Children's home run by SWAAY Child & Adolescent Services Ltd in Sutton

Inspection report for children's home: SC431804 1 SC431804

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Registered provider: SWAAY Child & Adolescent Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home provides care for up to 4 children between the ages of 11 and 18 years. It is run by a private company that has 5 other homes in the local area. The company specialises in providing care and therapeutic intervention for boys with a history of specific behaviours. Four children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2024.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC431804 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/05/2024 Full Good 12/09/2023 Full Good 22/03/2023 Full Good 11/05/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: SC431804 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress because of the consistent care that they receive from managers and staff, who have high aspirations for them. Relationships are built on mutual respect, humour and positive role modelling by the managers and staff. This helps children to recognise and value positive relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop understanding and empathy towards each other. Positive behaviour and relationships are reinforced, praised and encouraged by staff. When a child's behaviour negatively affects another child, this is managed swiftly to reduce the impact.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home's statement of purpose is understood by staff and updated when necessary. However, the therapeutic model is not yet fully embedded.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All staff approach children's care planning with high expectations of themselves and of other professionals. When children do not receive the level of service expected, staff advocate for them to ensure that their voices are heard and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children leave or move into the home, every effort is made to ensure that the transition is a positive experience for them. Managers and staff work sensitively with external agencies to reduce anxieties for the children and to promote a sense of belonging at the earliest opportunity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are ambitious for every child in the home and understand the importance of education. Staff proactively support children to have positive learning opportunities, to gain skills and experience and to achieve their potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's health and wellbeing are priorities for staff. All appointments are facilitated by dedicated staff, who encourage the children to attend. As a result, children receive regular healthcare, such as dental and optical checks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a variety of hobbies and activities. Staff proactively encourage healthy lifestyles and a balanced diet. Older children working towards independence are supported to learn skills such as budgeting, shopping and cooking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Well-designed plans enable the children to maintain links with their families and other people who are important to them. This means that the children maintain their sense of identity and cultural heritage. However, on occasions when these links are not maintained, staff do not record the rationale. Therefore, children may not understand the decision-making, should they read their own records in the future. Inspection report for children's home: SC431804 4

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

Staff know the children well. The positive relationships between staff and the children help the staff to better understand the challenges that children face and enable them to provide a more personalised and supportive response. All managers and staff have developed a culture in which children do not anticipate being restrained. No physical intervention has been used since the last inspection, resulting in a more positive experience for children.

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

When incidents occur, children are supported through key-work sessions to reflect on the event and to share their views and thoughts. While reparation is prioritised, these discussions are not always recorded in a timely way, which means that the children's perspective and any agreed actions to reduce the risk of further incidents are not consistently captured.

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

When children come to live at the home, managers ensure that this is carefully planned and that risks are identified through effective multi-agency communication. However, some known risks are not consistently included in children's risk assessments. In addition, some assessments are not updated promptly, with significant delays in review. The requirement made at the last inspection under the protection of children standard has therefore been repeated.

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

When children leave the home without permission, staff actively communicate with relevant professionals, including the police. This promotes their safe return at the earliest opportunity. Some children welcome the discussion with staff to ensure their wellbeing following a period away from the home.

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

The process for the administration of medication is generally good. However, there have been some counting errors. Medical advice is sought to ensure that the children receive the necessary intervention or advice. Senior managers have taken action to improve practice on administering medication.

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

All children have accessed the home's 'children's guide'. The guide is age appropriate and helps the children to understand their rights and entitlements, including how to complain. Children confidently said that they have an identified person who they would talk to if they were worried.

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

Allegations are well managed. Child-led investigations promote a safeguarding culture that ensures that children feel empowered. The senior leadership team maintains strong oversight of safeguarding matters, ensuring that records are thorough and well documented.

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

Health and safety arrangements are good. Maintenance issues are swiftly rectified to ensure that the children live in a safe environment. Inspection report for children's home: SC431804 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager successfully registered with Ofsted following the last inspection. His tenacious attitude and commitment have underpinned the successful changes and improvements seen during this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is supported by a committed deputy and a confident staff team. Their 'can do' attitude is positively role modelled to children. Staff said that they feel valued and respected. They welcome their views being heard, which promotes a reflective culture within the whole staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have plentiful opportunities to share ideas, views and information. Regular termly team meetings provide a safe space for staff to discuss their views and concerns. Specialist professionals are invited to attend, which helps to build staff knowledge and skills. These events contribute to a consistent and informed approach to practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers offer practice-related supervision to staff on a regular basis. Although the quality of the records is variable, they capture children's care planning needs and progress. All staff have access to a range of resources to support their own wellbeing. Annual appraisals of staff help with their professional development and ensure that staff have the necessary qualifications to care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The monitoring of the service, including quality assurance, is effective. Regular and purposeful leadership meetings provide comprehensive and informed oversight of the service. Senior leaders lead by example and ensure that staff work as a team. As a result, they know and understand the home's strengths and weaknesses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager's own quality of care review is informative and demonstrates the progress being made. The independent person offers an additional layer of scrutiny and monitoring, which helps to ensure continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The whole staff team and senior leaders have a positive relationship with professionals involved in the children's lives. One professional said, 'I respect them for their support of [child's name], the genuine interest shown and excellent communication; they are involved in all aspects of the care planning meetings and safety.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, leaders and managers have made significant improvements and have addressed most of the requirements set at the last inspection. Inspection report for children's home: SC431804 6

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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, 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.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children's risk management plans are reviewed and updated following incidents and include known risk information and how to mitigate. 30 May 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities and use initiative to record relevant information when required. This is to include key-work sessions and timely recording. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards'. Page 54, paragraph 10.20)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that relevant plans include a strategy for a particular type of care, treatment or intervention (for example therapy relating to neglect or abuse). The care staff will need to understand the purpose of any such care and the way in which the past experiences of abuse or neglect may manifest themselves in the day-to-day life of the child. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards'. Page 16, paragraph 3.15) Inspection report for children's home: SC431804 7

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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: SC431804 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: SWAAY Child & Adolescent Services Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 591 London Road, Cheam, Sutton, Surrey SM3 9AG

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Inspector

Jill Sephton-Wright, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC431804 9 regulates 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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