–

Inspection report for children’s home: SC036917 1 SC036917 Registered provider: Royal Borough of Greenwich

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides care for up to five children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in April 2003. The registered manager’s post has been vacant since April 2023. The home has employed a new manager who has submitted an application to register with Ofsted.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There were four children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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

Date of last inspection: 10 January 2024

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC036917 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/01/2024 Full Good 07/09/2022 Full Good 19/10/2021 Full Outstanding 27/02/2020 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC036917 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a warm, homely environment. Children personalise their bedrooms and are involved in decisions about how to decorate the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have individual education provision. Some children do not always access their education on a regular basis. The day-to-day management of morning routines is not consistently supporting all children to attend education.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Health records are clear and concise. Staff are supporting children’s complex health needs well. They have helped one child to make progress and have reduced their need for hospital admissions. Another child is being supported through pregnancy, and this is going well. The child is attending all appointments and is making good progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good relationships with staff. Children have stated this in key-work sessions, and this was observed during the inspection.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from a wide range of professionals was positive. They reported that staff at the home are providing a positive experience for the children who live there. Staff apply theory and knowledge and have a good understanding of children’s individual needs.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in a range of activities. Staff work creatively to give children individualised experiences. The wonderful video made by the children at a theme park shows how much they have fun.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

It is clear from the conversations with staff that they care about the children and hold them in high regard.

p.3

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

When children go missing from care, staff follow agreed missing-from-care protocols. They share information with professionals in children’s networks and they keep clear, concise records. The manager is proactive in requesting multi-agency meetings to agree action plans to safeguard children and reduce risk.

p.3

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

Staff use key-work sessions with children to discuss risks, support children to understand their vulnerabilities and to explain the help that is available to them.

p.3

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

Staff respond swiftly to safeguarding concerns. They work closely with other agencies to ensure that concerns are addressed, and appropriate action is taken to mitigate risk and reduce the likelihood of harm.

p.3

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

Children have stability in their placements, and this helps them to feel cared for and safe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036917 4

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an effective senior support structure in the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive good reflective supervision, with relevant discussion that helps them respond to immediate behaviours and develop creative action plans to support children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is also supported through additional clinical supervision. This is invaluable in helping staff to understand and manage complex risks.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager supports the staff to access a wide range of relevant training. There are some gaps in the recording of completed diabetes training, medication training and safeguarding training.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is ambitious for the children and has high aspirations for them to achieve their best while living at the home and in the future. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036917 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 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

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

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.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

p.5

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.5

Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(d)(e)(f))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager should ensure that there are sufficient staff on duty in the morning to consistently support children to get ready to attend school. 31 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC036917 6 The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

p.6

Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

p.6

Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans.

p.6

Requirement Due date

(Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(ix)(x))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, staff must ensure that children are ready to access education each day. 31 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC036917 7

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: SC036917 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Royal Borough of Greenwich

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Woolwich Centre, 35 Wellington Street, London SE18 6HQ

p.8

Inspector

Helen Daniel, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC036917 9 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.8

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.9

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9