Children's Home run by Heartwood RSW Ltd in Redbridge

Unique reference number SC461865 Inspector Sharon Lewis Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Heartwood RSW Ltd Registered person address 416 Green Lane Ilford Essex IG3 9JX

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Responsible individual Siva Lingam Moodley Registered manager Daniel Steve Elliott Date of last inspection N/A 2 of 10 Inspection date 09/12/2014

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Previous inspection N/A Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness good

Outcomes for children and young people good Quality of care good Keeping children and young people safe good Leadership and management good

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Overall effectiveness

Young people flourish despite their low starting points. They benefit from an individually tailored, nurturing service, which enables them to maximise their potential. They have improved emotional wellbeing and there is a reduction in missing episodes, self-harming and risk taking behaviour. Young people have high aspirations for the future and they are currently engaging in education, undertaking voluntary work and looking for employment. Young people benefit from comprehensive care planning and the opportunity to positively influence their lives.

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Overall effectiveness

The home has strong safeguarding arrangements, which includes multi-agency working. Young people learn about personal safety and the need to protect themselves from sexual exploitation. There are no issues in relation to bullying; young people have a respectful tolerance towards each other. Young people benefit from a marked decrease in missing and self harming episodes. Young people enjoy the ability to earn rewards tailored to their individual needs. Reparations contribute to their personal development.

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Overall effectiveness

This is the home's first inspection and feedback from professionals is extremely positive. The home has an enthusiastic and effective manager, who is supported by an experienced deputy. The service is continually evolving to meet the needs of young people. Young people receive support from a small, committed, culturally 3 of 10 diverse staff team Shortfalls are minor and relate to staff appraisals, the registered manager's supervision arrangements and producing a development plan. These matters do not have a detrimental impact on the young people. 4 of 10

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children's home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation to five children of either gender who may have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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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 staff performance appraisals take into account children's views (NMS 19.6)  ensure suitable arrangements exist for professional supervision of the registered manager (NMS 19.3)  produce 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) 5 of 10

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people demonstrate increased confidence, self-esteem and inner resilience. They are making impressive progress in relation to their low starting points. Professionals state that young people are 'happy and settled' and they highlight their 'significant changes'. Young people have improved educational outcomes, completing their GCSE's, pursuing vocational training and participating in home tuition. Schools highlight that young people have 'made great leaps' and they highlight that it is a 'massive achievement' that they have taken their exams.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people are making strides in their emotional wellbeing; this includes engaging with mental health services. They no longer self harm and are positively addressing past and current issues. Young people undertake valued life story work, which includes producing family trees. They are learning to take responsibility for their physical health and lead a healthy lifestyle. This includes seeing a nutritionist, reducing their portion size and sugar intake. They engage in various forms of exercise which includes jogging, swimming, going to the gym and playing badminton. Young people regularly attend hospital, dental, optical, sexual health and other medical appointments. They are also aware of the dangers of smoking, alcohol and drug misuse.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people enjoy a range of activities. They regularly go to the cinema, bowling, to the fun fair and out shopping. Popular activities are paint balling and go-karting, visiting tourist attractions in Central London and going away on holiday. They also enjoy relaxing at home, watching television, listening to music or having pampering sessions. Young people pursue their talents and interests. Examples are playing snooker and attending drama and dancing classes, They maintain appropriate relationships with their families and friends, who are welcome to visit the home. Young people can also visit them for overnight stays or weekend breaks. They enjoy creating pleasant memories with staff and their families, an example being going out for a meal together.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people state that the home provides what they 'need for adult life'. Each young person has a life skills folder which they work though in preparation for independent living. Young people help to prepare shopping lists and enjoy cooking for themselves or preparing meals with staff. They clean their rooms, undertake their own laundry and assist with household chores. Young people learn financial management skills though budgeting, saving and spending their individual allowances. Young people contribute to society through voluntary work and all have career ambitions to secure future employment. They have realistic aspirations, recognising their strengths and wishing to maximise their potential. 6 of 10

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Quality of care good

Young people refer to Woodlands as being ‘home’; they state that it is 'perfect'. Professionals highlight that staff have gone to 'great lengths' to do their 'best for' young people. Young people have good attachments to staff and social workers state that staff 'genuinely care'. Young people identify individual staff members who they describe as being like a family member. Staff consistently work using the home's child centred model of care which enables young people to flourish. Staff regard every young people as being 'uniquely different’; this ensures each young person is listened to, treated fairly and is at the centre of all practice.

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Quality of care good

Young people benefit from comprehensive care planning arrangements. Plans highlight their strengths and clearly detail how the home will help with meeting their unique needs. Young people have the opportunity to provide written comment on their care plan. They also work in partnership with staff to identity their goals and they devise individualised incentives. Key work sessions provide a forum for young people to address an extensive range of issues and formulate plans of action. Placement plans effectively cover each young person's identity, family background, health, educational, leisure, religious and cultural needs, independence, self- development, social skills and sexuality.

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Quality of care good

Staff actively address issues pertaining to young people, examples are helping them with health and immigration matters. Staff also endeavour to help young people actualise their dreams, an example being securing studio time to develop their musical talent. The home celebrates young people's birthdays and their achievements. Staff also collate photographs of young people's memories which they display in collective and individual albums. The home's consultation system empowers young people. They openly discuss grievances, house rules and are able to influence activities, menus and working practices. Young people know how to complain and their concerns are managed in a prompt and effective manner. They also benefit from debriefing sessions which enable them to fully express their concerns and satisfaction with the complaint outcome.

