Children's Home run by Destiny House in Harrow

Unique reference number SC038906 Inspector Patrick Sullivan Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered manager Eleanor Johnson Date of last inspection 08/01/2014 2 of 9 Inspection date 13/01/2015

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Previous inspection satisfactory progress Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness adequate

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

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Overall effectiveness

This is a home with many good features but also with a number of weaknesses. This inspection identified shortfalls in leadership and management and safeguarding, resulting in the home being judged as adequate overall. Currently the shortfalls are not having an impact on young people’s care.

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Overall effectiveness

Weaknesses in leadership and management are noted in terms of staff supervision and appraisal, the completion of monitoring reports and information missing from the home’s Statement of Purpose. The location risk assessment has not been completed.

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Overall effectiveness

Weaknesses in safeguarding relate to shortfalls in the home’s fire procedures and the fact that some fire doors are locked and staff do not have the keys on their person.

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Overall effectiveness

The quality of care that the young people receive from staff is good. Young people benefit from a staff team who want to make a difference and are committed to improving outcomes for the young people in their care.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people’s outcomes are good. They have made considerable progress since being placed at the home. Staff provide stability and continuity of care. 3 of 9

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to eight young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is operated by a private organisation.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/01/2014 Interim satisfactory progress 25/06/2013 Full adequate 26/03/2013 Interim satisfactory progress 17/12/2012 Full adequate

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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

5 (2001) keep under review and where appropriate revise the statement of purpose and children's guide and notify HMCI of any revision within 28 days (Regulation 5(a)&(b)) 27/03/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that all persons employed in the home receive appropriate training, supervision and appraisal (Regulation 27(4)(a)) 27/03/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) maintain in the home the records specified in schedule 4, specifically information relating to address prior to being accommodated at the home, the discharge address and the statutory provision of the placement (Regulation 29(1) (schedule 4 c-f)) 27/03/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

31 review the appropriateness and suitability of the 27/03/2015 4 of 9 (2001) location of those premises at least once in each calendar year (Regulation 31(1A)(b))

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) provide adequate means of escape in the event of a fire in particular to risk assess the practice of locking fire doors (Regulation 32(1)(b)) 27/03/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that the independent person shall produce a written report about the visit and provide a copy of the report to HMCI (Regulation 33(9)(a)) 27/03/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) establish and maintain a system for monitoring the matters set out in Schedule 6 at least once in every 3 months. (Regulation 34(1)(a)) 27/03/2015 5 of 9

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Staff at the home work hard to ensure that young people achieve good outcomes. Young people feel happy in the home and feel that staff are trying to help them turn their lives around.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people have improved their educational attainment, often despite facing considerable difficulties. Young people make significant progress bearing in mind their starting points. Staff at the home work hard to engage young people in alternative educational activities when they are excluded from school or college.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Staff work well with other professionals and maintain good working relationships despite professional differences of opinion occurring from time to time.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people have reduced their risk taking behaviour since being placed in the home. In some cases this has resulted in a dramatic reduction compared to previous placements. Staff try and liaise with organisations such as the Youth Offending Service and the local police in order to reduce risk-taking behaviour. The staff work hard to avoid criminalising young people. Workers have attended court to provide evidence of how much progress young people are making.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Where it is appropriate, young people maintain contact with their birth family. They are supported in this by staff at the home. Where young people are estranged from their family, the home tries to keep channels of communication open.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people are actively encouraged to become engaged in external activities and organisations. This helps them to maintain links with their culture and national identity. This also assists in their emotional development and promotes resilience.

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Quality of care good

This is a home where the staff care about the work they do and try to provide the young people with individualised care. Staff describe the home as 'a great place to work' and one where 'they make a difference to young people'. Relationships between staff and young people are positive. Young people feel safe and well cared for. One young person stated that 'there was nothing better that this home'.

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Quality of care good

Young people are cared for in line with their individual care and placement plans. Staff provide regular detailed reports to placing social workers. Other professionals state that the home is good at keeping them involved. One stated that 'it’s one of the best places for young people that I have experienced'. Staff are described as being 6 of 9 consistent in their approach with a good understanding of young people's needs.

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Quality of care good

Within the home, young people are well behaved and some of them have made significant changes in their behaviour since being placed. For example, one young person with a long history of placement disruptions prior to being placed at the home has experienced stability for the first time, being settled for over 18 months. Staff have used the 'targets for change programme' and have used positive affirmation to minimise antisocial behaviour.

