Children's home run by SWAAY Child & Adolescent Services Ltd in Sutton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC431804 1 SC431804

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Registered provider: SWAAY Child and Adolescent Services 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 provides care for up to four children between the ages of 11 and 18 years. It is run by a private company that has five other homes in the local area. The company specialises in providing care and therapeutic intervention for boys with a history of specific behaviours. Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since April 2023. The current manager has submitted an application to register.

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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: 12 September 2023

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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: SC431804 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/09/2023 Full Good 22/03/2023 Full Good 11/05/2021 Full Outstanding 11/03/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC431804 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress because of the quality of individualised care provided. The relationships between children and staff are built on humour, respect and trust. As a result, children are settled. This provides them with stability and routine.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are in full-time education. Dedicated staff prioritise and encourage children to achieve their goals. Therefore, children continue to have high aspirations about their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s mental health and well-being are supported by staff who attend to their emotional needs. Children benefit from individualised therapeutic intervention.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel like they are a part of the community. They participate in group activities with their peers as well as other children from the other homes in the organisation. Children’s progress is acknowledged and celebrated in community meetings and followed by fun group activities. Therefore, children’s social skills are developed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have ample opportunities to talk about their views, wishes and feelings. For example, they are part of the meetings relating to their welfare. As a result, children’s ideas are included in the planning for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that they like living at the home, feel cared for and feel safe. Children are helped to understand the risks of behaviours that challenge through key-work sessions. This is done in a preventative style and following incidents. However, one child did not receive this support on some occasions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s time with their family is facilitated and celebrated. This is because staff understand the importance of children having a sense of belonging and secure attachments with family members. Therefore, children benefit from positive time with family.

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

Safeguarding arrangements to protect children are in place. These are used without delay when concerns are raised. The manager and leadership team work closely with external professionals to ensure that there are swift responses when there are concerns about children’s safety. The manager advocates successfully for children when their future welfare could have been impacted on negatively.

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

Children know how to make a complaint. Their concerns are taken seriously and acted on without delay. One child said that they know how to make a complaint because they did it in the past and received feedback. Professionals involved in children’s lives explained that they are happy with children’s progress and children receive safe care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC431804 4 Children receive personalised care as staff have a good understanding of their needs. Prevention and de-escalation strategies are at the core of staff practice. Consequently, there has been no physical restraint used at the home. Children enjoy living at the home, and there have been no missing-from-home incidents.

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

There are recording systems in place. However, the quality of records varies. For instance, on some occasions, children’s records are not updated to include significant details following incidents. This hinders the manager’s oversight. Furthermore, one child did not have a required medical record. This means that staff were not fully aware of the child’s health needs.

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

Disputes between children are rare. However, when they do occur, they are managed sensitively, and children are guided by staff to understand each other’s needs and differences.

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

Staff recruitment is thorough, and records are comprehensive. As a result, this reduces the risk of unsafe individuals entering the home to care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has not been a registered manager in the home since April 2023. However, a new manager is in place, and they have submitted their application to register. The manager is dedicated to children’s progress and welfare. Leaders have maintained oversight of the home in the absence of a registered manager, and there is a good level of support for the new manager. This has ensured effective leadership of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s action plan supports the direction and vision for the home and includes high aspirations for children. The plan allows for further focus on staff responsibilities and the day-to-day management of the home. Currently, there is no deputy manager to share the managerial tasks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring systems are in place. However, on occasion, these are not used consistently and have lacked the manager’s oversight. For instance, some essential records were not monitored in the required timescales. This has the potential to hinder joint working or even children’s welfare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive supervision and appraisals. However, they are not held regularly. When staff supervision does take place, it is tailored to the specific needs of children and housekeeping. This means that staff lack the opportunity to be appraised of their continual professional development or receive feedback on their performance and practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager of the home requires further development and guidance to fully support some potentially negative dynamics between some staff members. Although there has been no detrimental impact on children’s welfare currently, some further action is required to promote professionalism in the staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: SC431804 5 All staff have completed mandatory training that is stipulated by the provider. However, some staff have not completed the specific training that relates to the home’s therapeutic model. Therefore, not all staff are knowledgeable and informed about the model of care that forms part of everyday practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

On occasion, there is a lack of clear lines between responsibility and accountability of staff. This is because staff rely on the manager for direction on matters that they are responsible for, for instance updating records within required timescales. This compromises the accuracy of information that is relied on by staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Visits from the independent visitor provide an additional layer of scrutiny regarding children’s experiences and quality of their care. The manager considers recommendations that are made and takes appropriate action to address them. However, the views of external professionals are not routinely sought. This is a missed opportunity to capture relevant feedback. Inspection report for children’s home: SC431804 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s risk management plans are reviewed and updated following incidents and that children’s relevant plans are obtained. 10 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)) 30 July 2024

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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 by a person with appropriate experience; and 10 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC431804 7 have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities and use initiative to record relevant information when required. This is to include clear lines of accountability between the manager and staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20)  The registered person should ensure that staff are trained in the model of care that is implemented in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: SC431804 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: SWAAY Child and Adolescent Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 591 London Road, Sutton, Surrey SM3 9AG

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Inspectors

Sonata Brisley, Social Care Inspector Jill Sephton-Wright, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC431804 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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