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Quality of care good

Young people live in a well-maintained, modern home, which blends easily into the residential area. The property has homely touches, which includes contemporary pictures, young people's art work and photographs displayed on the walls. Christmas decorations and a tree reflect the seasonal festivities. Professionals state the home provides a 'warm', 'nicely decorated' living environment. Young people are able to personalise their rooms to reflect their individuality. This includes having a uniquely coloured feature wall and displaying posters of their favourite rap or pop stars. Young people have a choice of communal areas. These include two lounges with televisions and a dedicated room where they can use the computer and play on the games console. The kitchen is the centre of activity; it includes a dining area enabling young people and staff to eat together. During the warmer weather young people enjoy

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Quality of care good

spending time in the patio garden, which has a basketball net, a barbecue and outdoor furniture. 7 of 10

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The home has effective safeguarding arrangements. Young people say that they 'feel safe'. Professionals comment that the home provides a 'safe, happy and secure environment'. The home actively promotes a multi-agency approach to protecting young people. This includes initiating meetings and regular liaison with the police. Staff benefit from safeguarding training and they have a competent awareness of how to manage allegations. Staff help to raise young people's awareness of personal safety and sexual exploitation. The home's child protection policy complies with regulations and it concisely outlines the need to protect young people from significant harm.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people tolerate each other and there are no issues with bullying. There are no major problems with going missing from care. Young people occasionally return home late. Staff keep in contact with them via their mobile phones to ensure they reach home safely. The home adopts a pragmatic approach to managing missing incidents working with young people to effectively address issues. A good example of this is arranging planned weekend breaks away from home. The individual absconding plans and the strong local protocol with the police ensures the home effectively manages any missing incidents. Young people benefit from a marked decrease in missing episodes.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people state that rules are 'clear'. Professionals comment on the 'consistent rules and boundaries'. There is a fair consequence and sanction system, which ensures young people are accountable for their actions. Young people enjoy the ability to earn rewards tailored to their individual needs. They work with staff to negotiate specific targets, which acknowledge positive behaviour. Staff occasionally have to physically restrain and sanction young people. The usual sanction is supervised spending. There is also a good debriefing system, enabling reflection and for staff to evaluate how incidents could be prevented. Staff highlight that they 'learn from every incident'. De-escalation techniques incorporate individualised warning systems. Young people also have the opportunity for reparations which contributes to their social and moral development.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people live in a home which is physically safe. Close circuit television monitors external areas for the protection of young people and staff. Health and safety certificates verify the safety of the environment. There are good fire safety arrangements and young people participate in fire drills. Recruitment practices meet regulatory requirements. There is also further exploration which details the reason for appointment. This helps to ensure unsuitable persons do not work with young people The home has a risk management system, which includes individual risk assessments for each young person. 8 of 10

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Leadership and management good

Young people benefit from a good service, which has effective management arrangements. The home is implementing the requirements from the updated regulations. This includes reviewing the statement of purpose and appointing an independent person to undertake the Regulation 33 visits. Shortfalls are minor and do not affect the high quality of care. Recommendations relate to further improving the service. Staff have their performance formally appraised; however, the process does not take into account young people's views. There is recognition that the home need to produce a service development plan. This is due to be completed in the forthcoming month. The registered manager is currently not receiving formal supervision. Effective informal arrangements ensures the register manager is able to develop the service and fulfil their role.

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Leadership and management good

This is the home's first inspection and feedback from professionals is extremely positive, they describe the service as 'fantastic'. Social workers feel the home is 'excellent' and the support is 'above and beyond'. They comment that the home has 'great relationships' with other professionals. An example of this is a placing authority clinician working with staff to develop therapeutic approaches to their work. Neighbours also highlight that staff are 'doing an excellent job in providing a happy home for the children'. The home has a democratic management style which encourages young people to have high expectations of staff.

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Leadership and management good

The registered manager has been in post since the home opened in November 2013. They have approximately three years’ experience of managing children's residential care. They have worked within children's services for over a decade. Their prior experience includes placement finding, monitoring, outreach and advocacy work with young people. The registered manager has a relevant leadership and management qualification. Professionals describe this individual as being 'dedicated, approachable, caring and knowledgeable'. This individual highlights that they 'love' their work and they demonstrate a good awareness of the strengths of the home. They recognise the areas requiring further development and state that they are 'always striving to improve'. This includes strengthening the team. The registered manager expresses pride in what the team have 'built and are still building'.

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Leadership and management good

The home has a strong staffing structure which includes a deputy, a senior support worker and sufficient support staff. Young people benefit from a competent, stable, culturally diverse and gender balanced staff team. Staff describe their work as being 'really rewarding'. They possess the necessary personal qualities, experience, and interests to meet young people’s complex needs. Staff either hold the necessary care qualifications or are currently completing their vocational qualifications. Staff benefit from on-going training, individual supervision and clinical group supervision. They benefit from good support, which enables them to effectively meet the demands of the role.

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Leadership and management good

There are good quality assurance arrangements which includes monthly independent 9 of 10 monitoring and reflecting on practice. Young people benefit from well-maintained securely stored case files. Records clearly demonstrate each young person's journey. A good example of this is review reports, which meaningfully capture the young person's personality. The home carefully considers new referrals which helps to ensure good placement stability. This includes travelling long distances to meet young people in their current placements. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management good

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Judgement Description

Outstanding A service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Good A service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Adequate A service that only meets minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Inadequate A service that does not meet minimum requirements.

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Information 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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Information 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 framework of inspection for children's homes.

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