Children's home run by London Borough of Hillingdon in Hillingdon

Good

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

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

 Young people make excellent progress in all areas.  Young people move on in a planned way to a placement that best meets their needs.  Staff develop positive relationships with young people.  Young people are safe. Staff are alert to any dangers that put young people at risk. They intervene effectively to keep them safe.  Young people appreciate the help and support provided by staff. They are well behaved and get on well with each other.  Admissions of young people are carefully managed to ensure that staff can meet their individual needs within the group of young people they are caring for.  The diverse staff team pays close attention to ensure that the cultural needs of the young people are met.  There is a strong culture of promoting education within the home, and staff work effectively in partnership with the virtual school to secure appropriate education placements for young people.  Staff ensure that young people who come to live in the home have prompt

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

access to a range of healthcare and advice.  Staff understand the vulnerabilities of each young person and provide effective support and supervision in order to keep them safe.  Young people are supported to develop skills for independence.

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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

12: (1) The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure: (d) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. In particular, the home must ensure that firefighting equipment is in place and regularly checked and maintained. 20/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

44: Independent person: visits and reports

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Requirement Due date

(7) The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to: (a) HMCI In particular, these reports should be sent within 28 days of the visit. 20/11/2016

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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

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. In particular, staff should ensure that the communal areas and young people’s bedrooms provide a warm and welcoming environment for young people. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  Any home using CCTV or other monitoring equipment should have a written policy describing how this will support the safeguarding and well-being of those living and working in the home in accordance with regulation 24. Homes must gain consent to any monitoring or surveillance by the placing authority in writing at the time of placement. The use of CCTV is regulated by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and the Surveillance Camera Code of Conduct (Home Office 2013). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality

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Recommendations

standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  Staff skills for safeguarding should include being able to identify signs that children may be at risk, and support children in strategies to manage and reduce any risks. In particular, staff must assess each young person to identify risk factors in relation to radicalisation. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.10)

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by the London Borough of Hillingdon. It provides care and accommodation for up to six young people under the category of emotional and behavioural difficulties. Most young people admitted to the home are unaccompanied and from outside the United Kingdom.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 25/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 03/08/2015 Full Requires improvement 06/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/12/2014 Full Good

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Good

The staff team is experienced and committed to delivering care that makes a positive difference to young people and keeps them safe. They work collectively to deliver the best possible outcomes and continue to offer support and guidance to young people who have left the home. This helps young people to move on positively, in a planned way, to a placement that meets their needs. Some young people have successfully returned home to live with families, while others went on to foster care or to supported semi-independent facilities.

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Good

The physical environment needs improvement in order to create a more homely feel, especially in the young people’s bedrooms. There are significant delays in effecting repairs to the home and this has some impact in that some facilities are unavailable for longer than necessary. During the inspection, the washing machine was broken and one room was unusable due to a long-term problem with damp. Young people, however, report feeling comfortable in the home. The leadership team has ambitions and clear plans in place to provide a better physical environment for young people to live in.

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Good

Staff welcome young people to the home in a way that is sensitive and understanding. Young people who recently moved into the home commented that they were made to feel welcome and that the staff look after them well.

p.7

Good

The leadership and management of the home has been unsettled in recent weeks due to staff sickness and changes in the senior management arrangements. Despite this, the home has made significant improvements since the last full inspection. Record-keeping has improved and the home has improved practice to ensure that emergency admissions can be managed safely with the existing group of residents.

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Good

Many of the young people admitted to the home arrive at short notice, often from outside the United Kingdom. Staff work hard to make sure that they understand the needs of the young people and take prompt action to engage them with healthcare and assessments. This helps young people to remain healthy and stay safe.

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Good

The home has a strong culture of promoting educational achievement. It works effectively in partnership with the virtual school and education providers. This means that young people quickly access education placements that meet their needs. They have excellent attendance and make positive progress. A member of staff from the virtual school reported that staff were very supportive and tenacious in seeking high-quality education placements. She gave an example of one member of staff, who she felt advocated for a young person, ‘as if it were his own child.’

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Good

Young people of different faiths and cultures live in harmony and are looked after by a diverse staff team which is knowledgeable and sensitive to their cultural needs. Staff celebrate special events relevant to a range of faiths and actively support young people to practise their faiths.

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Good

Each young person has dedicated time to spend individually with staff to discuss any worries or concerns. They meet regularly as a group and contribute their views and ideas to shape the way they are looked after in the home.

p.8

Good

The home takes care to promptly seek information and make assessments in order to understand the vulnerabilities of each young person. This is particularly important, because often young people come to the service from outside the United Kingdom with little or no information. Each young person has an individual risk assessment, which clearly identifies risks and describes clear interventions to protect them from harm. Staff are familiar with risk assessments and work collectively to ensure that safety plans are carried out.

p.8

Good

Shortfalls in the physical environment have the potential to put young people at risk of harm. Some fire equipment was missing; this was rectified during the inspection. A window restrictor was also found to be broken, although this did not present a risk for the young person currently using this room. The provider has recently installed CCTV to improve monitoring of the security of the building but does not yet have a policy in place that describes how this is used.

