Children's Home run by Adeza Care Homes Limited in Waltham Forest

Requires improvement

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 The help and support that young people receive does not always follow the best residential social care practice. They live in a home where leadership, management and the staff team are weak.  The home is not fulfilling its statement of purpose effectively. Training opportunities do not fully support the delivery of the service as described in its statement of purpose.  The home’s admission practice does not promote stability of placements effectively, or a sense of belonging for the young people.  Risk-assessment practice in the home is not robust. Known risks to young people’s safety are not always assessed or managed effectively. This weak practice relates to the admission process, young people’s overnight stays, being absent without authorisation or missing from care, radicalisation and staff lone working.  Staff recruitment procedures are not thorough. The majority of staff are not appropriately qualified.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 The manager and staff do not demonstrate joint working with the youth justice service.  The promotion of young people’s independence skills is not systematic.  The registered persons do not take improvement actions in a timely manner.

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The children’s home strengths

 The current young people describe the service as a good home. One young person in particular has made strides towards adopting a more positive way of living.  Staff are able to contain young people’s challenging behaviours and manage conflicts effectively.  Young people receive good support to develop healthier lifestyles.  The premises are well maintained. Good health and safety arrangements ensure that the home’s environment is physically safe. Each young person has an individual fire risk assessment.  Young people’s files are well organised. Monthly monitoring reports are written in line with the quality standards. The reports are comprehensive and evaluative, and provide an honest account of the young people’s engagement and progress.  Staff receive regular monthly supervision and attend team meetings. They have their individual performance reviewed and appraised annually. They have received training on a range of safeguarding topics.

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The children’s home strengths

 The independent visitor provides robust external scrutiny and insightful monthly monitoring 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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Requirement Due date

5. Engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality standard around the engagement with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met, the registered persons must ensure that they and staff communicate and work together with the youth offending service, when that is relevant for the young person. The registered persons must demonstrate how they (d) seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. 01/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

6. The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, the registered persons must ensure that all staff who work in the home are clear about the main category of needs that the home caters for, as described in the home’s statement of purpose. The registered persons must demonstrate that (1) children receive care from staff who: (a) understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children. 01/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered persons must make the risk-assessment process more robust. In particular, this relates to making sure that a likely impact of a new admission on the safety of the young people who already live in this home is assessed before a placement is accepted. The registered persons must ensure (1)(2)(a) that staff: (i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if 01/04/2017 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; (ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe. 12. The protection of children standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered persons must make sure that, when authorising young people’s overnight stays with their parents, a risk assessment is completed, if that is a requirement stipulated in the young person’s placement plan. The registered persons must ensure that staff: (i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; (ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe. 01/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered persons must make sure that any concerns around possible radicalisation and expression of extreme views are followed up and that this is recorded clearly. The registered persons must ensure that staff: (i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; (ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe. 01/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

13. The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard and fulfil the home’s statement of purpose, the registered persons must provide staff with training on supporting young people who have a mental health disorder. The registered person must demonstrate ( 1) that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that: (a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and (b) promotes their welfare. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to: (a) lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; 01/04/2017 (b) ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. 13. The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered persons must review the composition of the staff team and the number of staff available to fulfil the staff duty roster and the statement of purpose. The registered persons must ensure (d) that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. 01/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

13. The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered persons must take more timely actions to respond to the recommendations for improvement that are identified by the independent visitor. The registered persons must (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 01/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the care planning standard, the registered persons must have a robust admission process that ensures that a placement in the home is the right one for the child and that the home is able to respond effectively to the child's assessed needs. Emergency admissions should not be taken unless the home has a capacity and support systems in place to care effectively for children admitted at very short notice. The registered persons must ensure that children (1)(a) receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and (b) have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure: (a) that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the care planning standard, the registered persons must ensure that the information on the young people’s 01/04/2017 contact arrangements and any contact restrictions are clearly recorded on their files. The registered persons must ensure (1)(c) that each child’s relevant plans are followed; (d) that, subject to regulation 22 (contact and access to communications), contact between each child and the child’s parents, relatives and friends, is promoted in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. The registered persons must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. They must ensure that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. This includes having a full employment history, together with a satisfactory explanation of any gaps in employment, in writing. (Regulation 32(1)(2)(3)(d) Schedule 2.6)

