Children's Home run by Kartikeya Solutions Limited in Haringey

The children's home provision is good because:

 Managers have worked hard to establish good practice and standards in the home since its opening in July 2015. Admissions to the home have been limited following the opening; this helped young people to settle and progress.   Young people access educational and therapeutic support on site in a supportive and caring environment.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Behaviour is good in the home and there is no use of restraint. Staff are attuned to the needs of young people and skilled in verbal de-escalation.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 There are a committed and dedicated permanent staff team who receive excellent support and guidance from managers.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people enjoy safe contact with their family and friends who are fully involved in supporting their care and encouraging engagement.   Young people engage well in both formal and informal key work sessions and work to reduce risk-taking behaviour.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff are creative and proactive in accessing new and exciting resources to engage young people and keep them safe.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people do not receive an independent return to care interview when they go missing from the home.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 There are insufficient working relationships with key partner agencies such as the local authority. This has restricted access to training and specialist advice.

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Information about this children's home

 This is a privately run home registered to care for up to five young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recommendations Due date

Ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from home with home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 45, paragraph 9.30) 30 December

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Recommendations Due date

Ensure that records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home (regulation 36 (schedule 3 (14)) This information should be shared with the placing authority and, where, appropriate with the child’s parents. Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, pages 45 and 46, paragraph 9.31) 30 December

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Recommendations Due date

Establish development of the home’s effective working relationships with each placing authority and with other relevant persons which may include services, individuals (including parents), agencies, organisations and establishments that work with children in the local community, e.g. police, schools, health 30 December and youth offending teams (regulation 5-engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met). (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 52, paragraph 10.3)

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Good

The home is appropriately located and designed. Young people are comfortable in their surroundings. There are photos of them having fun displayed in the home. One young person comments, ‘I love this house, I feel safe and the staff help me.’

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Good

Young people benefit from a unique learning environment where they enjoy consistently warm interactions with staff. One social worker comments, ‘They have all the tools in place to really help young people, it’s a really exciting service.’

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Good

There is a structured curriculum of both academic and ‘well-being’ subjects in the home. Specialist teaching staff offer a broad base of national curriculum subjects during the morning hours. In the afternoon, young people engage with structured activities with key workers and meet with the in-house therapist. This helps to ensure that young people remain engaged.

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Good

The home is large enough to accommodate both formal and informal education sessions. Joint activities and outings with staff assist in forming close and positive relationships. The home benefits from the recent acquisition of a table tennis table and keenly contested matches between staff and young people are ongoing.

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Good

Staff are inventive and consistent in forming strategies to engage young people. For some young people, this is their first experience of engagement in both therapy and educational activity.

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Good

Staff prioritise safe use of the internet for young people. Key work and education sessions regularly discuss the dangers posed by grooming. This helps to keep young people safe and raises awareness of internet dangers.

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Good

The home’s setting allows staff to arrange activities in an informal way. This helps to remove some of the perceived stigma of meeting with a ‘therapist.’ On one occasion, the therapist was able to conduct a session while baking a cake in the kitchen. This allowed the young person to engage in the session informally.

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Good

A holiday this summer offered young people their first experience of staying in a holiday camp. The trip was enjoyed by staff and young people together and helped develop new skills and to foster a close bond between them.

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Good

There is an aspirational culture in the home. Staff encourage young people to develop their talents and interests. Young people progress in many areas such as social development and independence. Staff have begun basic semi-independence exercises with young people, including planning and cooking basic meals.

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Good

Staff use their own contacts to access work experience for young people and visits to encourage interests in song writing and fashion. This assists young people in developing their self-confidence.

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Good

The home celebrates culture and difference. Staff recently used Black History Month as tool for learning and discussion around diversity. Staff conduct life story work with the overview of the home’s psychotherapist. This helps young people to make clearer sense of some often very difficult histories.

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Good

Staff focus on the benefits of healthy living. On arrival, young people register promptly with health care services. Arrangements for dealing with medication are safe and appropriate. Young people are encouraged to attend the local gym and enjoy making healthy fruit smoothies with staff each morning. They assist in planning the weekly menu and restrict access to fizzy drinks and ‘junk food.’ This helps promote self-esteem and weight loss.

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Good

Staff have engaged with the local community to safeguard young people. Following the opening of the home, staff reminded local shopkeepers of the dangers of selling alcohol and cigarettes to residents. This helped young people reduce risk- taking behaviour such as smoking and drinking alcohol.

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Good

The home has commissioned a local charity specialising in gang diversion to provide presentations and mentoring support for young people. These sessions have been highly engaging and successful and are to continue. A local author recently visited the home to talk to young people about the dangers of gang violence. Staff and young people have enjoyed reading his book on the subject and this has provoked some productive discussion during key work sessions. Young people are now more aware of the risks of gang association.

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Good

Staff strive to establish open and trusting relationships with young people. This is a critical tool for effective safeguarding. Staff learn new behavioural management strategies and are encouraged to reflect on the causes and context of presenting behaviour. This permits staff to develop their understanding of behaviour and assist in developing relationships.

