group of houses that was registered as a different service.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a school on the same site as the home. The inspector only inspected the social care provision on this site.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since 19 May 2022 but has recently left the service.

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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 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: 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: 2683463 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were eight children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The relationships between the children and staff are good, and staff have a clear understanding of children’s individual needs and vulnerabilities. Staff are patient and sensitive when supporting children in crisis and provide support that helps to improve outcomes for children, ensuring they engage in education and activities. Children are provided with a minimum of one-to-one care from staff. Most of the time, children are cared for by familiar adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some of the children in the home do not use verbal language. The home’s manager and staff make a continuous effort to understand the children using a variety of communication aids, such as photos and Makaton. These aids are carried by staff and displayed in the home. Staff understand the importance of children participating in the running of the home and involve children in making choices, such as what to have for dinner, themes for home meetings or how their bedrooms are decorated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children attend the school that is on the same site as the home. Some children struggle with moving from home to school, as changing environments can cause them anxiety and distress. Staff are alert to this and are thoughtful in preparing children to settle into school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment is well maintained, and staff ensure that it is as comfortable and homely as possible. The children’s rooms are personalised; this includes murals on the walls and having access to items that are personal to them. The home can be quite noisy; however, it is large enough for children to find a quiet space to engage in their preferred activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported to spend regular time with their families. Various resources are available, which include staff directly supporting family time or having access to a family flat on site for overnight stays.

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

Staff prioritise the safety and well-being of children. All staff have attended safeguarding training provided by the in-house training department. There are effective systems in place for staff to report concerns. Leaders and managers work in partnership effectively with relevant external agencies, and safeguarding concerns are managed well.

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

Staff know the children well and understand the particular areas of vulnerability for each child. However, the written plans for children are generic and do not always clearly identify dangers or safety plans. For example, the safety plan for one child who enjoys swimming in the sea did not identify the risks of this activity. Inspection report for children’s home: 2683463 3 Additionally, it was not updated following an incident when she became upset because she did not want to get out of the water. In practice, staff managed this incident safely.

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

Written care plans are comprehensive and clearly describe how to care for the children and meet their individual needs. These documents are easily accessible to staff, and simplified versions are available to agency staff.

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

Some children in the home engage in self-injurious behaviours; overall, these incidents are managed well. However, for one child who is potentially at risk due to banging her head, there is no clear agreement between the provider, the parent and the social worker as to whether she needs some adaptations in her room to make this a safer space.

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

The children have developed meaningful relationships with staff and like to remain close to them. Laughter and enjoyment are daily occurrences within the home. Parents and social workers reported that they feel that staff care for children well and keep them safe. They describe the children as happy and making progress.

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

Safe recruitment of staff is a thorough process and is managed well. Minor discrepancies were found in one personal file, which were addressed during the inspection period.

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good

The registered manager has recently left the service but has not yet cancelled his registration with Ofsted. An interim manager was appointed to cover this post, but he was away from work at the time of this inspection. There is a house manager who has day-to-day oversight of the care practice, and they are currently being supported by the responsible individual.

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good

The house manager is ambitious for the children and staff and has gradually introduced systems that are working well. He is committed in his role and is hands- on, modelling best practice and spending time with staff and children. He knows the children well and keeps close oversight of their day-to-day care.

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good

Staff do not receive regular supervision; appraisals, which are due to take place by the end of the year, have yet to be scheduled. Staff do not have protected time for supervision, training or administrative tasks.

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good

In recent months, significant personnel changes have been made that have been unsettling for staff, mainly due to a lack of consultation by senior leaders. Consequently, staff morale is low. Staff do not feel supported by senior leaders and described their efforts and commitment to the children as often overlooked. Inspection report for children’s home: 2683463 4 A behaviour management team is part of the overarching provision; however, behaviour incident records are not consistently and meaningfully reviewed by this department or managers. This means that opportunities for learning in order to improve care practice are missed. Communication from the home to outside agencies and parents is inconsistent. One child’s placing authority and parent complained that it is often difficult to make direct contact with the home, even after significant events, whereas other families and social workers expressed high praise for communication from staff.

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good

Inspection report for children’s home: 2683463 5

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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, The 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(x)) 1 February 2024

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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

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)(b)) 1 February 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2683463 6 In particular, ensure that children’s risk assessments are updated after incidents and each significant event.

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Requirement Due date

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 continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all significant incidents are evaluated and that there is protected time for staff to complete training relevant to the needs of the children they care for. 1 February 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered manager should ensure that the design of the home includes any necessary adaptation to meet the needs of children with disabilities or specific health issues. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 17, paragraph 3.24).

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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: 2683463 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Wandsworth Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Town Hall, Wandsworth High Street, London SW18 2PU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Penelope Doswell

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Inspector

Jane Balfe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2683463 8 regulates and 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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