Children's home SC064569

Good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Young people are making good progress and show insight of how the home is positively enriching their lives. Social workers are extremely complimentary, highlighting the ‘hard work, dedication and commitment’ of staff.  Young people new to the home settle quickly. They are warmly welcomed and there is extensive consideration of their needs.  The quality of relationships between young people and staff is significantly strong. Young people benefit from focused key working, which enables them to reflect and build on their independent living skills.  All young people have realistic aspirations. Staff actively help them to achieve their educational and career goals. The majority of young people are pursuing further education.  The home provides young people with a safety net, from which they can develop the skills needed for adulthood. Staff take the role of nurturing parents, supporting young people practically and emotionally.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 The home excels in its multi-agency partnerships, which focus on safeguarding young people. The development of a joint protocol between the host authority, the home and the Metropolitan Police ensures effective management of unauthorised absences.  The home works strategically with professionals to tackle child sexual exploitation concerns. They embrace a wide range of methods to address this issue. A social worker confirms that missing episodes have ‘decreased’ and the ‘child sexual exploitation risk has dropped’.  The home provides a boundary-focused environment and there are clear expectations regarding behaviour. The revision of the admission procedure ensures that the home only accepts suitable placements.  There are strong, highly experienced interim management arrangements in place. Leaders and managers have been instrumental in ensuring that the high levels of care and support are maintained through periods of transition.

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

10: The health and well-being standard: In order to meet the health and well-being standard, the registered provider must ensure that: (2)(b) each child is registered with a general medical practitioner and a registered dental practitioner. 1 August 2016

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Requirement Due date

32: Fitness of workers The registered person must ensure that staff have the appropriate level 3 qualification. (Regulation 32 (4)) 1 April 2017

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a sanction, a record is made which includes the effectiveness and all required information. Discussions must also be held with staff who issued the sanction within 48 hours and the child within five days. (Regulation 35 (3)) 1 August 2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that the children’s guide includes details of how to contact the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22)  Review the location assessment at least annually. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)  Ensure that recruitment, supervision and appraisals of staff safeguards and minimises potential risk. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 13.1)

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Information about this children’s home

The Crescent is a privately owned home, registered to provide care for up to five young people. The home specialises in providing support and guidance to young people over the age of 16 who are preparing for leaving care and living independently. The home is able to support young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

11 January 2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

20 March 2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Good

Young people are making good progress and are comfortable living at the home. A young person acknowledges that, ‘Being here has helped me change my ways.’ A social worker highlights that staff ‘genuinely care’. They add that, ‘It is one of the better units available to us.’ Another local authority representative compliments staff for their, ‘Hard work, dedication and commitment in providing such care and support.’ The home provides a welcoming atmosphere for young people. On admission they receive an informative induction, a toiletry set and a takeaway of their choice. This enables young people to settle quickly into the home and understand the services available to them.

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Good

Staff work effectively with young people to achieve the objectives of their local authority care or pathway plan. Young people benefit from focused key working, which enables them to reflect on and build on the skills needed for adulthood. Alongside independence, they learn to develop consequential thinking and their interpersonal skills. A social worker confirms that, ‘The one key thing has been the building of relationships.’ The quality of relationships between young people and staff is significantly strong. A young person comments that, ‘Staff help you understand more about life.’ Staff express pride in their ability to maintain a ‘positive relationship’ and be a ‘good influence’. They attribute this to their empathy and understanding of young people.

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Good

Young people receive good personally tailored support in regard to their health and well-being. A social worker said that young people are ‘able to get therapy if needed’. Staff undergo relevant training and liaise with health professionals to ensure that there is effective management of health conditions. Young people attend to their sexual health. Their independence training includes encouraging young people to register with health services including a general practitioner and dentist. However, not all young people comply with this aspect of their care plan. Placing authorities feel that the onus should be on the young people and do not blame staff for this shortfall.

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Good

All young people have realistic aspirations. Staff actively help them to achieve their educational goals. Examples are escorting young people to college appointments or facilitating careers advice. The majority of young people are pursuing further education. Where this is not feasible, staff endeavour to help them to find suitable paid or voluntary employment. Staff also encourage young people to consider business start-up programmes and apprenticeships. In addition staff promote national citizenship schemes to enhance young people’s personal development. The home provides a computer for young people’s use. There are plans to introduce electronic learning courses to build on young people’s accomplishments.

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Good

The home provides young people with opportunities to safely explore independence skills as they make their transition into adulthood. Young people take responsibility for budgeting, cooking their meals, tidying their rooms and undertaking their laundry. The home provides them with complimentary groceries and household items, including milk, bread, cheese, condiments, washing-up liquid and soap powder. Staff encourage a healthy lifestyle through providing free fruit and encouraging young people to eat a balanced diet. There is good consideration of their needs. If they run out of groceries, the home is able to provide a food parcel. Staff take the role of nurturing parents, providing the necessary emotional and practical support.

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Good

Young people influence working practices through sharing their views, both formally and informally. Examples are negotiating behavioural expectations, house rules and agreeing menus for their group cooking sessions. They make a positive contribution to the wider environment through recycling household items. As the home focuses on independence, collective activities are limited. Young people enjoy going shopping with staff, eating out and regularly having a group meal. The latter gives them a chance to cook together and extend their culinary skills. There are plans to offer a greater level of activities in the home. Examples are movie nights and visiting museums in central London.