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Requirement Due date

The registered persons must ensure that an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification, which is the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the Level 3 Diploma’); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. (Regulation 32(1)(2)(3)(4)(a)(b)) 01/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make sure that staff consistently implement a policy (‘the missing child policy’) setting out the steps taken, and to be taken, to prevent children from being absent without permission; and the procedures to be followed, and the roles and responsibilities of persons working at the home, in relation to a child who is, or has been, so absent. In particular, this relates to making sure that risk assessments are in place for individual young people in relation to their absconding or missing from care. (Regulation 34(a)(b)) 01/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must consult, and take into account the views of each relevant person – in particular, the police and the information provided by the police to the home, when conducting the review of the appropriateness and suitability of the location. (Regulation 46(1)(2)) 01/04/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Make the support available to young people to develop independence skills and prepare for living independently more systematic and structured. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraphs 3.25 and 3.27)  Make sure that if it is likely that there might only be one member of staff on duty at any time a formal assessment of the implications for young people’s care, including any likely risks, is recorded. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.18)

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Information about this children's home

This privately owned home provides support and accommodation for up to four young people who may have emotional or behavioural difficulties or a mild mental disorder. The company has another children’s home in the area. This home did not have any placement for over a year. It was relaunched in September 2016.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 18/07/2016 Interim Not judged 07/01/2016 Interim Not judged 17/08/2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness 27/02/2015 Interim Not judged

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Requires improvement

The help and support that young people receive does not always follow the best residential social care practice. They live in a home where leadership, management and the staff team are weak. These weaknesses have undermined the quality of care and the safeguarding practice in the home.

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Requires improvement

The home’s admission practice does not promote stability of placements effectively, or a sense of belonging for the young people. Since the home has reopened, placement planning has not been consistently good. Of the three placements that were made, one was completely ineffective. It broke down rapidly and irreparably on the same day the young person came to live in the home. Staff could not meet his needs, or keep him or others around him safe. A significant safeguarding incident was well managed; however, the experience was distressing for everybody in the home. This was an inappropriate admission that resulted in the young person having another negative experience in his life and having to move again.

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Requires improvement

Staff are able to contain the current young people’s behaviour effectively. The young people have made progress and achieved positive outcomes to varying degrees. They have settled well and have established positive relationships with staff members. Young people have positive experiences of being in care, and describe the home as good. They appreciate the staff’s emotional warmth and respectful attitudes. They say that the manager is fantastic. Young people like living in a pleasant and clean environment. They enjoy having good food, and opportunities to develop their independent living skills further. They feel supported to say what they think and to make their own choices. They feel listened to and contribute fully to their care plans.

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Requires improvement

Young people receive good support to develop healthier lifestyles. They are registered with a local doctor’s surgery, dentist and optician. Staff encourage them to engage with the local general and specialist health services, such as help with substance misuse. Staff follow safe practice in relation to medication storage, administration and record-keeping.

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Requires improvement

One young person in particular has made strides towards adopting a more positive way of living. He has stopped going missing. He has removed himself from negative influences and harmful and exploitative relationships. He has become safer. He has returned to mainstream education. With the help of staff, he is working through the barriers to his educational engagement and learning progress. He has developed a positive attitude towards education and has a determination to succeed in life. His relationship with his mother has improved. She provided positive feedback to the inspector about the home and her son’s progress.

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Requires improvement

The other young person’s progress is less obvious and there are some signs of decline. His negative behaviours have continued. He has continued to regularly miss his education and his school attendance has declined from 56% at the beginning of December 2016. He does not keep to the curfew that staff have put in place. Frequently, staff have to report him as being absent without authority as he is not back home by midnight. He is polite with staff but his engagement with the support they offer is very limited. He does not share with them or other professionals where he goes or what he is doing when he is absent from the home. The lack of information undermines the staff’s ability to keep him safe. The independent visitor pointed out that the young person was using the home almost as a hotel/place of convenience.

