Children's home run by Progress Care and Education Limited in Hammersmith and Fulham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC044224 1 SC044224 Registered provider: Progress Care and Education Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private organisation and provides care for up to four children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager, who has been registered with Ofsted since October 2023, was on extended leave at the time of this inspection. The assistant manager is overseeing the management of the home in the absence of the registered manager.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC044224 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/03/2022 Full Inadequate 26/06/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC044224 3

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improvement to be good

Children moving into the home do so with carefully considered plans which are sensitive to their needs. Parents are included in planning for children’s transitions to the home, which ensures that their knowledge and understanding of their children’s needs are considered.

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improvement to be good

Children’s communication needs are not fully understood by those working with them. This means children’s wishes and feelings are not captured and there are missed opportunities to develop children’s communication and participation in daily life.

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improvement to be good

Children attend school. The links between staff at the home and staff at school do not result in good practice being shared, particularly in respect of children’s communication needs. There is no clear communication plan for one child due to the absence of regular discussions with their school.

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improvement to be good

Children have trusted relationships with staff members who know them well and celebrate their achievements with ‘wow’ moments. Children are encouraged to take part in a range of activities, including swimming and trampolining. Children’s experiences are captured in monthly newsletters and videos, which are shared with parents. One parent said, ‘I love receiving [name of child’s] updates. They are lovely to see and so informative.’

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improvement to be good

Children have access to universal and specialist health services. As a result of staff support, children who were reluctant to have eye tests have now allowed an optician who visited the home to check their eyes. This progress indicates that children trust the staff caring for them.

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improvement to be good

Children are visited by their families in the home. Staff value relationships between children and their families and ensure that parents are informed about children’s daily lives. Staff work closely with parents to understand children’s needs. One parent said, ‘I can drop in anytime,’ and ‘[Name of staff member] regularly asks for my views on how best to care for [name of child].’

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improvement to be good

Staff hold children only as a last resort and use the least restrictive measures to keep children safe. When incidents take place, the details are clearly recorded, although the details of those involved are not consistently included in records. Staff are given the opportunity to reflect on interventions. However, children are not always given the opportunity to share their views about these incidents, due to their communication needs. The management oversight does not identify gaps in the information or offer any Inspection report for children’s home: SC044224 4 reference to the debriefs that are taking place with children. When the manager does recognise shortfalls or learning required, there is no evidence that this is acted on.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are reviewed regularly, and staff understand them. However, there is some conflicting of information across children’s plans, which means that they do not provide an accurate reflection of children’s needs. One child’s risk assessment refers to the use of communications aids, which contradicts other documents that indicate that communication aids are not used. This compromises safeguarding practice.

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improvement to be good

Children have individualised positive behaviour plans that include clear strategies to de- escalate challenging behaviours. Staff talk confidently about these strategies and have a good understanding of children’s behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Swift action is taken in response to any allegations or suspicion of harm. The manager ensures that social workers and other external professionals are aware of any concerns. When investigations take place, these are completed in a timely manner and outcomes are shared with all relevant people, including parents.

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improvement to be good

Staff are recruited safely. All relevant checks are completed, which means that staff have been assessed as being suitable to care for children safely. Staff understand procedures for safeguarding children, including whistle-blowing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The day-to-day management of the home is carried out by the assistant manager. When not on extended leave, the registered manager splits their time between this home and the other home she manages. The assistant manager is the point of contact for staff and external professionals and the registered manager’s presence in the lives of staff and children is limited.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff say that supervision is regular and offers them the opportunity to reflect on their practice. However, the supervision records do not demonstrate this, as they do not include details of any reflective practice discussion. Appraisals take place annually but these are not a two-way process and do not demonstrate any management review of practice to inform continuing development. There are missed opportunities to obtain feedback from children and their families as part of the appraisal process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The systems in place for the management and oversight of the quality of care are ineffective. When the registered manager identifies shortfalls and the action required to address these, they are not followed up. As a result, some required tasks are not completed. For example, the statement of purpose has not been reviewed and updated and does not include accurate information about the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have completed all mandatory training and additional training specific to children’s needs, including diabetes and epilepsy training. Team meetings are well attended and well recorded. They give staff opportunities for further learning and the chance to Inspection report for children’s home: SC044224 5 consider any incidents as a team. A number of staff have not completed the appropriate qualification within the required timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The stability of the staff team has improved since the last inspection and the use of agency workers has reduced. One professional said, ‘Every time I visit now, there are regular staff.’ This gives children the opportunity to form trusting relationships with staff and means that they receive consistent care from staff who know them well. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044224 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, 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 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

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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there are systems in place to analyse and evaluate staff practice.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that any required actions identified from audits and reviews are carried out and the impact of these on the care provided is documented. 7 May 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

that staff— 7 May 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC044224 7 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that risk assessments take account of children’s individual needs.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that all risk assessments contain clear steps for staff to follow should an incident arise. These should take account of children’s individual communication needs.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vi)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children have an opportunity to communicate their views and emotions following any use of restraint.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that all uses of restraint and consequences are evaluated to determine their effectiveness and ensure any learning is put into practice. 30 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or 7 May 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC044224 8 a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part-time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b)(6)(a)(b))

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have the opportunity to reflect on practice in supervision and that this is recorded effectively.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that annual appraisals review staff development over the past year and identify future learning needs and how these will be met. Appraisals should take account of feedback from children and stakeholders, including parents. 7 May 2024

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

engage with them; and 30 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC044224 9 take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. (Regulation 7 (1)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children have the opportunity to share their views, wishes and feelings about their care.

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they work with other professionals to understand the communication needs of children. 30 April 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure any changes to staffing are updated in the statement of purpose and that these changes are submitted to Ofsted. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)

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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: SC044224 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Progress Care and Education 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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Inspector

Sarah Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC044224 11 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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