Children's home run by Ownlife Residential Limited in Kingston upon Thames

Inspection report for children's home: SC483779 1 SC483779 Registered provider: Ownlife Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to four children who have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in 2018. The manager registered in June 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home.

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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: SC483779 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/05/2023 Full Good 16/08/2022 Full Good 12/05/2021 Full Good 10/07/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC483779 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children at this home make progress with their education, well-being and independence skills. Staff and managers support the children to develop, and this has meant that the children have made good progress considering their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met, and that children are supported to access health services in line with their care plans. Staff support children to attend health appointments and, using formal and informal conversations, staff explore with children the importance of good health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children access education and attend education settings. One child has recently completed their exams and another attends college. The staff are proud of the academic achievements of all the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop independence skills. Children are encouraged to learn cooking skills and carry out chores. Children are supported to obtain personal documents such as national insurance documents and driving licences. This ensures children are prepared for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to take part in activities inside and outside of the home. The activities are in line with the children’s interests and hobbies, including go-karting and gardening. Children’s cultural needs are promoted by staff, and children are encouraged to learn about and celebrate cultural events in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to raise concerns with managers and staff, and when complaints are raised, the manager ensures that these are addressed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and meets the needs of the children.

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

Children have established and trusting relationships with staff. This helps them to feel safe and secure. One child said, ‘Staff are nice and have respect.’ All the children said that they felt safe living at the home.

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

Staff are aware of safeguarding processes and implement them. Staff have conversations with children to reduce risks. Children’s plans are regularly reviewed and updated by staff and the manager. However, the plans are not succinct and do not reflect the uniqueness of each child.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff keep in touch with them to ensure they are safe. Staff have conversations with children to help them better understand and reduce potential risks when they are away from the home. The positive relationships Inspection report for children's home: SC483779 4 between staff and children help in supporting the children to return to the home. However, leaders and managers have not clarified for staff when children are considered to be missing rather than having breached curfew. This can lead to inconsistencies in how staff respond to missing incidents, and limits the manager’s ability to identify any patterns or themes.

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

Restraint is rarely used in the home. Staff use de-escalation techniques to effectively avoid the need to hold or restrain children. Managers ensure that staff are trained in how to safely restrain children.

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

Safe recruitment practices are in place at the home. This ensures that children are cared for by staff who have been appropriately vetted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home benefits from having a consistent leadership and management group who are experienced in caring for children. Leaders and managers know the children well, and managers display a genuine warmth and commitment towards the children, an attitude that is shared by staff. This is a strength of the home. Each of the three children talked positively about the leaders, managers and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers ensure staff receive a structured induction that focuses on both the staff’s development and the children’s needs. Staff undertake training that is relevant to their role, and they are able to demonstrate how they implement their learning when caring for children. Consequently, children receive care and support from staff who understand how best to support them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. This provides opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice and the children’s support needs. Team meetings are well attended and the agenda considers the staff’s well-being, children’s needs and updates.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have established effective working relationships with external professionals including social workers, independent reviewing officers and health professionals. One social worker said staff ‘go above and beyond’, which is an example of the positive view that professionals have of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have established a stable staff team. There is a workforce development plan in place that enables leaders and managers to outline how staff are being equipped to meet the needs of children. Inspection report for children's home: SC483779 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child in risk assessments must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to both the child and staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that Ofsted is notified of significant events and incidents that are likely to be considered serious and that affect the welfare of a child. The registered person should also consider the frequency of incidents and judge whether their cumulative effect makes notification appropriate even if in isolation each event would not warrant this. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.11)

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: SC483779 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Legion House, 75 Lower Road, Kenley CR8 5NH

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Inspector

Richard Wyper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC483779 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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