Children's Home run by Prosper and Enterprise Limited in Surrey

Inspection report children's home: 2619057 1 Registered provider: Prosper and Enterprise Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children's home

This home is registered to provide care for up to five children. It is owned and run by a private organisation. The home provides care for children who experience social and emotional difficulties. This includes children who may have additional needs, such as au- tism and complex associated difficulties. There are currently three children living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children's home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 2021.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

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

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

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.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 5 February 2024

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2619057 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/02/2024 Full Good 21/02/2023 Full Good 21/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2619057 3

p.2

improvement to be good

When children come to live in the home, managers carefully consider information available to reassure themselves that they can meet the individual needs of each child and understand key vulnerabilities. However, plans to support children to move into the home in a positive way are not always clear. Likewise for children when they leave the home, there are not always clear records of how children have been supported to have positive endings.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff are very caring and have high hopes for children. They are motivated to deliver good quality care. However, the written plans that inform their approach are not always up to date or accurate.

p.3

improvement to be good

The home is large and is furnished with items that the children enjoy using. There has been a recent addition of a pool table to add to the activities on offer. Some areas of the home are in need of repairs as these issues detract from the homely feel. Managers have developed plans to address this.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children are happy living in the home. They identify staff that they trust and have good relationships with. Children are making progress in relation to their own starting points and experiences. For one child, he is now exploring his feelings more and is more accepting of help.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children are supported to spend time with family and friends. This is managed sensitively by staff to ensure that children have positive experiences. This has supported one child to make progress towards leaving care to live with his family.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children are supported to engage with education and managers work hard to ensure barriers to children's access to education are overcome. This has meant that children have been able to get back into education and their attendance is improving, which is a significant step.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children enjoy a range of activities that enable them to live active and healthy lifestyles. For one child, he has been attended a boxing club and is incredibly motivated by this, and for another child he has been going fishing regularly.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff understand what to do if they have concerns regarding the safety or welfare of children. They report concerns quickly and act to try and keep children safe. Managers ensure that information is shared with the wider network, including the police and substance cessation services to try and get children the support that they need to be Inspection report children's home: 2619057 4 safer. Records of these concerns do not always demonstrate an understanding or consideration for how risks are to be managed in relation to allegations. In addition, some staff do not have confidence in whistleblowing procedures and the protections offered to them within this. For example, on one occasion when a staff member raised a concern, this information was stored in a way that meant the concerns were not treated confidentially.

p.3

improvement to be good

When children experience feelings of distress, staff respond appropriately to help them explore these feelings and to address their concerns. Staff use restraint infrequently, and when they do so, this is only for a short period of time. Staff at times use consequences to try and support children's understanding of expectations, though these are not always reparative in nature and are not always balanced in relation to the behaviour of concern. For example, for one child they received six consequences following a single incident.

p.4

improvement to be good

The home has detailed risk assessments to support staff's understanding of each child's particular risks and vulnerabilities. However, these are not always up to date and clear about the risks or strategies to support children to be safe.

p.4

improvement to be good

When children go missing from the home, staff take action to try and support children to return quickly. Information is shared with the police, families, and social workers to ensure a collaborative approach.

p.4

improvement to be good

Managers have worked hard to retain staff since the last inspection. This has enabled children to receive consistency in their care. Recruitment processes are thorough and have improved though on one occasion, a staff member was recruited without all required vetting being completed.

p.4

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

Manager’s oversight in the home has not been effective. A period of absence from the registered manager has meant that there are records that have not been reviewed adequately and opportunities to learn from practice have been missed. For example, the use of consequences had not been reviewed and addressed with staff involved. In addition, on one occasion, managers failed to notify Ofsted of a serious incident in the home.

p.4

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

Following a period of change and challenge, staff morale is low. Staff have felt supported by managers and each other and speak positively about the team. They appreciate and benefit from supervisions, though these do not always happen regularly and do not always support staff to reflect and learn. Staff lack confidence in decision making and find it difficult to be consistent in their approach because of this. This runs the risk of children being unclear as to what is expected of them.

p.4

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

Staff have access to a range of training that supports them to feel more confident in their roles. Records of training are not always clear or up to date. Inspection report children's home: 2619057 5 There have been some concerns in the home regarding racist comments from children. Initial responses from managers did not tackle this effectively, resulting in some staff feeling unsupported, though recently there have been improvements in the approaches to dealing with this. For example, one child has a mentor to help aid his understanding of living in a multicultural society.

p.4

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

Managers work closely with professionals such as social workers and youth justice teams, to ensure that information is shared in a timely way and enables children to get appropriate support. On occasions where responses from agencies have been deemed as not effective, this has been challenged appropriately to ensure that children get the support that they need from the professional network.

p.5

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

The registered manager is committed and enthusiastic in ensuring that children have positive life experiences. She has a clear vision for the home and is motivated to improve. She understands the progress that children make and speaks proudly of their achievements. Inspection report children's home: 2619057 6

p.5

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, 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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— an understanding about acceptable behaviour.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— communicate to each child expectations about the child's behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child's age and understanding.

p.6

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that any consequences or sanctions that used in the home are restorative in nature and are relevant in relation to the behaviours of concern. (Regulation 11(1) (b) (2) (a) (v)) 15 September2024

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— 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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that records evidence the consideration of risk management and the decisions made in relation to these when managing concerns about allegations against staff. (Regulation 12 (1) (2) (a) (i)) 15 September2024

p.6

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— promotes their welfare. 15 September2024 Inspection report children's home: 2619057 7 Specifically, the registered manager must ensure that there is a culture where staff feel confident in whistleblowing where needed and raising concerns regarding the welfare of children and the practice of others. Regulation 13 (1) (b)) The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children's home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that arrangements are in place to— plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child's placing authority.

p.7

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they work closely with children, their families and professionals to support children to move to or from the home, in a planned, positive way. (Regulation 14 (1) (a) (b) (2) (b) (iii)) 15 September2024

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3) (d)) 15 September2024

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

p.7

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all staff receive supervisions on a regular basis. (Regulation 33 (4) (b)) 15 September2024

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— (b) an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

p.7

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that there are adequate systems and processes in place to ensure that notifications in relation to all relevant incidents are made within an appropriate time frame. (Regulation 40 (4) (b)) 15 September2024 Inspection report children's home: 2619057 8

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered manager must ensure that children's case records detailed in Regulations 35-39 are kept up to date whilst they remain in the home.

p.8

Recommendations

In particular, the manager must ensure that all records, including risk assessments and support plans are updated with relevant information that is consistent, and guides staff to deliver effective care and support for children. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 14.3)

p.8

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 children's home: 2619057 9

p.8

Children's home details

Registered provider: Prosper and Enterprise Limited

p.9

Children's home details

Registered provider address: 74A Station Road East, Oxted RH8 0PG

p.9

Inspector

Jay Shekleton, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 2619057 10 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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10