Children's Home run by London Borough of Barnet in Barnet

Unique reference number SC033805 Inspection date 24/10/2011 Inspector Seka Graovac Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 04/01/2011 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011) and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service that exceeds minimum requirements Satisfactory : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Brief description of the service

This is a local authority's children's home. It is registered with Ofsted to support up to six children and young people.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be outstanding .

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Overall effectiveness

Children and young people's needs, views and feelings are central to all aspects of this service. Children and young people receive excellent support that holistically addresses their individual needs. They have close and trusting relationships with the managers and staff of the home. Children and young people feel listened to and safe. The support they receive is making a real difference in their lives. They are making exceptional progress in many aspects of their lives, including better educational achievements, better health and fuller social integration. They judge the home to be outstanding.

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Overall effectiveness

Highly competent managers are passionate about children's care and rigorously monitors the quality of the service. The service continues to improve. Although the home is already reviewing its policy and record keeping of the use of the measures of control of behaviour, this report gives further strength to the importance of getting this aspect of the service absolutely right. The weakness identified in record keeping has not had a negative impact on the children and young people.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) review the policy on behaviour management including record keeping of any measure of control, restraint or discipline (Regulation 17B (1) and (2)) 24/11/2011

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are outstanding .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people participate in a full range of opportunities to achieve better outcomes for themselves and increase their life chances. They are making excellent progress in many aspects of their lives, including health, education, behaviour, emotional resilience and social skills. One young person who has recently gained a vocational qualification stated that they would have never achieved that without the help from the home. This young person is now working towards achieving a higher level qualification. Another young person stated that the home has helped them to deepen their understanding of themselves, and to be a more balanced and mature person.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people enjoy constructive relationships with their families and friends. For some of them, with the home's support, this is the first time that they are meeting with the close members of their family.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people are actively involved in activities in the community. The local Residents' Association and Neighbourhood Watch describe the children and young people as fabulous and have made the following comments after one of the street parties: 'The young people joined in so nicely with everyone, playing with the younger children and talking to the adults. They were the last people out still helping to clear up when everyone else had gone inside. They were a real pleasure to be with. A credit to the home.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people have excellent opportunities to develop their life-skills, achieve independence and social integration. Those young people who are preparing to leave care feel very positive and confident about their future. Those who have left appreciate the experience that the home gave them and continue to keep in touch. The home is very effective in making a real difference in the lives of children and young people.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Children and young people say that they receive all support they need to have better lives. They report knowing that staff truly care for them and how that gives them confidence. They feel listened to, and empowered to influence what is happening in the home and in their lives. Staff regularly ask children and young people about their feelings and opinions at the frequent residents' meetings, key working sessions and during everyday interactions. Children and young people use the home's complaints procedure effectively to challenge the service when they are dissatisfied. They have easy access to a children's rights officer and independent visitors for extra support, when they need it.

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Quality of care

Children and young people live in a home that is appropriately located and designed. Staff provide children and young people with numerous opportunities to contribute to its homely feel. Children and young people receive extra money to personalise their own bedrooms. They are supported to take additional responsibilities for particular aspects of the home life; such as monitoring of the quality of the physical environment, the library and fire safety. Children and young people receive highly individualised support that fully addresses all their needs including those relating to their racial, cultural and religious background and any other aspect of their personal identity. Staff proactively help children and young people to keep the memorabilia of their lives and strengthen their identity. This includes having portraits done by professional photographers in consultation with make-up artists and image designers.

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Quality of care

Staff and managers work in highly effective partnerships with other professionals to promote the best outcomes for children and young people. Children and young people have easy access to health professionals, including specialist nurses and a clinical psychologist who visit the home on a regular basis. Staff promote children and young people's health effectively by engaging with them in physical exercise and keep fit activities and encouraging them to have a healthy diet.

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Quality of care

Staff and managers believe in children and young people and have high aspirations for them. Staff and managers consistently and proactively challenge any barriers to the educational progress of children and young people. Children and young people have their achievements creatively celebrated, such as being driven in a limousine to their proms. They have excellent opportunities to engage in many enjoyable recreational activities.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Children and young people live in an environment that is physically safe and emotionally nurturing. Trusting relationships, open communication and excellent safeguarding practice in the home enable children and young people to develop a strong sense of safety. Any suspicions of harm are handled effectively and within the framework of close partnership working with the Local Safeguarding Children Board and other partner agencies.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Comprehensive individual care plans, risk assessments and management strategies protect children and young people well, while promoting their development and independence. For example, a thorough risk assessment process enables children and young people to gradually take more responsibility for their own health and medication. The home is effective at promoting children and young people's welfare and supporting them to develop more constructive and safer behaviours.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Children and young people are clear about the home's rules and expectations. They describe the home as strict but fair. Staff consistently reward children and young people's achievements, in line with clearly identified individual targets. Sanctions are used, recorded and monitored appropriately. Challenging behaviour and incidents are managed effectively. However, the relating record keeping is not of a consistently high standard. For example, when a record of a recent incident implied, although not clearly stated, that staff intervened physically to separate two young people who were engaged in a fight, this was not logged as a physical intervention. The identified weakness relates to record keeping and has not impacted on young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home is working in close partnership with the children's social care services and the local police to ensure the best protection of children and young people when they are missing from the placement. Managers meet with the police on a regular basis to review the individual risk assessments in relation to young people being missing from home and agree the best responses to it. There is evidence that the frequency with which children and young people go missing is starting to reduce.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff appropriately encourage children and young people to develop friendships both in and outside the home. Within the context of a thorough risk assessment framework, young people are enabled to occasionally stay overnight with their close friends. Young people's relationships are closely monitored and there is a strong, robust and proactive response to any signs of intimidation or bullying.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are outstanding .

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Leadership and management

Children and young people live in a home that is very efficiently managed in line with its Statement of Purpose by an experienced Registered Manager. Young people judge the service they receive as outstanding. One young person said to the inspector, 'You could not have had a better manager.' The manager motivates staff effectively to be passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people. Young people say: 'This is not just a job for them. They really care.'

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Leadership and management

The stability of the team and the team spirit are very high. Well supported and well trained staff are united in skilfully and effectively facilitating the progress of children and young people. In partnership working with other professionals, staff proactively and consistently help children and young people to overcome any obstacles in their way which stem from either their past or present situations. Children and young people have excellent opportunities to experience emotional warmth and competent care, as well as to form appropriate attachments with trusted adults who look after them on a day-to-day basis.

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Leadership and management

The home has a strong learning culture and enthusiasm about continued improvement. The only weakness that was identified at the last inspection related to the complaints procedure. Since then, the home has turned this particular aspect of the service into a real strength. The written procedure has been made clearer as recommended and is now very effectively used to empower children and young people. In addition, it has provided the home with the opportunity to reflect on and improve the service in line with the children and young people's views. The manager and staff are proud to report that they learn from young people in their care.

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Leadership and management

The home provides an example of the environment in which differences are respected. It has a strong anti-discriminatory ethos. The awareness of equality and diversity is high. Any interactions or practice are consistently and sensitively reviewed in the light of this ethos. This ensures that children and young people are appropriately challenged and supported effectively to develop anti-discriminatory attitudes.

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Leadership and management

The home has clear development plans that are based on comprehensive monitoring systems and realistic self-assessments of the strengths and weaknesses. Children and young people are always consulted and given excellent opportunities to contribute to the development of the service. Managers and staff keep up to date with the professional developments in the field of residential care of children and have had training on the new national minimum standards for children's homes. Reviewing and improving the service in line with the new practice developments is in progress. The home has a capacity for continuing improvement.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is outstanding .

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