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Quality of care good

The home has a strong ethos on positive behaviour management and as a result sanctions have not been used since May 2013. Restraints are also rarely used in the home.

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Quality of care good

Staff are very proactive in promoting young people's educational attainment. They have advocated strenuously on behalf of those who have been excluded from mainstream education. In one instance this has involved trying to get a young person onto a construction course following a period of home tuition.

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Quality of care good

Staff promote young people's independence skills and assist in preparing them for independent living via life skills training. Young people say that the staff 'prepare you for the big wide world'.

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Quality of care good

Young people have the opportunity to engage in a number of leisure activities outside the home should they choose to. For one young person this has involved linking them into a local youth group that provides opportunities to meet up with other young people from a similar ethnic and cultural background.

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Quality of care good

Young people are encouraged to lead healthy lifestyles. Food provided by the home is of good quality and provides an appropriate level of choice.

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Quality of care good

Young people have opportunities to make their views known and are able to influence the way that the home is run. Key work sessions occur on a regular basis and are used to address issues.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Young people feel safe within the home and are comfortable with the staff team. They know how to make a complaint and who to approach should they wish to. The positive relationships between staff and young people are reflected in the absence of sanctions or episodes of restraint since the last inspection. Staff are good at engaging with young people and making connections.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Staff are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities and have undertaken a number of training courses to provide them with the right skills for the job. These courses have included restraint, managing challenging behaviour and children who display 7 of 9 sexually harmful behaviour. Staff are positive about this training and feel that they now have enhanced skills to deal with challenging situations should they arise.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

All staff are aware of the need to report young people missing and any incidents are promptly reported to the police. The home has a missing from care file which contains the relevant information but in a disorganised way which makes it hard to locate the relevant paperwork.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Fire drills in the home are conducted on a regular basis and include specific information on evacuating the building, including ensuring the cats are saved. The home has five designated fire exits on the ground floor. On the day of the inspection, three of the exits were locked and staff did not carry the keys with them at all times. At night, all of the exits are locked and night staff do not routinely carry keys to these locks on their person, either. The fire escape route is through a locked gate. Once again the keys to this padlock are not routinely available to staff. These issues may compromise fire safety.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

A location risk assessment of the home has not yet been completed to help staff be aware of any potential risks to young people in the neighbourhood.

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Leadership and management inadequate

The home is managed by an experienced Registered Manager who is also the Responsible Individual. She is included in the rota. This is done so that the Registered Manager can be 'hands on' with the young people. The benefits of this are in the overall quality of care that is provided to the young people in the home. The drawback is that it leaves less time to attend to management tasks. The home benefits from a stable and experienced staff team who are committed to the young people.

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Leadership and management inadequate

The monthly external monitoring reports are not sent through to Ofsted in a timely or structured manner. The quality and content of the reports are not sufficiently robust and do not assist the home in identifying and taking action to improve matters.

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Leadership and management inadequate

Reports of the manager’s monitoring have not been submitted to Ofsted in a timely manner and do not reflect the amended regulation. The reports do not provide a detailed narrative or analysis of the quality of care in the home.

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Leadership and management inadequate

The home’s policies and procedures are not consistent with regulations. The admission and discharge book does not contain all the required information in terms of address details or the legal status of the young person. The home is currently using two different policy manuals. The first of these is called 'the Bible' and contains a number of out-of-date policies The new policy manual contains current policies and procedures but has not been completed due to other competing demands on the Registered Manager's time. 8 of 9 The homes Statement of Purpose has not been updated and sent through to Ofsted as required. The current Statement of Purpose does not contain the required information. For example, it does not have details of the home’s missing from care policies, does not mention that surveillance equipment is used and doesn’t include details of the experience and qualifications of staff working in the home. People are

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Leadership and management inadequate

not given full details on what to expect from the service.

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Leadership and management inadequate

The young person’s guide is a very detailed document which contains a lot of relevant information about the home. However, it is very long and not presented in a format that is user-friendly.

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Leadership and management inadequate

Staff are insufficiently supported through regular supervision and annual appraisal. Supervision records are incomplete with no evidence of some staff having had supervision since August 2014. The majority of staff who were due their appraisal in December 2014 have not had one. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management inadequate

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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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