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

Unique reference number SC062128 Inspection date 12/08/2013 Inspector Muhammed Harunur Rashid Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 20/03/2013 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

The children's home is registered to care for up to six young people aged between 12 and 17 years for assessments. The home is owned and operated by a local authority.

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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

The outcomes for young people and the quality of care provided by the service are good. Young people receive care and support from a stable, qualified and experienced staff team who are dedicated to their roles. The home's care planning and practice are highly personalised and meet the individual needs of young people. Young people have positive views about the quality of care provided in the home and their relationships with staff. Staff work positively; are enthusiastic in their role with young people and are positive role models for them. Young people make significant progress from their starting points across all aspects of their welfare and development. For example, they attend educational placements and develop various life skills for adulthood.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people feel safe and secure within a nurturing environment that offers them the opportunity to grow and develop. The management team is focused on continuous improvement of the children’s home. The home has effective monitoring systems in place to review the quality of care that young people receive and identify any areas where outcomes for young people may be improved.

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Overall effectiveness

A requirement for improvement has been made in relation to notifying significant events to Ofsted without any delays.

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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) ensure that serious incidents necessitating calling police to the home are reported to Ofsted as Schedule 5. (Regulation 30 (1)) 01/10/2013

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have made good progress in developing a positive self-view and understanding of their backgrounds. They develop their self-awareness relating to personal presentation including personal hygiene, wearing appropriate clothing and caring for their hair and skin.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have achieved good outcomes in relation to their individual needs. For some, this means to have placement stability after several placement breakdowns. For others, it means that they have regularly attended an education placement after being out of education for a long time.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy good health and live in a healthy environment. They enjoy a variety of dishes that reflect their diversity and preferences. Young people commented that they enjoy eating home cooked meals and they have recently celebrated Eid festival and enjoyed the festive meals. They are registered with doctors, dentists and other health professionals. This enables young people to access health professionals. Young people keep physically fit, for example, through attending the local gymnasium and participating in various sports.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Through the support of staff and regular attendance at their education, young people make good progress and achieve in their education. During the school holiday period young people visit various places, such as the museum and wildlife parks for enjoyment and educational purposes.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people learn important life skills. For example, they learn to look after their own personal space, go shopping, cook meals and manage their money. Young people are able to choose the clothes and personal requisites that they buy and have these needs met.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make a positive contribution to their home and wider community. At the home they pursue their individual interests and hobbies. Staff ensure that young people have access to local community resources. Young people say that, ‘They love swimming, ice skating and playing rugby.’ Some older young people are encouraged to arrange their own leisure activities and resources are made available for these purposes.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from having contact with their family and friends, enabling them to develop and improve their relationships. They are encouraged to visit and are welcomed at the home.

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Quality of care

All staff have completed social pedagogy training and have agreed to a number of pledges to fulfil their duties in order to achieve best possible outcomes for young people and to improve an effective communication between the staff team and professionals. Staff interviewed stated that following the social pedagogy approach they have gained a better understanding of each individual young person’s holistic needs and are able to work through these to achieve best possible outcomes for them.

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Quality of care

A social worker spoken to said that, ‘They have good professional relationships with staff and they always provide them with up-to-date information and send progress reports about each young person. Staff work hard to achieve best possible outcomes for young people.'

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Quality of care

Young people receive tailor-made and individualised care from a caring and experienced staff team. The comprehensive care and support plans and the effective implementation of these ensure that young people’s diverse and complex needs are met.

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Quality of care

Young people are supported in line with their wishes. The home recognises the importance of involving young people in the day-to-day running of the home and in the decision making process. Young people are consulted during weekly house meetings. Staff also consult with young people’s families and the placing authority in order to improve the service they offer.

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Quality of care

Staff are committed to encouraging and supporting young people to attend education. Staff work hard with the placing authority social workers to find suitable educational provisions for young people. Facilities at the home are conducive for study. The home provides four computers and young people said that they love using computers for educational and recreational purposes.

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Quality of care

Young people’s health is well promoted. They are encouraged to eat healthily and take part in various physical activities, such as swimming, ice skating and dancing to keep themselves fit. The home maintains links with healthcare professionals; such as counselling services and children in care health team medical advisor who carries out health assessments and provides support and guidance for young people and staff in order to meet their health needs in full. A robust complaint procedure is in place. Parents, staff, young people and neighbours are made aware of their right to complaint if they are unhappy with any aspect of the service and any complaints made are taken seriously and dealt with promptly. The home has not received any complaints from young people since the last inspection. However, staff have received a few complaints from others, such as, neighbours and one from a school. A detailed record is maintained of these including

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Quality of care

what actions have been taken to resolve the matters.

