Children's home run by Surrey County Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 1230411 1 Registered provider: Surrey County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a local authority and provides care for one child who experiences complex social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, no children were living in the home. Refurbishment works have taken place since the previous child moved on.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since January 2023 and has been registered with Ofsted since August 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: 1230411 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/06/2023 Full Good 17/02/2023 Full Good 20/07/2021 Full Good 04/03/2020 Interim Not judged Inspection report for children’s home: 1230411 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child who was living in the home moved from another home owned by the same organisation. Staff from the child’s former home transferred across with the child when they moved in. This provided consistency for the child. The child remained in this home for just over a year before moving on to supported accommodation. Good transition plans were in place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff initially supported the child to attend school. When this became challenging for the child, staff helped them to engage in a range of positive activities and pursue employment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff worked well with the child’s professional network, including social care, the police, education and psychology services. Staff sought advice, training and support from other professionals. This enabled staff to work holistically with the child and develop a better understanding of their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoyed spending time with their family, including some overnight stays. Staff worked with the child’s parents to establish consistent approaches to managing the child’s behaviour when having stays away.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encouraged the child to participate in recreational activities and regularly sought their views. Trips to the theatre, waxworks museum, and a golden retriever experience day were some of many outings enjoyed by the child. This ensured that they had similar opportunities as children living with their own families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child was involved in developing their move-on plan. Staff are creating a memory book for the child as they understand the importance of capturing the child’s time spent in the home and preserving their memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child had good relationships with staff. The child explained:

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

‘Staff at the home were brilliant. I saw them more like family and friends and enjoyed spending time with them. The home is one of the best homes I have lived in due to the support that I got. Staff know what they are doing. Normally settling into a home takes time and here it only took a couple of days.’

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

Managers take effective action when responding to safeguarding concerns. Allegations made by children are fully investigated and relevant authorities are notified. Children are informed of the outcomes and are supported to rebuild positive relationships with staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 1230411 4 Physical intervention is used only as a last resort to protect children and others from harm and has only been used once since the last inspection. On this occasion, it was in line with the child’s safety plan. The child was sensitively supported to understand why staff needed to use holds to keep them safe.

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

Staff had a good understanding of the child’s needs. The child felt understood and had trusted staff to talk to, which enabled them to engage in conversations about risks.

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

When the child went missing, staff took prompt action to locate them. Managers and staff spoke with the child when they returned and sought to understand the reasons why they chose to go missing.

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

Safer recruitment processes are effective, with all necessary checks carried out. This reduces the risk of unsafe people being recruited.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is enthusiastic about her role and advocates for her staff. Her current focus is the team’s professional development and undertaking further recruitment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about managers and the support that they receive. Staff receive regular supervision, which provides a reflective space to discuss their practice. Relevant conversations are held about safeguarding procedures. Training and development are also monitored during supervision sessions. This ensures that staff understand their professional development needs and how they will be met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff worked in partnership with the child’s professional network. Regular communication and information-sharing allowed a collaborative approach to the child’s care. One social worker said, ‘They helped with the transition to the new placement. Even after [name of child] moved, they kept in contact to settle them in.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the home. However, the quality of care reports do not include the feedback from the parents of the child who previously lived in the home. These reports also do not always showcase progress or relay an overview of incidents and behaviour. In addition, the independent visitor’s reports are not always accurate and provide limited context. There is also little feedback from family members or other professionals. These shortfalls reduce the effectiveness of some aspects of monitoring. However, the manager is aware of what improvements need to be made and has a clear plan to achieve these goals. Inspection report for children’s home: 1230411 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring, including under regulations 44 and 45, to ensure continuous improvement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that the independent person they appoint has the necessary skills and understanding to assess all relevant information to form an impartial judgement about the quality of care provided in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.8)

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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: 1230411 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Surrey County Council, Quadrant Court, 35 Guildford Road, Woking GU22 7QQ

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Inspector

Karen Flanagan de Martinez, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1230411 7 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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