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Requires improvement

Staff and young people are proud of the progress that the young people have made in relation to their life skills. Without a baseline assessment to establish a starting point, and without a systematic approach to helping young people to develop independent living skills, the home’s evidence in relation to the promotion of independence is not strong. The designated section on preparation for independent living was completely empty on both young people’s files.

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Requires improvement

Another part of the young people’s files that needs to improve is in relation to contact with family. This important information is not always clear. For example, recording ‘none’ on the home’s form about the contact is confusing. Staff are unclear whether it means that the young person does not have any contact with his parents or that there are no restrictions regarding the contact. Confusing records lead to inconsistent practice, and potentially increase the risk to young people.

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Requires improvement

Risk-management practice is not robust. It requires improvement to be good. The manager and staff do not demonstrate that they have always identified and taken into account all known risks for the particular young people in their care. There has been no reported negative impact on the young people’s safety, but the risks are not assessed and managed effectively. These weak risk assessments undermine the effectiveness of the safeguarding practice in the home. Some examples of the weaknesses found at the inspection include the following.  The admission procedure does not include an assessment of the likely impact of new admissions on the safety of the young people who already live in this home. This is particularly significant when placing authorities are initially looking for a sole placement, due to the risk posed to others and the vulnerabilities of existing young people.  There is no evidence to indicate how the manager and staff assessed,

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Requires improvement

managed and monitored the risks associated with the concerns around radicalisation and expression of extreme views that were described in one young person’s placement plan. The manager said that this particular risk had been investigated before the young person came to live at this home, and that it was decided that it was no longer a risk. No records were available to confirm this. The manager and staff said that they have observed nothing of concern.  Risk assessments around the home’s staff authorising young people’s overnight stays are not always recorded. This is the case even when the young person’s placement plan clearly specifies that he should not have any overnight stays with a parent without a recorded risk assessment.  Risk assessments in relation to the young people being absent without authority or going missing are not always recorded. However, whenever a young person is absent after midnight without authority, staff report them to

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Requires improvement

the local authority and the police in a timely manner. The home’s policy is that, unless the risk assessment has identified otherwise, the status of the young person would be escalated to missing after they have been absent without authority for 48 hours. In practice, the distinction between being absent and going missing is not supported by risk assessments. This potentially causes inconsistency in practice and in the robustness of the decision-making. With regard to one particular young person, the manager and staff said that, due to his high vulnerability, they would consider this young person missing after not seeing him for 20 minutes at any time of the day or night. This was not recorded anywhere. Another staff member said that she and other staff would consider the same young person to be missing if they did not see him for longer than five minutes.  On occasions when a staff member is on duty alone, risk assessments are

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Requires improvement

not completed.  The home’s locality risk assessment was not completed in collaboration with other services who hold local intelligence, either initially or when it was last reviewed in August 2016. In November 2016, the home received a newsletter from the local police. This had additional information about the criminal offences in the local area, such as those relating to drugs and sexual exploitation. The registered persons did not review the home’s locality risk assessment in the light of this information and did not consult with the police.

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Requires improvement

The manager and staff do not demonstrate that they always work closely with the other services that support young people in their care. For example, at the inspection, they did not know who the young person’s youth offending worker was. This was despite the young person’s significant involvement with the youth justice system. The staff recruitment procedure is not thorough. One of the staff files examined at the inspection did not have a full employment history. Prior to taking a position in this home, this person was not in employment for the previous 12 months. There was no written explanation of this gap in employment.

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Requires improvement

Young people said that they felt safe at the home. However, one young person did not feel safe outside the home.

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Requires improvement

Despite having complex needs, and showing highly challenging behaviours in different environments, young people’s behaviour at the home is generally of a good standard. Staff are competent at building positive relationships with young people. They are able to contain young people’s challenging behaviours and manage conflicts effectively. Young people feel that staff care for them. They respond positively to the staff’s nurturing and emotionally warm attitudes and to living in a stable environment. These positive experiences provide them with a blueprint for building more constructive relationships with others and adopting more constructive behaviours.

