Children's home run by Surrey County Council

Inspection report for children's home: SC405933 1 SC405933 Registered provider: Surrey County Council

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is run by a local authority and provides short breaks for children with sensory impairment, learning disabilities and physical disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Thirty-two children are currently registered to use the short breaks service, and up to six children can use the service at any one time.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There were four children using the service at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 12 May 2014.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC405933 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/05/2023 Full Good 12/04/2022 Full Good 13/07/2021 Full Outstanding 29/08/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC405933 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff develop positive relationships with parents. Feedback from parents is unanimously positive. They report that their children enjoy and look forward to their short-break stays.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by child-focused staff who know the children well. The staff recognise the progress each child makes in line with their individual needs and capabilities. Because the staff know the children well, they understand how best to respond to their needs. One parent said that ‘so much progress has been evident’ for their child.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Plans for children’s short breaks, and how children will come to and leave the home, are well thought through. Staff consult and involve parents in planning their children’s stays.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are creative in their approaches to supporting children manage their behaviours. Staff encourage and praise the children for their efforts through the use of the ‘superhero wall’. The children enjoy dressing up and having their photos taken and displayed. This supports children to experience a sense of achievement.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained. Recent improvements, including an extension, have created a spacious, accessible communal area. The children also now have access to a redesigned garden with artificial turf to ensure it is accessible for the children all year round. The children enjoy playing on the new specialist play equipment.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each bedroom is themed, and the children are given a choice of room for each stay. Children’s personal belongings are, sometimes without clear reason, secured in their bedrooms in locked cupboards and wardrobes. This does not afford them easy access and detracts from the otherwise homely environment.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who stay at the home have complex health needs and wide-ranging communication preferences. They have input into day-to-day decisions regarding their care. However, the views, wishes and feelings of those who use the home are not yet well captured or evidenced. The managers have enlisted an external service to provide additional support in this area.

p.3

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

Medication administration, storage and recording are well managed. Staff are trained in the management and administration of medication. Staff explore any changes to children’s medication to ensure it is given to children as prescribed.

p.3

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

Significant incidents in this home are rare. Children do not go missing from home, and the use of physical interventions is low. Staff are skilled at managing any emerging Inspection report for children's home: SC405933 4 situations. They use individualised supportive approaches to behaviour management. When any accident or injury occurs, this is clearly documented, and parents and relevant professionals are informed.

p.3

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

Safeguarding incidents are rare. However, when they do occur, these are responded to appropriately and clearly recorded. The local authority designated officer for safeguarding is informed. Managers and the wider staff team learn lessons from their internal reviews. However, on two occasions, allegations against members of staff have not been reported to Ofsted. This prevents Ofsted, as the regulator, from having a clear and up-to-date picture of the home.

p.4

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

Staff ensure that children have individual risk assessments in place, which are subject to regular review. However, these lack clear guidance for staff in managing known behaviours for children. While staff know the children well and this has not had any impact on them, it has the potential to leave staff who are less familiar with the children unclear on the actions to take.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been absent for a period of time. In the interim, oversight has been provided by two deputy managers. They are ensuring the staff and children receive the same level of continued care and support. Staff are complimentary about the availability of these interim managers and the support available to them.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff maintain regular, good-quality communication with parents. One parent said, ‘They [the staff] want to gain and establish trust and form positive relationships.’ Parents report no change to the quality of the day-to-day running of the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff retention is good, and the home has a full, permanent staff team. Regular agency staff are used when needed. This means children are cared for by consistent adults who know them well. The manager ensures that safer recruitment processes are robust, and appropriate checks are undertaken to ensure the suitability of agency staff. These checks help to protect children from potentially unsafe adults.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, good-quality supervision and a wide variety of training. This supports their professional development and improves their knowledge and skills in the care of the children. Some staff have qualified as internal trainers. This supports consistency of practice and adds extra layers of internal oversight of practice. One staff member said, ‘I have only been able to have the confidence to do these things with the support from the management.’ However, some staff have not completed the required level 3 diploma within the required time frame. Inspection report for children's home: SC405933 5

p.4

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The 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.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

p.5

Requirement Due date

an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

p.5

Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b)) 31 March 2025

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.5

Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 31 March 2025

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure, just as in a family home, that children are able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10) Inspection report for children's home: SC405933 6  The registered person should ensure that they work in partnership with relevant people as appropriate to ensure that each child is provided with support, appropriate to their age and understanding, to communicate their views, wishes and feelings and participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. This

p.5

Recommendations

may include the use of and support to use communication aids, equipment and/or any necessary language support. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them, which must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

p.6

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: SC405933 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Surrey County Council

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspector

Cassie Martin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC405933 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.

p.7

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.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8