Children's Home run by Adeza Care Homes Limited in Waltham Forest

Unique reference number SC032468 Inspection date 29/07/2013 Inspector Tola Akinde-Hummel Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 19/03/2013 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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Brief description of the service

This is a privately run children’s home and it is one of two children's homes owned by the organisation, within the locality. This home caters for an older age range with an emphasis on semi-independent living. The home is registered to provide support and accommodation to four young people of either gender. These young people may have emotional or behavioural difficulties or a mild mental disorder.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements Adequate : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people live in a good home where varying and complex needs are addressed by a professional and competent staff team. Young people know that staff make every effort to keep them safe and ensure they are comfortable in their surroundings.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff use their professional knowledge and training to inform their practice and provide consistency of care to young people. This results in a positive environment for young people who have the space to consider their options and start to make the necessary changes in their lives.

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Overall effectiveness

Partnerships with other agencies are strong and communication is well established. This means that agencies work together in young people’s best interests.

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Overall effectiveness

One social worker said, ‘The impact the home have had has allowed young people to re-establish family relationships, attend and perform well at school, participate in exercise and got them to apologise for their behaviour.'

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Overall effectiveness

The staff team are committed to working in the home and value the Registered Manager's leadership. One member of staff said, 'Management always encourage you to go above and beyond; we openly discuss any challenges and tailor-make the support we provide.' The requirement arising as a result of this inspection is to review the Statement of Purpose. Recommendations relate to more active consultation with young people about their wishes and feelings and the behaviour incentives, and the preparation of a written development plan.

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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

(2001) keep under review and where appropriate, revise the statement of purpose and children's guide. (Regulation 5 (a)) 27/09/2013

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure children's wishes and feelings are acted upon in the day to day running of the home and important decisions or changes in the child's life unless this is contrary to their interests (NMS 1.1)  make sure the registered person has a written development plan, reviewed annually, for the future of the home, either identifying any planned changes in the operation or resources of the service, or confirming the continuation of the home's current operation and resource (NMS 15.2)  ensure that sanctions and rewards for behaviour are clear, reasonable and clear and are understood by staff and children. (NMS 3.8)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people receive positive care and support. They are able to live in a calm environment that enables them to reflect on their situation and make positive future plans.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people attend school or college. While they do not achieve full attendance immediately, they increase their participation in education and are focused while there. This allows them to work towards qualifications and think about what they want to achieve in the future. One young person said, 'I am going to school more regularly and have also been to the local library and got out lots of books to read.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people maintain good health by attending arranged appointments. Young people are sometimes reluctant to receive more specialist support but they receive regular encouragement by staff to pursue this.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have contact with their families. They are able to visit relatives and where possible, relatives can visit the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people develop their independent living skills by taking greater responsibility for their finances and meal preparation. Young people are prompted to think about how they will prepare healthy, balanced meals. Staff ensure that young people have access to food that is culturally specific if they wish. Young people also learn how to keep their environment clean and take pride in their personal presentation.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are able to plan for holidays with staff. They are fully involved in planning a camping holiday to ensure they have the skills to manage this prior to the actual trip. This gives young people an opportunity to work in partnership with others, improve their self-esteem and experience a holiday in another part of the country.

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Quality of care

Young people have good relationships with the staff team. They are usually respectful and polite and make use of staff’s advice and encouragement. When behaviour is not acceptable young people are appropriately challenged and encouraged to reflect on their actions and the potential consequences. Young people know what kind of behaviour is expected of them. They benefit from staff who are positive role models.

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Quality of care

Staff are in the process of developing an individual reward programme for each young person. Young people are keen to be part of this planned development and make use of the system to help their motivation. However, the delay in implementation is starting to cause some frustration for young people and this may have an impact on their willingness to participate.

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Quality of care

Careful matching of potential placements minimises the possibility of young people being influenced by the inappropriate behaviour of others. One member of staff said, 'They don't just take anybody here, they look at the referrals in relation to the children they have and they take into consideration the staff’s ability as well.'

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Quality of care

Placement plans are individualised and give an overview of young people's circumstances. These focus not only on the difficulties but draw attention to the areas that may help to improve young people’s outcomes. For example, where young people express a particular interest, staff with similar interests or skills provide advice and guidance to help them develop these further. In the past, young people have shown an interest in tiling and carpentry and have been offered the opportunity to develop basic skills with a member of staff while waiting for an appropriate college course.

