Children's Home run by Silver Birch Care (Residential Services) Limited in Kingston upon Thames

Inspection report for children’s home: 2769759 1 Registered provider: Silver Birch Care (Residential 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 privately owned home provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in July 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living in the home at the time of this inspection. Two of the children were spoken to at this inspection.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2769759 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive a warm welcome and are helped to settle in when they move into the home. Where possible, the registered manager visits children where they are living before a planned move into the home to support a positive transition. One social worker said the staff were very good at getting what they needed for the child for their first weekend in the home. Furthermore, the child’s bedroom was quickly personalised to help them adjust to their new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and speak about them with care and compassion. They use therapeutic approaches to help children manage their emotions. Staff are skilled at managing occasions when a child presents with heightened behaviour and are able to provide them with support instead of the situation escalating.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s education. One child, whose school is at a distance from the home, is supported every day by staff who accompany them on their journey to and from school. When children do not have a school place, staff accommodate for the local authority’s temporary arrangements tuition to take place in the home and offer children alternative educational activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are individualised and detailed. Plans outline children’s needs and how to support them to make progress. However, children are not consulted with about their care plans or involved in updating them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time is promoted, and staff support children to maintain relationships with the people who are important to them. Staff are flexible in managing complex arrangements and keep children’s social workers well informed after family time has taken place. If plans change, staff are quick to make an alternative arrangement and support children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build positive relationships with other children in the home. Staff are vigilant and recognise if there is a change in children’s behaviour or difficulties between children. When children have experienced frustrations with each other, staff acknowledge and explore their feelings and provide suggestions for how this can be resolved. As a result, the children have become more settled in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean, comfortable, and well maintained. All of the children’s bedrooms are personalised to the children’s choice, and their artwork is displayed on the walls. Everyone eats their main meal together in the dining area, which contributes to the family feel of the home. Children benefit from areas to socialise in, which include a ‘chill out room,’ a spacious back garden and a games room. Inspection report for children’s home: 2769759 3

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

Children have positive relationships with staff in the home. One child said there is a member of staff who they go to with their worries and described how that person made their family very welcome during their first visit in the home.

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

Children have detailed risk assessments. These enable staff to have a good understanding of individual risks and the actions to take when there are concerns.

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

Staff manage incidents well. Bedroom searches are undertaken when there is a cause for concern, and items are removed when necessary. Staff understand and follow safeguarding procedures and work in partnership with local authorities and the police. Despite this good practice, the registered manager does not always notify Ofsted about safeguarding incidents as required.

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

Children’s key-work sessions address their safety and well-being. They focus on concerns including children going missing from care and substance misuse and explore how these can be addressed. This enables children to learn more about the associated risks and supports them to make positive choices.

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

Staff follow the missing-from-care protocol when children are missing from the home. They understand the reasons why this may happen and work with children to reduce the risk. However, written records of missing episodes lack detail, and feedback from return home interviews is not always obtained.

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

Allegations against staff are managed well. Children’s concerns are listened to, the local authority designated officer is consulted, and investigations take place as required. Children receive a formal response to their concerns and are assured that leaders and managers take allegations of harm seriously.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and newly recruited deputy manager are suitably experienced and have the relevant qualifications. The registered manager is well supported by an experienced responsible individual. This has helped the registered manager to focus on establishing a team of experienced workers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has employed a team of permanent staff, and the use of agency staff is low. The necessary checks are undertaken to ensure that there is safe recruitment in place. Leaders and managers demonstrate that they value the team’s work and staff morale is good. The team is stable, and staff support each other. This means that the children experience continuity in their care and have the opportunity to develop trusted relationships with staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff participate in a comprehensive induction programme. They complete mandatory training courses to meet the children’s needs and have further training in the home’s chosen therapeutic model of care. The training helps staff to understand Inspection report for children’s home: 2769759 4 children’s needs and risks and how to support them effectively. Staff training and development are discussed in team meetings, and a learning culture is developing within the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular staff supervision takes place. Supervision is reflective and addresses topics including staff well-being, team dynamics and feedback on training. Staff find their supervision helpful, and this contributes to the team’s resilience.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Communication within the staff team is effective. There are regular team meetings which include detailed updates about the children, the daily running of the home and reflective discussions. Staff handovers between shifts are well documented, and staff sign to confirm they have participated in the handover. This ensures that key information is shared and provides the registered manager with oversight of this taking place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has not routinely escalated concerns to the local authority when there is a shortfall in providing important information about children to the home. This means that key information about children’s education is not always available to the staff working with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is responsive to feedback from external agencies. For example, a social worker advised that communication with a parent was not managed as well as it could be. This was taken on board and changes were put into place which improved the situation. Inspection report for children’s home: 2769759 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about their care plans to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should notify Ofsted if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a)-(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 63, paragraph 14.10)  The registered person should ensure that records are kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 46, paragraph 9.31)

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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: 2769759 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Silver Birch Care (Residential Services) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: SBCH House, 212 Ballards Lane, London N3 2LX

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Inspectors

Jo Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Amanda Burrows, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2769759 7 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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