Children's Home run by Surrey County Council in Surrey

Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2784702 1 Registered provider: Surrey County Council

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and run by a local authority. The home is registered to provide care for up to four children who experience emotional and/or social difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Four children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in April 2024, and the registered manager has been in post since then.

p.1

Inspection date: 4 March 2025

Date of last inspection: 3 and 4 December 2024

p.1

Inspection date: 4 March 2025

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

Inspection date: 4 March 2025

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

p.1

Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

p.1

Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2784702 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/12/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2784702 3

p.2

Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

p.3

Findings from the inspection

Since the last full inspection, management arrangements have been stable and support for the registered manager has improved. This has helped the manager and staff make progress against many of the shortfalls identified at the last inspection.

p.3

Findings from the inspection

Children continue to enjoy warm relationships with staff, who know them well. Staff are invested in the children’s progress and provide age-appropriate support with things like independence, health issues and seeing their family.

p.3

Findings from the inspection

None of the children are in formal education at present. However, staff are working hard to provide them with constructive day-to-day activities and work alongside other professionals to progress plans for their education and learning as quickly as possible.

p.3

Findings from the inspection

The home is safe and comfortably furnished. Managers have improved the garden area, and children are now able to have their rooms painted if they wish. However, the home lacks some emotional warmth. There are still very few photos of the children or displays of their activities and achievements in communal areas.

p.3

Findings from the inspection

Staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities and have a good grasp of children’s individual vulnerabilities. When there have been incidents of concern, such as a child going missing from home, staff have taken appropriate action and liaised effectively with other agencies to keep them safe. However, management oversight of incidents is inconsistent, and follow-up actions such as updating safety plans and carrying out awareness-raising work with children are not always evidenced.

p.3

Findings from the inspection

The management of allegations process has been improved. Leaders have been proactive in addressing concerns about staff practice. A new allegations tracking system is helping to ensure there is good oversight and clear recording of action taken.

p.3

Findings from the inspection

Staff say they feel well supported by colleagues and managers. They say managers are available and responsive. While there has been some improvement, not all staff receive regular supervision in line with company policy. This is particularly the case in relation to bank staff.

p.3

Findings from the inspection

One child has moved into the home since the last full inspection. In planning for this, managers made a thorough assessment of the child’s needs, shared information with the staff team effectively and considered the training and support needs of staff. This helped staff to feel well prepared for the child’s arrival. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2784702 4 The requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection were not all reviewed in detail at this assurance inspection. Those not met will be fully explored at the next full inspection. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2784702 5

p.3

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

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.5

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

p.5

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

p.5

Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

p.5

Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)(vii)(e))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, this refers to ensuring there is consistent management oversight, updating of safety plans and support work with children following incidents.

p.5

Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 30 April 2025

p.5

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—

p.5

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and 30 April 2025 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2784702 6 promotes their welfare.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

p.6

Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

p.6

Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(g)(ii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, this refers to ensuring that there is consistency of oversight across the service and that all staff, including bank staff, receive supervision in line with company policy.

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the use of electronic door alarms is regularly reviewed, involving parents, children (if possible) and social workers to consider if it continues to be necessary for safeguarding purposes in accordance with regulation 24. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  The registered person should ensure that staff celebrate children and their achievements by displaying them in the home for children to see. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.7) Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2784702 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Surrey County Council

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspector

Jacob Robson, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2784702 8 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 children looked after, 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 .

p.8

Inspector

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