Children's home run by Wokingham Borough Council in Wokingham

Inspection report for children's home: SC030713 1 SC030713 Registered provider: Wokingham Borough Council

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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 children’s home is run by a local authority and provides short breaks for children. The home is registered to provide care for up to five children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 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: SC030713 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/08/2023 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Good 30/06/2021 Full Outstanding 10/12/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: SC030713 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy attending their short breaks. They are well supported by staff who understand their needs. Meticulous planning and decisions about which children attend together mean that they can make the most of their time away from home. Warm and caring relationships were seen between the staff and the children, and staff know how to support the children well. This included helping a child who struggles to stay on task to make cakes in the kitchen, allowing them to take small breaks in between each stage.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are gathered on various topics. These include looking at what activities they would like to do next time they stay. Noticeboards show children choosing how they would like to celebrate Christmas while at the service, with ideas of different activities that they might want to take part in. This means the children have a voice in how they spend their short break and that decisions are not made for them. Staff are skilled in using children’s communication tools; observations showed a member of staff supporting a child to do this while making sure they understood what they had chosen. This means the children can experience new activities, make choices and share their views effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in a wide range of activities both in the service and in the community. It is recognised that not all children want to leave the building once they arrive, as being at the short-break service is an activity enough for them. Children have a wide range of activities they can engage in on site, including the soft play and ball pool, sensory area, playroom and art room. A parent spoke about how their child runs in and goes to the ball pool, which they love. Trips out to local country parks are a firm favourite with the children. Children were seen to be confident, directing staff to what they wanted to do.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who are new to the service are supported well to become familiar with their new surroundings. Plans are tailored to the child’s needs, meaning that some children can start coming to the service sooner than others, in line with individual needs. Joint working with parents, schools, health services and the local authority means that children have consistency in care in all settings and the staff have the key skills required to meet the child’s needs before they have a short break. The relationships and joint working continue throughout the time children access the service to ensure consistency is continued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Medication arrangements are sound. Staff were observed to be signing in medication brought in with the children for that evening. Storage is secure, and administration records are clear. Joint working with specialist nurses means that staff have the training they require to support delegated healthcare tasks, including feeding and emergency medication for conditions such as epilepsy. Inspection report for children's home: SC030713 4

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

Staff have a good understanding of all the children, their complex needs and vulnerabilities. They are confident in supporting children and know how to report any concerns they may have for a child’s welfare or well-being.

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

Children’s stays focus on the experiences that they could have while at the service, which is evidenced through opportunity assessments, identifying the positives that could come from children trying new things rather than the risk it could cause. This is a positive approach to children trying new things and being allowed to take age- or stage- appropriate risks.

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

Staff have a good understanding of each child’s communication and how this may, at times, be through behaviours of distress. Staff are skilled in redirecting children to reduce their anxieties. There is a high number of incidents and concerns recorded in the home. This, in the main, is due to the meticulous recording of any concerns there have been for a child in the setting or on their arrival, such as unexplained or new marks or bruises, support required to move to another area, accidents or injury, and any physical intervention. The high level of scrutiny by the management team means that these concerns are followed up and any required changes to plans are actioned.

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

The home environment is mostly well maintained, with many areas being recently redecorated. It is acknowledged by the local authority that the home is no longer fit for purpose, and a new location is being sought. In the meantime, staff try hard to make sure the environment is as homely as possible, although there are delays in having some areas refurbished due to budgetary constraints. This has led to some areas of the home looking tired and dated.

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

Safer recruitment practices are followed, meaning that children are only cared for by suitable people. Agency staff have not been used since the last inspection. The service follows safer recruitment practices should they use agency staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team has an excellent understanding of the service provided. They seek to constantly improve children’s experiences while at the short-break service. They are realistic in what they can provide, given the constraints of the building. They regularly review the quality of care and experiences for children, using their own monitoring systems and monthly reports from the independent person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they are well supported by the managers and seniors. They feel they are valued members of the team. Monthly development days mean that staff skills are constantly refreshed and updated to be able to support children to the best of their abilities. Staff find their regular supervision and appraisals valuable to their development. Night staff say that they feel part of the team through attending the monthly development days. Inspection report for children's home: SC030713 5 Handovers show that staff know the children well and can identify who is going to support each child and which staff will need help at various stages of the evening. Appropriate information is shared and handed over when shifts and staff change.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s progress is monitored through a variety of means. Staff capture what children have done each time they stay. These help to identify progress children are making in their time in the service. For many children, the greatest achievement is being away from home for a period of time and enjoying activities alongside their peers. Learning to share and getting along with others is a key skill many children develop through accessing the short-break service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s plans are regularly reviewed, although inconsistencies were noted in a child’s plans, and it is not always clearly evidenced that staff have read when plans have changed. However, this has not had a negative impact on any child’s care or experience at the short-break service. Inspection report for children's home: SC030713 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home provides a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. The home should be a homely, domestic environment. To help maintain the homely feel, redecorating and maintenance should be carried out in the home when needed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that all children’s plans and records are clear and up to date, any changes to their needs have been recorded and the information is consistent across plans. Furthermore, staff should evidence when they have read any new plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23)

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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: SC030713 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Wokingham Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Shute End, Wokingham RG40 1BN

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Inspector

Jennie Christopher, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC030713 8 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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