Children's home run by Chartwell Care Services Ltd in Islington

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 build excellent and appropriate relationships with children. Staff advocate for children and know them well as individuals.  Staff take time to communicate effectively with children and help them to express their feelings, understand frustrations and manage strong emotions.  Children make good progress from their starting points, and staff are ambitious for them.  Staff work well to support positive relationships for children with their families, schools and each other.  The staff team works well together to provide consistent and effective routines and boundaries for children.  When children arrive and leave the home, careful planning ensures good preparation for changes in their lives.  Staff treat children with dignity and respect. Staff provided sensitive care, which meets individual needs and personalities and takes into account previous experiences.  There are two minor shortfalls identified: one in the language of the

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The children's home provision is good because:

statement of purpose and the other in the provision of staff training in the prevention of radicalisation.

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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 the statement of purpose is child focused, indicating how the home provides individualised care to meet the quality standards for the children in its care. This is in relation to language used and references to national minimum standards. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate that a child is in any way at risk of harm. The registered person should ensure that skills in safeguarding are gained, refreshed and recorded in the home’s workforce plan. This is in relation to staff knowledge and training on the prevention of radicalisation. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12)

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Information about this children's home

The home is privately owned and registered to provide care for up to four young people who have a learning disability.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

29/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

13/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Staff build excellent and appropriate relationships with children. The registered manager and staff ensure consistency for children, which builds up trusting relationships. Staff advocate for children and know them well as individuals. They understand their needs and listen to them. Staff support them to have relationships at school, with family and within the home with each other. Children are happy, settled and receive good-quality care. One commissioning manager said, ‘Staff have been very eloquent about his needs, his routine, any appointments, any outcome. Really spot on.’ When children struggle to communicate verbally, staff encourage them to express their feelings well, to understand frustrations and to manage strong emotions. Staff use a variety of communication tools, including Makaton, picture exchange communication systems (PECS), symbols and body language. Clear routines and consistent expectations help children to understand what is expected of them. This

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Good

helps them to feel secure and safe. Staff help children to make decisions about menus and activities and encourage them to make ‘good choices’ in regulating their behaviour. All children are on roll in education. One child has received certificates of achievement, which staff display on an individualised noticeboard. One child is struggling with a school transition, and the home and school are working very closely in partnership to support this move. Regular meetings take place to share strategies to manage unwanted behaviours. Currently, a reward system is in place in both the home and the school. Young people enjoy a range of opportunities, for example shopping, going to the park, cinema and seaside outings. Children are also encouraged and supported to follow their cultures and religions. For example, one child wears her headscarf, listens to music from her culture and has her dietary needs met. Children regularly complete bright, colourful feedback sheets. They have indicated

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Good

that they do many different things in the home and the community. They learn new things and like the things that they do. Some things they like are going to the park, shopping and going on trips out. Some things they dislike are there being many people in small spaces and brushing their teeth. The high-level needs of the children mean that they are likely to need ongoing care throughout their lives. They are encouraged to learn to be as independent as possible, given their levels of ability, for example in washing and self-care, laundry, helping with the shopping and learning to prepare simple meals. Children receive good support to be healthy and are encouraged to eat healthy food and take regular exercise. Staff prioritise health appointments in the community and ensure that children attend optician, paediatrician and other primary healthcare appointments. Provision of specialist help is via the school, for

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Good

example speech and language therapy, behavioural therapy and occupational therapy appointments. The home is very proactive in its approach to ensuring that young people receive the services that they need in a timely way. The home enables children to progress in line with their care plans. For example, staff supported one young person to take the bus to the shopping centre to buy his bicycle helmet. This was a goal set at his review meeting and gave him a great sense of achievement. A strength of this home is the planned admissions and transitions process. Staff think about the specific needs of children very carefully and plan well to ensure smooth transitions. They arrange good endings to placements. For example, children have farewell parties and careful plans to help them to understand moves. Assessments, risks and needs are all taken into account during this planning. Staff show children dignity and respect. Children are sensitively cared for with

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Good

respect to their individual needs, experiences and personalities. They gain good self-esteem from the positive relationships and attachments that they share with staff. Children are at the very centre of practice. Staff are ambitious for them and they celebrate them. The care is careful, thoughtful, provides privacy and space, and is clear and consistent in order to maintain boundaries. Positive contact is encouraged between children and their families. Clear plans, carefully managed by the staff team, enable children to maintain positive relationships with their families.