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Good

Staff do not always record risks in relation to young people who may be vulnerable to radicalisation. Staff have completed training in this area. They are able to recognise risks and take action to keep young people safe if there are concerns that young people are at risk.

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Good

Staff develop trusting relationships with young people and have a sensitive, nurturing approach to looking after them. They take time to explain any concerns they may have and consult closely with young people about the steps they are taking to keep them safe. This means that young people understand that staff are acting in their best interests and will usually cooperate with boundaries that are designed to protect them from harm. Staff regularly review risk assessments in response to progress or concerns. They adjust the level of support and supervision needed. This means that interventions are only restrictive when this is necessary in order to protect young people from danger. When risks are not assessed as being high, young people are allowed to take reasonable risks in order to develop skills for independence.

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Good

Young people are generally well behaved, and staff use positive interventions to encourage positive behaviour and rarely use sanctions.

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Good

Staff are trained to identify risks in relation to child sexual exploitation and trafficking. They work effectively in partnership with the placing authority to reduce the risks of harm.

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Good

Where concerns exist in relation to a young person’s emotional well-being, staff consult with experts in adolescent mental health. This ensures that their interventions are well informed and that the needs of the young people in the home are not beyond the scope or ability of the staff team. This means that staff can work with young people and support them effectively through crises. It also means that young people move on positively and in a planned way when leaving the home.

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Good

Young people currently living in the home seldom go missing. The provider has clear risk assessments in place to identify the risks associated with each young person in respect of going missing. Clear action plans identify the steps staff need to take to locate them and return them safely. The home’s policies and procedures are consistent with the statutory guidance for children who run away or go missing from home or care.

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Good

The provider has identified some significant risks associated with the area in which the home is located. They have strong links to local safeguarding forums and the local police. This reduces the risk of harm to young people when out in the local community.

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Good

The home has recently had significant changes in the senior leadership and management of the home. The current registered manager has been absent from his post for a number of weeks. Despite these challenges, there are two very experienced deputies in charge of the day-to-day running of the home. They both hold NVQ level 5 qualifications in residential care management. They manage the home effectively and staff remain focused on delivering care that is in the best interests of the young people.

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Good

Senior managers have ambitious plans in place to improve the quality of care further for young people. Managers have excellent oversight of the quality of care. They have undertaken a recent audit and have a clear action plan in place to deliver service improvements. An independent visitor undertakes monthly visits to monitor the quality of care experienced by young people. Managers make good use of feedback from the independent visitor to improve the service. However, the reports produced by the independent visitor are not always sent to Ofsted in a timely manner. This has the potential to undermine the regulator’s ability to monitor the quality of care in the home effectively.

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Good

The provider has made significant improvements since the last full inspection. New referrals and admissions to the home are carefully considered to ensure that staff can meet their needs, taking into account the young people already living in the home. This means that the home is more settled and young people receive the support that they need to make progress and stay safe. Young people achieve excellent outcomes. They are supported to make successful transitions back to their families, into foster care or on to semi-independent accommodation.

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Good

The managers of the home advocate strongly for young people within the professional network. They have positive relationships with placing social workers and strong links with local health and education services. This means that young people can access the services they need without delay. Managers also have strong links with local authority safeguarding forums. This means that when supporting young people with complex risk factors, they make full use of the professional network to keep young people safe.

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Good

Staff feel supported by their managers. They have regular supervision and annual appraisals. Staff benefit from a wide range of training opportunities and there are clear training plans in place to ensure that all staff complete core safeguarding training.

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Good

Managers have a close connection with frontline practice. They undertake direct work with young people and have a good understand of each young person’s needs, wishes and feelings. This means that young people can share any concerns they have at a senior level within the team.

p.10

Good

Managers regularly monitor recording and take remedial action to address any shortfalls. Young people’s files are well kept and up to date. The home’s care plans are consistent with each young person’s relevant plans and all risks are regularly reviewed. The shortfalls mentioned in this report, in relation to the health and safety of the physical environment, suggest that management monitoring in this area needs to be strengthened.

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Good

The managers regularly meet with the team to ensure consistency of care and to discuss how best to meet the needs of young people. Some team meetings are supported by a clinical psychologist. This gives staff the opportunity to reflect on their practice and informs strategies for supporting young people with complex needs.

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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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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