Children's home run by London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in Hammersmith and Fulham

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:

 Staff know young people well, and understand their needs and what makes them happy.  Staff are competent at de-escalating situations, and successfully manage young people’s behaviour in as positive a way as possible.  Young people have access to a good range of activities and new experiences, and staff are good at helping them enjoy them.  Young people make good progress in developing social and emotional skills.  No young people have gone missing from this home.  Risk assessments for young people who live in the home for a longer term are comprehensive and regularly updated.  The home is led and managed by experienced and knowledgeable managers who are well thought of by other agencies, parents and staff.  There are shortfalls in safeguarding knowledge, routine appraisal activity and the statement of purpose.  There are further shortfalls in workforce planning, a lack of systematically gathering young people’s wishes and feelings on their daily care, and

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The children’s home provision is good because:

insufficient evaluation in the external Regulation 44 reports.

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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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Requirements Due date

6: Ensure that the statement of purpose is kept under review and, where appropriate, revised. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)) 30/08/2016

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Requirements Due date

12: Ensure that staff have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (2)(a)(iii)) 30/08/2016

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Requirements Due date

33: Ensure that all employees have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4) (c)) 30/08/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 Ensure that each child is provided with support, for example by using the picture exchange communication system, to communicate their views, wishes and feelings and participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)    Ensure that the registered person has a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should:  detail the necessary management and staffing structure (including any staff commissioned to provide health and education), the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s statement of purpose  detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction,

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Recommendations

probation and any core training (such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications) detail the process for managing and improving poor performance  detail the process and timescales for supervision of practice (see regulation 33 (4)(b)) and keep appropriate records for staff in the home (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8).     Ensure that the independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home is registered for up to seven children with learning disabilities and physical disabilities. The home mainly provides short breaks, but when it is in the best interest of the child it also provides interim emergency and some longer-term placements.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

14/12/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

14/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

This home offers young people very good care. Staff are well deployed, know young people well and manage their behaviour with sensitivity and skill. A parent said, ‘Staff are warm and caring and motivated to do their best for the young people.’ This is echoed by professional colleagues. For example, one said: ‘They are very caring and really prioritise individual children.’ However, this service is stretched, and although managers quite rightly prioritise maintaining a high standard of direct care to young people, shortfalls are beginning to show in other aspects. The home is now taking increasing numbers of longer-stay placements. These are young people with multiple and complex needs. Measuring positive progress with such young people is particularly complex, but it is clear that, for example, the number of incidents have declined for some. Others have made some progress in social skills, for example tolerating others, and some are now more able to accept

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Good

different foods and experiences. Staff work hard at giving young people what they enjoy. For example, they know their favourite activities and foods and prepare these for them. This means that young people are generally calm and content because their needs are being met. Some staff, but not all, also give young people choices about everyday options like food or personal care preferences. However, this is not a consistent approach and on occasion opportunities to improve engagement is missed. For example not all staff encourage young people to actively express preferences for which patterned bed-linen they have or which food they prefer. Young people strongly benefit from the range of everyday activities offered in the home. Each young person has their own worker who guides them to participate in art activities, watching the big cinema screen, riding a tricycle, using the sensory room or rushing around the whole house exploring every aspect of it. The house is

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Good

well designed for these activities, and offers smaller, quiet spaces as well as big, stimulating rooms. This activity time is well organised and offers young people excellent opportunities to spend a fun but purposeful time. Activities outside the home are equally sensitively planned, and sometimes bespoke. For example, one young person was delighted to dress up and go with a staff member to the glamorous television ‘Soap Awards’. Young people also have opportunities to attend drumming workshops, yoga or make and bake. These varied activities extend young people’s range of experiences, and offer them valuable sensory and life experiences, which they may not be able to access at home. Transitions both into and from the home are carefully managed. The process is individualised to reflect each young person’s needs. This care is noted by parents, and one says, ‘I could not ask for a better and smoother start to this service.’

