Children's home run by Herman Allen

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people live in a service that is evolving to meet their diverse needs. The current restructuring of the service focuses on addressing the emotional and behavioural needs of young people. The home has ceased providing a specialist service for children who have a learning disability. Staff are undergoing training to enable them to respond to this change of direction. This therapeutic framework is in its initial stages. Experienced consultants are assisting with this process. This is a service in transition. Improvements are dependent on staff having the skills to address the high presenting needs of young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has addressed the majority of requirements and recommendations from the last inspection. The statement of purpose is being updated to reflect the staff changes and therapeutic support. There are also improvements in key work, activities and children’s consultation. The only outstanding issue is the need to further develop the workforce development plan. The plan does not incorporate all the information highlighted within the Quality Standards.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people currently living at the home have significantly high needs with a history of gang or criminal justice involvement. For some young people the latter continues to be a presenting issue. One young person appreciates the fact that this is the ‘only children’s home in London which would have me.’ A parent confirms they are ‘totally 100% satisfied’ and describe the service as being ‘spot-on’. Staff effectively manage challenging behaviour and help young people to understand the consequences of their actions. They appropriately involve the police with whom there is a strong working relationship that focuses on promoting positive outcomes.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff are developing trusting, amicable relationships with young people. They succeed in providing a stable base with unconditional acceptance, within boundaries. A staff member proudly comments on the ‘great rapport’, they have with young people. A parent describes staff as ‘amazing’ and their child is ‘lucky to have them.’ Young people praise staff members’ cooking, commenting on the appetising meals. The home recognises the nurturing aspect of food and is trying to build a community through socialising and having meals together. There have been no restraints since the last inspection. At the time of the inspection, the sanction book could not be found. It is a legal requirement that this record is maintained and the book must be available for examination. Staff are trying to channel young people’s aggression and address their socially unacceptable behaviour. They are introducing boxing and mentoring programmes.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The need to positively engage young people is an ongoing priority. This relates to nurturing their talents and interests and encouraging them to try new experiences.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The police have undertaken workshops to address cannabis use; unfortunately, young people are dismissive of this advice. Staff actively discourage them from smoking and some staff address their use of profanities. The latter requires staff to take a consistent approach. Expectations of young people should be high, clear and unambiguous. Staff should routinely challenge and discuss poor behaviour. Young people can be threatening towards staff; this has resulted in knives and forks being locked away. This is a verbal agreement and a written risk assessment is not available. Each young person has a risk assessment. On one occasion all the risks identified were not detailed in this document. Staff should actively assess risks in order to protect young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All young people are not consistently attending an educational establishment. Staff are endeavouring to engage them in informal on-site education, whilst they await a school placement. Professionals are aware of this issue and staff are strongly advocating for respective educational provisions. There is a need for staff to persevere and try to maintain a sense of educational structure for each young person. Targets should correspond to their placement plan. The opportunities for young people to learn informally must be an ongoing priority.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people are able to self-define themselves, reflect and be aspirational. The home provides key work sessions, which address practical support identified in care plans. Young people appreciate that staff help with braiding their hair and offering words of advice. They actively share their views on a daily basis and formally in a range of meetings. This informs working practices and enables young people to influence menu and activity planning.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home takes action when they are unable to meet the needs of young people. There is a good discharge policy, which enables a smooth transition to alternate placements. There is a good example of a young person having a leaving party and receiving on-going support from their key worker. The open sharing of information and care strategies contributed to them settling into their new placement. The home has a structured admission procedure, enabling young people to benefit from efficiently planned placements. An introduction to the home is the children’s charter, which outlines the ethos and core values. This transparently promotes the home’s way of working.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A staff member describes the manager as ‘fantastic’. This individual has been instrumental in the service’s transition. The journey continues to be challenging as staff have to reapply for jobs within the new structure. Staff benefit from being able to explore their feelings through reflective supervision with a trained professional. Being a member of a therapeutic quality improvement and accreditation programme, staff have access to continuing training. There is a strong commitment to introducing a psychodynamic model of change. The aim being to positively influence young peoples’ lives.

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Information about this children's home

This section should outline: This privately owned home provides care and accommodation for up to seven young people have an emotional and behavioural difficulty. This is one of three children’s home owned by the organisation. The organisation also has a registered school.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

12/11/2014 Interim sustained effectiveness

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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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

(2) In order to meet the education standard, the registered person is required to ensure (a) that staff –

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Requirement Due date

(i) help each child to achieve their education and training targets, as recorded in their relevant plan and (v) promote opportunities for each child to learn informally 01/05/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that- (a) within 24 hours of the use of a sanction a record is made. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)) 01/05/2016

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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

 Nurture each child's talents and interests and support children to try activities which are new for them. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 31 paragraph 6.4)

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Recommendations

 Ensure poor behaviour is challenged and discussed. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 39 paragraph 8.11)

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Recommendations

 Produce a workforce plan to include the training required to enable the delivery of the home's statement of purpose. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 53 paragraph 10.8)  Continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 42 paragraph 9.5)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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

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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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