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Good

The premises consist of two adjoining houses on a quiet residential street. The accommodation is undergoing refurbishment, which ensures that young people live in a well-maintained property. Young people have their own lockable room with sufficient furniture and a fridge to store their groceries. They share the kitchen, which has a dining area. They have an allocated cupboard and freezer space and the home provides them with cooking utensils. They can relax in the communal lounge, which has a smart television for them to access internet-based services. Separate bathrooms are available for female and male residents. A large garden is available for young people to enjoy the warmer weather.

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Good

The home excels in its multi-agency partnerships, which focus on safeguarding young people. The development of a joint protocol with the host authority, the home and the Metropolitan Police ensures the effective management of unauthorised absences. The strong working relationship with the Metropolitan Police co-ordinator further promotes good practice. The relationship with the local safeguarding children’s board ensures that there is a clear understanding of what highly effective safeguarding looks like. This, alongside local and statutory guidance, provides a considerably robust system for protecting young people.

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Good

Staff consistently educate young people on staying safe, stressing the importance of personal and on-line safety. Staff succeed in building trusted relationships. As a consequence young people know that staff have a genuine regard for their safety and well-being.

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Good

There is a good understanding of safeguarding, and staff undergo relevant training in a wide range of topics. Training deepens their awareness of electronic safety, child sexual exploitation, radicalisation, gang activity, female genital mutilation and forced marriages. Maintenance staff and senior management receive the same training to ensure that all have a clear understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities. The attendance of leaders and managers at the Harrow risk and vulnerability panel will also increase their awareness of pertinent issues.

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Good

A social worker confirms that for one young person missing episodes have ‘decreased’ and their ‘child sexual exploitation risk has dropped’. They highlight that there is ‘nothing’ the home ‘could do better’. There is a competent member of staff who guides the team in addressing the risks of child sexual exploitation. The home embraces a wide range of methods to address this issue. Where there are concerns, staff analyse young people’s movements and undertake intelligence mapping. They promptly pass on detailed information, including photographs of males and car registration numbers, to the police and social workers. Staff take a key role in strategy meetings. Meeting with a clinical psychologist also helps staff to have an overview of a young person’s thought processes.

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Good

Certificates and regular health checks confirm that the home provides a safe environment. All visitors to the home have to provide identification. The installation of closed circuit television enables the efficient monitoring of hallways, external entrances and the road at the front of the property. This information is particularly important where there are sexual exploitation concerns. The home has a location assessment which identifies any risks. However, a review of this documents is overdue. Young people receive protection from staff members’ intelligence on local matters, due to their positive engagement with relevant agencies.

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Good

The home has experienced a period of disruption due to the nature of challenging placements. This involved staff having to adapt practice to provide some flexibility. Examples are banning visitors and introducing waking night staff. To regain stability there was a planned termination of a placement. Young people were also rehabilitated to home and to independent accommodation. The home has subsequently amended its admissions criteria and carefully considers the possible impact of a referral on the resident young people. Staff provide young people with appropriate boundaries. There are clear expectations of behaviour. Staff address and challenge socially unacceptable behaviour. They record this information in a range of different places. Sanction recording is not systematic. This shortfall has minimal impact, as all required information is available in various documents. Leaders and managers also adapt

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Requires improvement

The home has experienced a period of transition and challenge. There have been a number of challenging placements and in addition the former registered manager retired. The interim and deputy managers have been instrumental in ensuring that this has not impacted on the quality of care. However, there has been an impact on maintaining documentation and employment-related practices. The children’s guide does not detail how young people can contact the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. The record keeping in relation to recruitment, supervision and appraisals could be more robust. Information was misfiled, some supervision records were not up-to-date. There had also been a delay with annual appraisals. This has not had a detrimental impact as staff are competent and receive good informal support. Leaders and managers realise the shortfall. They have a greater vision for the future and are currently addressing the development of the service.

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Requires improvement

There have been approximately 25 weeks since the registered manager retired. The deputy manager promptly applied for this post but has recently withdrawn their application. This interim manager is an experienced staff member who holds the relevant management qualification. The owner of the home has since proposed that the other deputy manager applies for registration. This individual has extensive business and senior management experience. Their expertise includes working with care leavers within the criminal justice arena and child protection systems.

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Requires improvement

The home has effectively addressed the recommendations from the last inspection. Young people benefit from the home’s closer working relationships with placing authorities and other establishments. Young people receive more focused support in regard to developing the skills and resilience they need to live independently. The introduction of photo albums and mementos of their time at the home, contributes towards their life story work. This helps young people to have a greater understanding of their personal history.

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Requires improvement

There is a satisfactory quality assurance systems. Leaders and managers use this information to improve the service further. The management team meet regularly, which contributes to sound leadership and clear staff direction. The home is part of the west London alliance, which provides good networking opportunities. This further complements the home’s efficient partnership working. Recent achievements include updating its policies and procedures. Leaders and managers have high expectations of staff. They are moving forward to a new culture of excellence and creativity and moving away from entrenched practices.

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Requires improvement

The home is endeavouring to create a diverse staff team. There is a good gender balance, providing strong role models for young women and young men. Staff recruitment is competence-based and on appointment they receive a structured induction. Staff ‘feel valued and supported’. They benefit from a range of ongoing training, which includes enrolling on the relevant vocational course. The workforce development plan provides a comprehensive overview of staff training and development. Some staff do not have the required vocational training necessary for working with young people. They are currently completing this qualification, to further enhance their skills. Staff receive individual supervision and team meetings provide an additional avenue to promote consistent working practices.

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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 children looked after 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

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

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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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