Children's Home run by Kattz (AH) Ltd in Enfield

inspection

A restricting accommodation notice was imposed on 18 April 2016. The notice was in relation to non-compliance with the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015, in particular with Regulation 19 (Behaviour management and discipline) and Regulation 20 (Restraint and deprivation of liberty). The notice was removed on 11 May 2016, following a monitoring visit on 9 May 2016.

p.2

Requires improvement

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.2

The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 The recruitment of staff fails to fully protect young people.  Young people and staff have their safety placed at risk. Fire risk management fails to take account of all possible emergencies. Procedures do not include all necessary arrangements for evacuating young people.  The current young person reports not always feeling safe in the home.  Behaviour management planning and review is inconsistent.  The risk assessing of lone working practices are poor.

p.3

The children's home strengths

 The registered person evidences a strong capacity for improvement. As a result the quality of the service has improved.  A learning and improvement culture has begun to take effect in the home. Staff have good training opportunities and their practice has improved.  The registered person is successful at building effective working relationships with other professionals. She successfully advocates for young people in her care.  Staff support young people’s learning and their educational progress.

p.3

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 within the given timescales.

p.4

25 Fire precautions

(1) After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must— (b) provide adequate means of escape from the home in the event of fire. In order to meet this regulation the registered person must review the risk assessment and the arrangements for evacuation when the fire exit is locked 1 August 2016

p.4

32 Fitness of workers

(1) The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety. (2) The registered person may only— (a) employ an individual to work at the children's home if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). (3) The requirements are that— (d) full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2 1 August 2016

p.4

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that the young people's behaviour management plans are reviewed after each significant incident of challenging behaviour. By doing this, the home consistently evidences that the development of safe, stable and secure relationships between the staff and the young people is central to its ethos (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11).   Ensure that whenever there is a lone worker on duty, a formal assessment of the implications to children’s care, including any likely risks and strategies to address those is recorded (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.18). 

p.4

Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for no more than four young people who may have emotional or/and behavioural difficulties. The home is privately owned.

p.6

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.6

Recent inspection history

23 October 2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

p.6

Requires improvement

The current young person remains the only young person living in the home. He said that the home was not good. He said that most of the time, he felt unhappy at the home. The current young person also said that although the staff appear to listen to his views, he did not always feel heard. He has recently gained support from an independent advocate to help him put his views across more effectively. It is clear that the current young person struggles with the feelings brought about from some of his previous experience of the home. However, with the improved quality of care that he now receives, the current young person is engaging more with staff and the overall aims of his placement. The current young person has been helped to improve his engagement in his learning. Although of a compulsory school age, up to now, he received only a limited individual tuition at the home. However, this has enabled the current young

p.7

Requires improvement

person to develop a positive relationship with his tutor. He has made good progress in his learning to an extent whereby his tutor is predicting positive exam results. From the new school term, the current young person will attend a school in the community. There are plans for the tutor to continue to support him during the transition period. Staff keenly facilitate the current young person’s learning. They use everyday opportunities to provide additional learning opportunities for him. They help him to develop independent living skills and teach him other things, such as different languages. To promote and celebrate the diversity of European music and culture, they recently organised a Eurovision event in the home. He made significant creative contributions to it and enjoyed it very much. The current young person has recently started going to the local shops on his own. His independent travel skills, cooking, personal care and care of the environment,

p.7

Requires improvement

as well as a general safeguarding awareness have started to increase recently. Last week, the current young person joined a local youth centre and started making friendships with his peers. He now accesses a wider range of recreational activities. The current young person has continued to receive good health support, in terms of having regular checks and accessing specialist services. Staff support him to lead an active, healthy lifestyle. He said that the food in the home was great. Care professionals agree that the despite some of his negative views the young person is making progress. They say he engages more positively with the staff and the professionals from other services, his peers and the wider community. As a result of receiving appropriate support and care, his outcomes have begun to improve.

p.7

Requires improvement

The current young person said that he did not always feel safe at the home. He identifies some staff as trusted adults who he can talk to. He has started building more positive relationships with other staff members. Staff are demonstrating improved levels of support, help and care to enable young people to become increasingly safer. However, due to the current young person’s past experiences, including those he previously had in this home, his sense of safety is fragile. Staff recruitment lacks robustness. The shortfalls include not having two written references and not having a reference from the most recent or current employer. The registered person has accepted the Disclosure and Barring Service checks from previous employers that were not listed in the job history, without a clear explanation and recorded risk assessment. Weaknesses in the staff recruitment procedure undermine the protection of young people in the home. This potentially

p.8

Requires improvement

places young people at risk. The approach to fire safety fails to take account of all possible risks. The fire risk assessment was last reviewed 15 months ago. The registered person failed to update the risk assessment when the automatic security lock on the main exit became broken. Keeping the main fire exit locked at night with the key, presents an additional obstacle to a swift evacuation. Having only one staff member who is on a sleeping-in duty further compounds the risks to safe evacuation at night. In addition there is no risk assessment regarding lone working in the home. The expectation is for the member of staff to have the key with them at all times. However, there is no written guidance to support this practice. The weaknesses in the fire safety undermine the health and safety of young people and everybody else on the premises. Staff training in behaviour management combined with regular discussions at the