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Good

The registered manager and staff team begin the process of risk assessment prior to children’s admissions to the home. The placing authority’s referral form and conversations with relevant professionals and family inform the pre-admission risk assessment. This includes compatibility with children already living in the home and covers key areas of risk, such as suicide, self-harming behaviours, medical condition, substance misuse, criminal behaviour and any history of going missing. Initial assessment is thorough and informative for staff. Records give clear direction about how to mitigate risk and what level of supervision is required to keep children safe. Assessment of compatibility with other children considers positive aspects and potential risks, such as risks from children who may go missing from the home. Due to vulnerability the children living here would be at high risk if they went out alone. Staff ratios are high to ensure adequate levels of supervision,

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Good

particularly when the children are out in the community. The front door of the home is locked to ensure that children cannot run out into the road. Placing authorities and parents sign consent forms in respect of these restrictions, and education and healthcare plans clearly state the reasons for this. Children have access to a good children’s guide and complaints process. These documents are accessible in symbol and pictorial format. Children are often vulnerable due to their high level of complex needs, and some are without verbal skills. Staff ensure that children have access to their social workers, families, the independent visitor and school staff. This helps to keep a safe network around them. This empowers children to feel confident and secure enough to express any concerns freely. A social worker said, ‘Your staff team is very well skilled and [has] got to know [X] extremely well in such a short time and [has] continued to support

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Good

him in a very positive manner, which is also empowering for him.’ Staff show a good level of understanding of this vulnerability and are aware of what to do if they feel concerned about the children. There have been two incidents considered by the designated officer since the last inspection. The processes followed by the registered manager and staff ensured the safety and protection of children. Behaviour management is consistent and clear. All staff receive training in managing difficult behaviour. Varying strategies and approaches are tried. However, when these do not work, staff remain consistent and calm and keep to clear boundaries. Staff avoid the use of restraint if possible, but, on occasions, this is needed to keep children safe. All staff receive restraint training, and records kept in respect of these incidents exceed requirement.

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Good

Staff receive good training in safeguarding and the risks of child sexual exploitation, including regular training updates. Staff spoken to demonstrated a good awareness of safeguarding procedures and protocols and were confident about how and where to report incidents, if necessary. Staff also have a good knowledge of the whistle-blowing policy and procedures. Their understanding enables them to feel confident about reporting concerns about colleagues, including managers. To enhance safeguarding knowledge and expertise, staff would benefit from receiving training in the prevention of radicalisation. The home benefits from regular health and safety checks to ensure that children live in a safe environment. The manager completes an annual review of the area immediately outside the home, to ensure that any wider risks are assessed to ensure children’s safety in the community. Adequate precautions prevent the risk of fires. Safety equipment is in place, and

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Good

there is evidence of regular compliance checks and fire drills taking place. The fire alarms went off during the inspection, and one of the children showed the inspectors where to leave the building and where to wait. Recruitment processes ensure appropriate checks for new staff or volunteers wanting to work in the home. These processes protect young people from exposure to unsafe people working in their home.

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Good

An effective and competent registered manager runs this home, supported by the responsible individual. The registered manager holds a degree in social work and is currently undertaking the level 5 diploma in leadership and management. Leaders and managers have organised systems, which help them to prioritise what is important for providing good-quality care for the children living at the home. Good induction, training and management support enhance the quality of individualised care provided to the young people in the home. Staff have a deep understanding of the young people’s vulnerabilities and are able to manage the associated risks, to provide the appropriate level of care needed. The registered manager knows the children well and shares positive relationships with them. She attends regular meetings about the children living at the home and is an excellent advocate on their behalf. She leads by example and is a good role

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Good

model to her staff. Since the last inspection, the staff team has expanded. New staff described good induction processes and feel supported in their roles. The registered manager ensures a good mix of staff on duty together to reflect experience, diversity and gender. Induction programmes are recorded on staff files, and staff describe a fun quiz run by the registered manager to test their knowledge. Agency staff are rarely used, but, when they are, the registered manager uses regular staff to ensure minimum disruption to children. The staff team works well together. Staff show good knowledge of children’s vulnerabilities and feel confident working with children who have such complex needs. A team leader who supports the registered manager with supervisions is in post. She has completed a certificate for training in supervision and appraisal recently and feels competent to support and guide new staff. Staff said that they

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Good

feel well supported in their professional growth and educational pursuits. For example, one member of staff has one day a week off to undertake a master’s degree course. There is good external monitoring of the home. An independent visitor regularly visits and talks with children, staff, parents and professionals about the home. These reports allow for an objective view on the progress made and on any improvements needed. These reports are submitted to the regulator, which allows oversight of any significant issues or concerns. The registered manager acts on recommendations promptly to improve the home. The registered manager completes her own quality of care review at regular six- monthly intervals and submits this report to the regulator. This highlights strengths and weaknesses and helps the registered manager to improve. Two recommendations from the last inspection have been acted on, demonstrating that

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Good

the registered manager acts on suggestions to improve the home. The statement of purpose has been recently updated and includes the new staff members and a list of their qualifications. All staff hold a national vocational qualification (NVQ) level 3 award or above, or are registered to complete this training. Several shortfalls were found in the statement of purpose, and a recommendation to consider the use of language to ensure that it describes children’s needs in a positive way is made. The statement of purpose also references the national minimum standards which are no longer relevant or in use. A positive feature of this home is its ability to work with families and the professional network. Children benefit from this positive approach greatly. For example, contact takes place at the home for parents, and staff supervise this. A parent said, ‘My wife and I are very happy with our visit. We feel much happier

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Good

now we have seen the home, met staff and seen how happy [X] is there.’

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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 that 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 that 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 whom 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, 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

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

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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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