Children's Home run by Charis Services for Children Ltd in Surrey

Inspection report for children's home: 2633107 1 Registered provider: Charis Services for Children 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. The home provides care for up to four children who may experience social, emotional and mental health needs as well as associated mild to moderate learning difficulties. There was one child living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been a vacant registered manager position since December 2023.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2633107 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/07/2023 Full Good 08/06/2022 Full Good 08/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2633107 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although one child is living in the home, two other children remain on roll but have not stayed at the home for a period of time. This is because one child is accessing specialist services elsewhere, and the other child is having a gradual move into foster care. There are uncertainties around their return to the home as this is dependent on the support offered from other services to meet their needs. Staff keep in regular contact with these two children and maintain positive relationships with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good relationships with staff. They enjoy sit-down meals and light-hearted conversations. Children make full use of the toys and crafts in the home. For example, a recently completed jigsaw puzzle is out on the table and a handprinted canvas creation is taking shape in the upstairs landing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from the personalised care that they receive. Staff know how to support children’s individual needs in a sensitive and skilful manner. Subsequently, children make progress in important areas, including managing their emotions and fears. Children’s sleeping patterns improve, and they make progress in their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy various activities with staff, including trips to theme parks, going go- karting, accessing indoor climbing and having outings to local parks and ice-skating rinks. These memorable events are captured in photos, and staff create keepsakes for children’s memory boxes, which serve as tangible records during their time living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and opinions are valued. Staff seek these in a variety of ways, including through the weekly ‘house huddle’ meetings. Consequently, children have meaningful input into the running of the home. Examples include participation with the artwork for the children’s guide and having their views considered when new children come into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with the people who are special to them, which helps maintain important relationships. This has enabled one child to move back to live with their previous carers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s bedrooms are personalised, and their identity is celebrated and valued. However, there are not many photos of children. One child particularly expressed a desire to have more photos of them displayed in communal areas of the home.

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

Children rarely go missing from this home. On one occasion, a child went missing from home when the school day was finished. This resulted in an effective coordinated Inspection report for children's home: 2633107 4 response from staff in conjunction with education staff to ensure the child’s safe return home. This was followed up with the request and completion of a return home interview.

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

Staff’s knowledge of children’s individual vulnerabilities is good. Individual risk management plans are used to inform practice. However, one child’s risk assessment was not updated in a timely manner following an incident. Also, conversations to support this child to understand risks posed during incidents are not consistently carried out. Consequently, this has led to missed opportunities for staff and children to learn and prevent reoccurrence.

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

Staff know and understand the processes for reporting safeguarding concerns. Staff respond well to children when they need support, and incidents are managed effectively. Emphasis is placed on restoring relationships following any conflict or misunderstanding, mitigating the need to use physical restraint.

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

Training and development are valued by staff to equip them in meeting the needs of the children in the home. Specific training is identified and delivered to staff, furthering their understanding of how to manage children’s individual needs.

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

Appropriate recruitment practices are in place. This ensures that only vetted individuals are appointed to work at the home. Managers have robust practices in place to ensure that effective health and safety processes are in place. This helps to keep children, staff and visitors safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager became the responsible individual in December 2023. However, a new manager started in October 2023 and has benefited from a thorough handover period. Therefore, children and staff have experienced continuity despite changes to the leadership and management of the home. The new manager has applied to register with Ofsted. The manager is dedicated to making a positive difference for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a difficult period in the home due to a significant crisis for one child. Although this was managed well, the situation resulted in no children living in the home for a period and a turnover of staff. As a result, the current staff team is newly formed. The manager understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home, and his primary focus is on the training and development of the newly formed team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has ensured that staff have access to a linked psychologist. Staff find this helpful, particularly in guiding their approach to managing behaviours that challenge. One staff member said, ‘The training received has been very good. Our continued professional development is encouraged and valued.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has built good relationships with children and is actively involved in children’s daily lives. For example, he has taken time to take one child out on dog walks, creating a positive space to bond with this child. He has also supported one child’s Inspection report for children's home: 2633107 5 interest in creating animal masks, and he has worn these in public along with the child to support their curiosity. This demonstrates his commitment and support for the child’s interests and individuality.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders, managers and staff work in partnership with external professionals. Feedback from other professionals is positive, particularly regarding communication. A school inclusion officer said, ‘This is the perfect placement for [name of child]; the staff understand her well.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has monitoring and assurance systems in place. However, information held in children’s records is stored inconsistently. This has affected their ability to have effective oversight of the inconsistencies relating to risk management arrangements and details of staff discussions with children following incidents. Inspection report for children's home: 2633107 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 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(vi) 18 July 2024

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the manager has oversight of actions taken by staff to support children following incidents. 18 July 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2633107 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are given a choice about how their personal space is decorated. In particular, children should be consulted about whether they would like photos displayed in the communal areas of the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.19)

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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: 2633107 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Charis Services for Children Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Richard Place Dobson, 1-7 Station Road, Crawley RH10 1HT

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Inspector

Karen Flanagan de Martinez, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2633107 9 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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