p.8

Requires improvement

staff meeting have led to improved understanding and better practice. The current young person said that he did not find the staff suggestions helpful on how to manage his behaviour better. However, he was very complimentary about the help that he had from other professionals to improve his behaviour; this was encouraged and supported by staff. Staff have established clearer boundaries and house rules. In the recent months, they were able to manage challenging situations without having to use physical interventions. This is a significant improvement. Staff appropriately involve the police when it is necessary to restore the order and control in the home. However opportunities to review the impact of strategies to help young people improve their behaviour are sometimes missed. For instance although the home work in partnership with other professionals to review the individual risk management plans after each incident, their findings are

p.8

Requires improvement

not incorporated into behaviour management plans. This means staff do not always receive up to date guidance. All staff have received training that supports appropriate child protection and safeguarding practice. The training has helped them to increase their awareness and knowledge about a range of different aspects of child protection and safeguarding. The training includes online safety, training around child sexual exploitation, radicalisation, behaviour management and first aid. Staff have also gained increased knowledge from the home’s recently updated policies and procedures regarding behaviour management, safeguarding and child protection. This includes a newly developed policy on counteracting risks to self-harm and suicide. Staff are familiar with the whistleblowing procedure. They are aware of the local authority’s designated officer for child protection. They understand their own role in safeguarding young people’s welfare and the responsibility that comes with

p.9

Requires improvement

it. The registered person works closely with the professionals from the social, health and educational services and the police. This has helped the current young person to receive must more well-targeted and consistent support that they need in order to be safe and develop safer behaviours. In consultation with the home’s quality assurance adviser, the registered person reviews and monitors all incidents. There have been no concerns regarding gang involvement, child sexual exploitation or radicalisation.

p.9

Requires improvement

The registered person is a qualified social worker. She is also the registered manager. She has put in significant resources to bring the quality of the service up from inadequate. The registered manager has carried out a review of the service. She has appointed an experienced quality assurance adviser to help her improve the quality of care. The registered person has made good progress in meeting a vast majority of the 13 requirements raised at the last inspection. This includes introducing an effective complaints procedure and ensuring notifications are made as required. She has also implemented all four recommendations. The changes have had a positive impact. For example improved records of medication and the staff duty roster. The statement of purpose now provides a better reflection of the culture, resources and care offered by the home. The registered manager has engaged staff purposefully in this process so that they understand their roles and responsibilities.

p.9

Requires improvement

The registered person has strengthened the team by recently appointing two senior support workers. The team overall is now more experienced, better trained and qualified. Staff receive comprehensive induction, regular training and meaningful supervision. Team meetings provide additional opportunities for staff to review and reflect on the practice and learn any lessons that come from it. The manager invites young people to the team meetings to share their views and give any messages to the team about their experiences. This is one of the ways in which the registered provider has tried to involve the current young person in the development of the service. An independent person continues to monitor the home through monthly visits. This adds scrutiny to the quality of care and to the evaluation of the impact of any improvement actions on the young people’s outcomes. A learning and improvement culture has begun to take hold in the home. Despite

p.10

Requires improvement

the anxieties created by the inadequate overall effectiveness judgement, apart from the interim manager, no other staff have left their employment. The registered manager’s clearer vision and commitment to provide a high quality child-centred service have galvanised the staff efforts to improve their practice. The team spirit is good. Staff are becoming more able to more consistently implement good practice in their work. The registered person is effectively moving forward the professional standards in the home. All permanent staff with two years of continued work experience in children’s residential care have appropriate qualifications. The less experienced staff are working towards obtaining a qualification on an appropriate level for their role. Their assessor described the registered person as supportive to the staff and their professional development. She and other visiting professionals made positive

p.10

Requires improvement

comments about the quality of the physical environment. They said that the service had a positive and homely atmosphere. Professionals from social care, health and education provide positive feedback about the quality of partnership working, communication and the staff’s efforts to engage young people. The registered person advocates for young people in her care. In order to promote young people’s positive outcomes, she is prepared to appropriately challenge professionals about the impact of their practice and actions. The registered person has carried out a complete overhaul of the recording systems. Staff now keep records with more efficiency and effectiveness. The records evidence improved practice across different aspects of the service. The recently introduced practice of writing young people’s monthly progress reports demonstrates tighter monitoring of the impact of the service on the young people’s

p.10

Requires improvement

progress and outcomes. The registered person has plans for further improvement and development of the service. She is committed to continue to implement those plans and to be able to demonstrate improved standards of work more consistently and across all aspects of the service.

p.10

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’.

p.12

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

p.12

What the inspection judgements mean

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

p.12

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

p.13

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 .

p.13

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,

p.14

Information about this inspection

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

p.14

Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.14

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

p.14