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Quality of care

Staff recognise that young people are sensitive about particular issues or areas in their lives and approach these areas tactfully. Staff embrace cultural difference and celebrate the variety of backgrounds and experiences that young people and staff bring to the home.

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Quality of care

Young people are able to talk to staff and ask for particular requests to be considered. However, young people sometimes feel that responses to their requests are not as quick as they would like. Staff often state that young people have to wait to discuss any request with the manager. This delay is frustrating for young people and appears unnecessary.

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Quality of care

Young people have access to primary and specialist health care. Occasionally, young people do not engage with specialist services. However, the home works with professionals who offer staff guidance to support young people with particular difficulties. One health professional stated, 'I have started to work with the team to address some challenges the young people face. I have found the team to be quite committed, they are very much looking-out for the young people.'

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Quality of care

The home is well presented. Young people have comfortable bedrooms that they are able to personalise. They have a domestic-sized bathroom, kitchen and lounge area and access to a well-tended garden. The home has a member of staff who is able to undertake repairs. This means the home is regularly and well maintained. One young person said, 'I like it here, it is really calm. This is the most relaxed I have been.'

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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

Young people are safe in the home. They are supported by well-trained staff who have a good understanding about protecting young people from harm. Staff are vigilant at monitoring the movements and behaviour of young people and their associates and assess the levels of risk.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The staff have experience and training on the impact of gangs, drugs and weapons and they know that some young people have been involved in gang culture and violence, so they aware of how to protect them.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff have a high level of communication with social workers, youth offending teams and psychologists to ensure they are working together to safeguard young people. They alert the relevant agencies about risks to young people without delay. One social worker said, 'The home is very pro-active, they keep me informed and have been doing very well for the young person.'

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Safeguarding children and young people

In some cases young people have gone missing for a considerable amount of time due to activities outside the home. The staff have engaged young people in alternative activities which has resulted in fewer incidents of young people going missing; strategy meetings attended by staff plan how best to manage young people on their return.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Risk assessments enable staff to plan their approach to working with young people. Staff communicate their concerns to young people about their lifestyle and attempt to offer alternatives; key work sessions are used to achieve this. Staff focus on what they can do to keep young people occupied in the home. For example, they offer: cooking sessions focusing on young people’s favourite foods; sporting activities; trips to the cinema. Staff accompany young people on trips out, particularly if they are unsafe in the local area.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has a very stable staff team; staff have been carefully selected to work with young people. The majority of staff are qualified in a variety of areas including nursing, social work and teaching. This means that staff bring additional knowledge and skills that are used to support young people.

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

The home is well managed and is meeting most of the aims and objectives in the Statement of Purpose. The Registered Manager will be amending some parts of the Statement of Purpose to reflect the home's current thinking and practice. This relates mainly to the independence programme offered.

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Leadership and management

The Registered Manager is supported by a consultant who provides professional supervision. The consultant is also involved in staff appraisals and training. One member of staff said, ‘We have away days facilitated by the consultant and we constantly reflect on our work and our actions with the young people.' Staff are enabled to use their underpinning knowledge to work creatively and effectively with young people. Young people know that staff care about them and want them to do well. One young person said, 'Staff encourage me and praise me when I do well or when they can see that I am trying.'

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Leadership and management

Staff are committed to working with the young people and with the Registered Manager. They receive training, have access to relevant research and study documents which give them a better understanding of the issues young people face; this means they are equipped to recognise and deal with presenting problems. One staff member said, 'This home is like a university, we have a lot of opportunities to learn. It is very inspiring.'

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Leadership and management

Staff are well supported by the Registered Manager. Team meetings and supervision take place on a monthly basis to help develop staff and provide them with an opportunity to discuss their practice. Risk assessments and policies are in place for lone-working. Staff know that if they need advice they can call upon duty managers who will arrive at the home promptly to provide support. Although the Registered Manager and staff are clear about areas for development in the home and are working towards these, these are not compounded into in a written development plan. For example, enhancing security outside the premises and reviewing the risk assessment, referral and quality assurance documents.

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Leadership and management

The provider carries out regular monitoring of the home and the quality of care, sending reports of this monitoring to Ofsted to keep the regulator updated. This monitoring enables the home to assess how well they are meeting their aims and objectives as set out in the Statement of Purpose and children's guide.

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Leadership and management

The home carries out regular health and safety checks and fire drills to ensure the health and safety of young people is not compromised.

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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 and the evaluation schedule for the inspection of children's homes.

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