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Requires improvement

Staff have received specific training on a number of subjects that focus on different aspects of safeguarding children and young people, such as the risk of child sexual exploitation, e-safety and radicalisation.

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Requires improvement

Good health and safety arrangements ensure that the home’s physical environment is safe. Each young person has an individual fire risk assessment.

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Requires improvement

The leadership and management in this home are weak. Since the home reopened in September 2016, the registered manager has been absent on several occasions. The responsible individual was managing the home during the registered manager’s absences. The management cover arrangement was not fully effective. Staff duty records show that the responsible individual was unable to devote much time to managing this home as she is the registered manager for the sister home.

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Requires improvement

There are questions about the staffing levels in this home, and in particular the availability of senior staff. The deputy manager’s post is vacant. The only team leader and the only qualified staff member have both been absent from work for a significant period of time. The other staff members are experienced but not qualified, and, apart from one, have not started working towards obtaining an appropriate qualification. At the most recent visit, the independent visitor commented that ‘the home has been run by care workers’. At the beginning of the inspection, a bank staff member was in charge of the home.

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Requires improvement

When the registered manager is not absent from the home, he is heavily involved in direct care duties. That leaves him with limited time to focus on the management tasks, such as monitoring and improvement. The records of staff duty roster showed that in the week of the inspection the registered manager was scheduled to work 66 hours. This included being on duty on four nights, five evening shifts and one day shift. This also included being on a double shift, from 6pm until 8am the following day. The staff duty roster shows that, on occasions, staff worked even longer shifts – for example, from noon until 8am the following day, totalling 20 hours.

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Requires improvement

The weakness of the leadership and management team has undermined the effectiveness of the internal monitoring processes, and the capacity to take swift improvement actions in response to any gaps identified by the team or other professionals. The positive impact of the independent visitor’s robust scrutiny of the service, and his insightful reports, has been minimised by the registered persons’ delayed responses to the clear recommendations for improvement. For example, on 30 September 2016 the independent visitor identified a particular high risk to the young person and the staff who supported him. He recommended that a robust risk assessment must be put in place to minimise those risks. He repeated this recommendation three times, at each of his subsequent monthly visits. Staff completed this risk assessment on 11 January 2017.

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Requires improvement

Another example of the delayed improvement action is that the registered persons have still not established a robust and effective admission process. In August 2015, the inspector identified this as an area for improvement. The registered persons were asked to ensure that the home was the right one for each individual young person and that staff were able to respond effectively to their assessed needs. The home is unable to demonstrate that this has been achieved. The registered persons do not record the rationale for their admission decisions. The responsible individual admitted a young person who had known complex and high needs, including a diagnosed mental health disorder. This young person’s placement was terminated with immediate effect within the first three hours of him being in the home. The staff were unable to meet this young person’s needs or assure the safety in the home.

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Requires improvement

There are weaknesses in how the home fulfils its statement of purpose. Staff are not always clear about the statement. For example, a staff member told the inspector that the main aim of this home was to look after young people who have learning disabilities. This is incorrect. The home is registered to provide care to young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties or a mild mental disorder. Some staff have had training in behaviour management, but no members of staff have had any training on understanding and supporting young people who have mental health difficulties. Training opportunities do not support the delivery of the service as described in its statement of purpose. Young people’s files are well organised. Monthly monitoring reports are written in line with the quality standards. They show the progress that the individual young people have made across different aspects of their welfare and development. They

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Requires improvement

include information on how the staff supported individual young people to have positive experiences and achieve good outcomes. The reports are comprehensive, and evaluative, and provide an honest account of the young people’s engagement and progress, or lack of it.

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Requires improvement

Staff receive regular monthly supervision and attend team meetings. They have their individual performance reviewed and appraised on an annual basis. While this home was non-operational, they were working at the sister home.

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Requires improvement

After not providing a service for over a year, the leaders, managers and staff have a clear commitment to young people and the continuation of the children’s home.

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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 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, 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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