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Good

Staff are very aware of most of the vulnerabilities of the young people they care for. They are particularly aware of environmental risks, and an appropriate location assessment is in place. Staff also prioritise keeping the home environment as free from risks as possible and this is reflected in careful menu planning and regular practice fire evacuations. Outings are also carefully assessed, and decisions about who goes are made based on each young person’s mood at that time. Those young people who do not go out have a planned activity indoors. This helps to ensure a safe and fun time for all. External colleagues do not have any concerns about safeguarding practice in the home. However, some staff have only basic knowledge in this area, have not had training for some time and are not aware of the particular safeguarding vulnerabilities of disabled young people. This level of understanding of safeguarding is adequate, but does not fully promote young people’s safety.

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Good

There have been no missing episodes in this home. Staff are vigilant, and young people are always under supervision. The service does have an appropriate missing from care policy in place. Behaviour management is one of the strengths of this home. Staff are enthusiastic about their recent training in behaviour management and value the focus on de-escalation of incidents. A member of staff described their approach to managing behaviour as, ‘Young people are given lots of praise for good achievements. They will be asked not do something if it is seen as dangerous or rude in a firm but calm manner.’ This approach is reflected in the low number of physical restraints in this home. This is especially notable as the home deals with some young people who professional colleagues say demonstrate, ‘severe episodes of challenging behaviour’. Young people who are often in the home and demonstrate particularly challenging

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Good

behaviour have comprehensive risk assessments that are regularly updated. These strategies are clearly effective, in that there has been a significant reduction of serious incidents for the most challenging young people. For example, one young person’s number of serious incidents not only reduced to single figures over a period of four months, but the level of seriousness of these incidents decreased as well. This means that this young person may be able to move to a less restrictive environment when he reaches adulthood.

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Good

There is an effective registered manager in place. He has many years’ experience of both managing staff, and working with disabled young people. The registered manager is well supported by a competent deputy manager, who again has extensive knowledge and experience. Both have recently achieved their level 5 diploma in leadership and management. The management team has been working in a long period of uncertainty for the future of the service, and has been successful in continuing to deliver a high standard of direct care to young people. Plans for the future of their service have been under discussion for the last two years. Senior managers have now developed a clear plan, which is currently being considered by elected members and the cabinet. This plan will secure the future of the unit. This uncertain period has had an adverse impact on aspects of the service. For example, the manager has not been able to produce workforce and

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Good

development plans, and staff are mainly agency and sessional workers with permanent staff in a minority. However, many of these temporary staff have worked in this home for some time and know young people well. In addition, the manager has taken appropriate action if concerns are raised about the performance of temporary staff. These safeguards have reduced some, but not all, of the possible negative impact of a large, temporary staff group. Routine individual supervision and annual appraisal practice is not robust, although group supervision through staff meetings is very regular. Staff say that they do feel sufficiently supported. However, there is no regular benchmarking exercise to consider each staff member’s strengths and weaknesses (including sessional and agency staff). This means that there is insufficient management overview of the quality of the workforce, and therefore very limited opportunities to put in extra

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Good

support, such as supervision and training where necessary. The statement of purpose does not currently accurately reflect the service that the home is offering. This has not affected referrals to the service, as placing authorities are very aware of how the service is now operating. However, this lack of accuracy does not assist transparency about, or scrutiny of, service delivery. External monitoring of the service is very thorough, detailed and robust. The external visitor has a clear commitment to assessing all aspects of service delivery. However, concise evaluation of whether the service is promoting children’s welfare and appropriately safeguarding them is lacking. Parents and external colleagues alike are extremely positive about the management practice in the service. A parent commented, ‘The manager of the centre is kind, on the ball, effective in his job and with a good sense of humour, which I think is important for me and my child.’ Professional colleagues from local

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Good

schools and the local authority praise the service for its ‘responsiveness’ and ‘flexibility’. They describe ‘very positive, child-focused working relationships’. They note that staff always attend meetings about young people and that they are well prepared for them. Staff report that they are well led and managed, and there is a sense of shared ownership of the service.

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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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