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Good

The tone and manner of staff verbal communication makes young people feel valued and appreciated. Strong relationships with staff give young people the confidence to be open and transparent, particularly when they are struggling or considering going missing from the home. Staff can then plan an intervention accordingly and keep young people safe.

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Good

Staff ensure the regular review of case recordings. The home’s therapist drafts individualised treatment programmes in conjunction with young people. This helps to encourage transparency and cooperation. Engagement with these plans and key work support give a comprehensive assessment of young people’s progress.

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Good

Behaviour is good and there has been no use of restraint. When conflict occurs, young people are encouraged to apologise by creative means such as writing letters. Behavioural contracts and financial incentives reward good behaviour appropriately.

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Good

The focus of the home is to allow young people to improve their own self-worth prior to developing new strategies to regulate their own behaviour. The development of coping strategies encourages further confidence in and empowerment of young people.

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Good

Staff work in partnership with young people to resolve issues and seek solutions. For example, when some were struggling to settle at night, staff proposed relaxation techniques and reading. This is a clear, sustainable process, understood by managers and staff.

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Good

There have been no complaints received since the opening of the home. The service has a clear and comprehensive complaints procedure in place of which young people are aware.

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Good

Young people benefit from a culturally diverse staff team. Staffing levels are high, therefore ensuring close supervision and a greater choice of activities. Young people are able to easily engage and relate to them. Staff come from a range of ethnic backgrounds, have differing levels of experience and share a strong desire to improve the lives of young people.

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Good

Staff prioritise safe and positive contact for young people. Friends and family are encouraged to attend the home. One parent comments, ‘My daughter is so happy there, they really work hard for her.’

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Good

Parents work in tandem with keyworkers. Regular phone calls take place between the home and parents. Relatives work with staff to encourage young people to attend education and as a source of information and support when young people go missing from the home.

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Good

When young people go missing, staff are proactive in tracing them and assisting them to return. On return young people are not provided with a return to care interview. This could provide an important source of information and insight into the behaviour. Staff are not recording patterns in missing behaviour effectively; this would assist in liaison with outside agencies and the planning of staff resources.

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Good

The Registered Manager is also the responsible individual and has been in post since the opening of the home. The interim manager has been working in conjunction with the Registered Manager since that time. She has begun the process of seeking formal registration with Ofsted.

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Good

The plan is for the Registered Manager to remain in support but devote more of his time to the other provision where he is registered. The interim manager is due to commence a level 5 qualification in the spring of 2016. She is receiving her own supervision and support.

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Good

The interim manager is a registered social worker with over 20 years of experience of working with young people. She is a qualified therapist and is able work in partnership with the home’s psychotherapist. This ensures a consistency of purpose for the home and for young people.

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Good

Managers have a clear idea of the weakness and strengths of the service. They are committed to the development and success of the home and implementing the recommendations of this inspection; a development plan is in place.

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Good

Young people benefit from a permanent staff team with no use of agency staff. The roster allows experienced staff to mentor their less experienced colleagues. The management is presently seeking to recruit two senior workers to provide further management help and support.

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Good

Staff feel valued and supported by managers; morale is high. One staff member comments, ‘Supervision is great in the home, there is clear guidance from managers, I feel that we work as a team.’

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Good

The home offers clinical supervision for staff. This helps to follow the progress of young people and address any ongoing stresses or anxieties. Staff are encouraged to place behaviour in the context of the young person’s history. This helps them to respond more appropriately to challenging behaviour.

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Good

Staff have a clear understanding of the ethos of the statement of purpose and the importance of consistency. Young people understand that the staff as a group make decisions. This helps to develop a culture of respect for staff and maintains the stability of the home.

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Good

There is strong management oversight. Progress reports are of a consistently high standard. Report authors are encouraged to offer reasoned and structured analysis of young people’s progress. This helps to ensure full information for professionals when making key decisions on the welfare of young people. Managers have restricted admissions to just two young people during the home’s opening three months. One young person has benefited from a prolonged and planned transition from secure accommodation. This has allowed staff to familiarise themselves with policies and procedures while providing a high level of care.

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Good

Managers continue to seek new and creative means of developing the service. They have requested access to a local school’s music equipment to encourage one young person to develop his passion for song writing. Managers have recently employed a horticultural therapist to engage young people in the improvement and development of the garden area.

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Good

The home has benefited from the rigorous challenge of the independent visitor. She has ensured that recruitment is now safer through the verbal verification of references. Ofsted receives monthly monitoring reports on a regular basis.

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Good

Managers ensure that staff training receives priority. The home’s psychotherapist and a private provider currently facilitate training. Established staff have achieved the required level three qualification and all others have enrolled on a course to work towards achieving this.

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Good

There has been no contact with the host local authority. This has limited access to training and advice on specialist issues such as child sexual exploitation. An established relationship with the host local authority would allow staff to access a broader range of training and to network effectively with other professionals within the borough.

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Good

Managers actively challenge placing authorities on issues such as contact with family and friends. For example, managers recently pressed a local authority for provision of court documents to assist with life story work. This helped one young person understand a very complex and difficult situation.

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Good

Managers ensure that the home is in a good state of repair with all of the necessary risk assessments undertaken. The home's premises is appropriately secure, therefore offering a safe environment for young people.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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