Children's Home run by Deborah Pacquette in Waltham Forest

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness .

p.2

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The service is child centred, highly individualised and held in high regard by young people and the professionals who are involved in their lives. The manager and staff have continued to build on the quality of care and support that they provide to young people. Strong partnerships with the key agencies in children’s social care and the consistency of the management and staff team, together with their ability to maintain positive relationships with young people, underpin the effectiveness of the placements.

p.2

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Delivering care in line with the young people’s placement plans and helping them to achieve stability in their lives are the home’s greatest strengths. These are some examples:  The manager and staff have provided a stable home to a young person with a history of multiple placement breakdowns and with highly complex needs. The independent visitor to the home commented that the quality of support that this young person received was outstanding. The young person has developed a deep sense of belonging and safety. Despite difficulties and challenges along her journey in care, she has continued to engage well with the manager, staff and other professionals. Taking into account her starting point, she has made good progress across different aspects of her development and welfare.  Another young person was reunited with his family after a period of stability at this home. He kept to his curfew, improved relationships with his mother

p.2

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

and obtained a job before leaving care and returning to live with his family. The care intervention was successful.  A young person who has been recently admitted after a placement breakdown has settled very well and shows signs of good progress. Examples include better engagement with health support services, development of independent living skills, increased awareness of risks and a range of safer behaviours. At this inspection, the young people provided very positive feedback about the support and care that they received and the impact on their lives. They enjoyed living at this home. They said that they felt safe. They described staff as good people. A young person said that the staff had helped her to mature and realise the importance of positive communication. She said that the staff were always on the case to make sure that the young people went to school and did well.

p.2

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff promote young people’s positive attitudes and constructive behaviours effectively. The respectful and trusting relationships between staff and young people, and staff’s de-escalation skills have contributed to the low level of incidents in the home. Good behaviour management has resulted in there having been hardly any incidents in the home since the last inspection. The manager and staff have a good working relationship with the local police. Both sides are committed to minimising criminalisation of young people’s challenging behaviours. There have been no restraints in the home since the last inspection. Some staff have not had training in behaviour management or the use of physical interventions for a while. In order for all staff to keep their practice up to date, this needs to be addressed.

p.3

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

When young people are absent without authority or are missing from care, the manager and staff follow appropriate protocols to share information and secure their safe return. They work closely with the children’s social services, other professionals who are involved in the young people’s care and the police to agree and implement joint strategies that promote the young people’s better understanding of risks and safer behaviours in the future. One young person has stopped going missing from care since living at this home. This has also led to her name being removed from the multi-agency’s high-risk children sexual exploitation list. This is a great achievement and an example of the positive impact of the home on the young people’s safety. She became safer after coming to live in this home.

p.3

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The overall effectiveness of the home’s help and protection was judged to require improvement at the full inspection. This was due to the weaknesses in staff recruitment records. Although some improvement has been achieved, robust practice has not been consistently maintained. The newly recruited permanent staff member’s file contained all required information, but the file of one of the recently recruited bank staff had only one reference. The manager believed that the second reference had been obtained before this staff member worked any shifts, but was unable to demonstrate that this was the case. She obtained a second reference during the inspection. This staff member had worked some shifts over the Christmas period. According to the manager, being a new bank staff member she was never left to work alone with a young person. The home was unable to demonstrate that all references are validated over the telephone.

p.3

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The inspector recommended at the last inspection that the opportunities for staff to obtain the required qualification are increased. The manager and the staff have made enquires with the training providers. However, some staff without a relevant qualification have not been enrolled on an appropriate course, as yet. The plan is for them to enrol later this month. Some of these staff have related qualifications, for instance being a registered nurse, or are working towards other qualifications, such as obtaining a masters qualification in psychotherapy. The manager was unable to demonstrate that any attempt was made to match these qualifications with the requirements for the level 3 diploma for residential childcare. Overall, the staff team is experienced and highly skilled. All staff who have worked uninterruptedly full time for two years in residential care have the required qualifications. Some staff are qualified social workers and so have a qualification

p.3

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager and staff have continued to build on evidence-based residential social care practice. The record keeping has continued to improve. The registered manager’s signatures on the records demonstrate that she closely monitors the quality of the service, its compliance with legislation and good practice, and the impact on young people.

p.4

Information about this children’s home

This private home provides accommodation and support to up to four young people who are between 11 and 17 years old and may have emotional or behavioural difficulties or a mild mental disorder.

p.5

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 26/04/2016 Full Good 30/12/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 10/09/2015 Full Requires improvement 25/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

p.5

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.6

Requirement Due date

(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; or (b) if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the 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 (Regulation 32(1)(2)(a)(b) (3)(d)(schedule 2). 01/03/2017

p.6

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

p.6

Recommendations

 Make sure that staff have up-to-date training in behaviour management. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.37)  Make sure that staff have good opportunities to gain the required qualification. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.12)

p.6

What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

p.7

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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

p.7

Information about this inspection

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 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 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.7

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 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.8

Information about this inspection

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

p.8

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.8

Information about this inspection

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

p.8