Children's home run by Surrey County Council in Woking

Inspection report for children’s home: SC040631 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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SC040631 Registered provider: Surrey County 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 home is owned and run by a local authority. The staff care for up to four children who have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children currently live at the home; three children spoke to inspectors during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since September 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 requires improvement to be 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: SC040631 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/08/2024 Full Good 06/06/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/11/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC040631 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are settled and have made good progress in managing their emotions since coming to live at the home. Individualised care helps the children to develop positive relationships with staff and these relationships support the children’s learning and personal development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff interact well with the children and offer them a wide range of activities and social experiences using connections they have in the community. Children enjoyed a holiday to Devon and were supported to attend a boxing club. Staff write letters to children as a way of recognising individual progress over the period of a month. This is a positive reminder for children about what is going well for them and demonstrates that staff are recognising their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a sense of belonging with photos around the home of activities and experiences that they have participated in, alongside toys and their possessions in the communal areas throughout the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s important relationships. They communicate well with family members to manage arrangements, ensuring that these are in line with children’s plans and wishes. This supports children to maintain and develop their sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One professional said, ‘ The whole team, including the management team, have been providing [the child] with an extremely high level of support, guidance and nurture to enable her to make the progress she has made since moving in.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and wishes are encouraged; for example, they have been involved in the development of the newly built home that they will be moving into in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The doors to the children’s bedrooms are not suited to a family home environment and give an institutional impression. There was a requirement from the previous inspection relating to this issue and it has, therefore, been restated.

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

Staff provide children with consistent boundaries and empathic responses. If the children are showing behaviours indicating distress, staff seek to understand what is wrong and support them to manage their feelings safely. Physical interventions are only used as a last resort and in line with children’s individual plans. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040631 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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

Managers and staff have developed strong relationships with police and Youth Justice services. These links have helped to improve the risk management and safety planning for children at risk of exploitation.

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

The leadership team responds proactively to complaints and allegations. This provides a positive experience for children and ensures that they feel heard and listened to.

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

Managers always review incidents involving physical interventions, but this does not consistently include timely discussions with the staff involved and sometimes actions identified from manager reviews are not followed through promptly. As a result, there are missed opportunities to maximise learning and ensure effective implementation of plans.

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

Before new staff take up their posts at the home, managers conduct a robust set of checks to reduce the risk of children coming into contact with unsafe adults.

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

Managers carry out a range of health and safety checks and assessments to ensure that the home is a safe environment for children. There have been particular concerns about fire risks since the last inspection and managers have sought specialist input and advice to manage these.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is led by a capable manager, who strives to provide a secure and nurturing environment to children. However, leaders have not fully addressed the requirements from the last inspection and one additional requirement has been made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The supervision of staff has not been consistent. T here is an insufficient focus on reflective practice and professional development for new and existing members of staff to enable them to best meet the needs of the children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have monitoring systems in place. However, the quality of care reviews have not been shared with Ofsted within the required timeframe. This requirement has been restated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager is ambitious and committed to providing a home where the children can develop and flourish. She ensures that the children have appropriate educational placements and engages positively with professionals to meet their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The staff are motivated, happy in their jobs and feel supported by the manager. They have good relationships with the children and are focused on improving their welfare. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040631 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has a detailed understanding of each child and responds to children’s individual therapeutic needs through bespoke planning. This means that staff have the right guidance to provide a consistently good standard of care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers and staff work effectively with other professionals, which makes a positive difference to the children’s progress. Several external professionals commented positively on the communication and professionalism of the managers and staff. One professional said that staff ‘genuinely care’ about the children and ‘do their best to act in [their] best interests [] despite having to manage some very challenging situations and behaviour’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040631 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Statutory requirements

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

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

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

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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;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there is timely oversight of, and action taken, to address all matters following incidents.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have the opportunity to discuss their practice in supervision at a frequency that is aligned with the home’s policy. 31 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; 31 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040631 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

and use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

and enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s bedroom doors are not institutional and do not compromise a homely environment.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 31 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040631 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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: SC040631 9 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Surrey County Council, Woodhatch Place, 11 Cockshot Hill, Reigate RH2 8EF

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Inspectors

Maria Calway-Kennedy, Social Care Inspector Jacob Robson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC040631 10 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspectors

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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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted Inspection report for children’s home: SC040631 11 OFSTED USE ONLY

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