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Quality of care

The home is appropriately located, designed and maintained. Young people enjoy homely accommodation, decorated and furnished and maintained to a high standard. The home has easy access to all community recourses and has a good link to public transport including an underground station.

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Quality of care

The home operates closed circuit television at the office, rear and front garden of the home for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people. These cameras do not intrude on the privacy of young people.

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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 safeguarded as staff have a good understanding of the safeguarding procedures. Staff are fully aware of the action to take should they have concerns about a young person. This combined with their understanding of young people’s needs means young people are protected from harm. Young people have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe. This is because of the advice and support provided by staff.

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Safeguarding children and young people

A number of incidents in relation to missing from care have been recorded and this has reduced over time and most episodes relate to a failure to return on time. Staff follow the agreed procedures when a young person goes missing from care and report all incidents to relevant professionals. A social worker spoken to said that, ‘Staff are proactive in reporting all significant events via emails to relevant social workers.' The Registered Manager now attends a multi-agency meeting which reviews the key themes and shares intelligence about missing young people and identifies trends that may impact on safeguarding young people in care.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service has a comprehensive behaviour management and reward policy in place. Each young person has an individual risk assessment in relation to their behavioural needs, and behaviour management plans form part of their care plans. These are devised and reviewed by working together with the multi-disciplinary team to measure their effectiveness. Staff did not require to impose any physical intervention since the last inspection.

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Safeguarding children and young people

A written record is kept which includes details of the action taken, and the outcome of any action or investigation, following notifiable events. However, on one occasion staff called police at the home following an incident and this was not reported to Ofsted.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people live in a safe environment. Comprehensive health and safety policies and procedures are in place and are adhered to by staff. Detailed records are maintained for all health and safety checks that take place and these are carried out at the required regular intervals. The home also carries out thorough risk assessments of any possible or identified risks to young people and these are reviewed and updated regularly to ensure the welfare and safety of young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The recruitment processes and procedures are good. Staff are vetted thoroughly before starting work with young people to ensure that they are safeguarded. Staff are recruited in accordance with the recruitment policy and procedure of the local authority so as to protect vulnerable 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 has a well written Statement of Purpose that reflects its practice and functions. It is available as a source of information to young people, parents, staff and the placing authority. Young people are provided with a children’s guide which provides information about the facilities available to them.

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Leadership and management

The service has been successful in creating an ethos of valuing diversity and promoting equality. Staff are provided with equality and diversity training. Staff have multi-lingual skills and they are culturally diverse. Staff understand young people’s strengths and needs. There are consistent working practices which focus on enhancing young people’s quality of life. Staff encourage and support young people to make personal choices and to access community resources.

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Leadership and management

Young people live in a home which has a clear and effective management arrangement. The Registered Manager is well supported by a deputy manager and three senior residential support workers who are suitably qualified. Leaders and managers encourage staff to be efficient through good quality training delivered by professional trainers. Staff speak highly about the social pedagogy training they have completed recently, which equipped them well to support young people to achieve best possible outcomes. Staff also went on to say that communication between themselves and other professionals has also improved as a result of this training.

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Leadership and management

Staff are well supported through regular supervision and annual appraisals. Regular staff meetings, daily hand overs and effective shift planning systems promote good communication and contribute to the smooth running of the home.

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Leadership and management

Staffing levels are good and ensure that quality time can be spent with young people. Young people enjoy their time with staff and feel that they are supported very well by them and the manager. This enables the young people to be protected and make progress. There are clear and effective procedures for monitoring and controlling the activities of the home. A monitoring visit takes place on a monthly basis and reports are sent to Ofsted. The Registered Manager completes her comprehensive reports bi-monthly detailing the effectiveness of the monitoring of the matters required by regulation. The home is adequately resourced. Managers understand the strengths and the weaknesses of the home and have a business plan in place to address shortfalls.

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Leadership and management

Each young person has an individual case record which helps them to reflect on and understand their history and keep appropriate memorabilia of their time in the placement.

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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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