Children's home run by Sherico Care Services Limited in Westminster

Requires improvement

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for young people 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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because:

 Staff’s recording of young people’s medication information is insufficiently detailed. This does not demonstrate robust, safe medication practices.  Staff do not promptly inform the local authority designated officer (LADO) of allegations made against staff by young people. This is not in line with expected safeguarding protocols to keep young people safe from harm and abuse.  Not all staff are skilled in adhering to established boundaries for individual young people to help keep them safe.  Staff do not strictly adhere to contact arrangements as specified by the local authority. This potentially puts young people at risk.  Staff’s records of when and young people are absent without permission or are missing are not consistently accurate.  Managers do not always contact referees to verify written reference that ensure employees are suitable to work with young people.  The home’s statement of purpose requires revision to reflect correct

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because:

information about the home and the qualifications of the staff team.

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The children’s home strengths

 Young people receive individualised care that meets their needs.  Young people make fair progress from their original starting points due to the care they receive.

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The children’s home strengths

 The service now has a newly appointed permanent manager in place, who has extensive experience of working with vulnerable young people.  Young people say they enjoy living in the home, feel safe and share good, trusting relationships with the majority of the staff team.  The challenging behaviour of young people and the frequency of them going missing is on the decline.  Young people’s s case files are comprehensive and reflect well the work staff are doing with them.  Managers and staff’s communication with external professionals promotes good partnership working.

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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 ‘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

In order to meet the health and well-being standard, the registered provider must— 23(1) make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicine received into the home. 01/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

12 The protection of young people standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of young people standard: 40(4) The registered provider must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— (c) there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. 01/11/2016

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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 quality and purpose of care standard, the registered provider must; (2)(c) ensure that the premises used for the purpose of the home are designed, furnished so as to— (i) meet the needs of each child. 02/01/2017

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Requirement Due date

16(3)(a) Keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate revise it. 02/01/2017

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the behaviour management strategy is understood and applied at all times by staff. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that appropriate forms of contact are promoted and facilitated for each child. In particular staff must adhere to any restriction of contact as specified by the local authority. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.18)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the recruitment of staff safeguards young people and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, ensure that staff contact by telephone individuals who supply written references for employees. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping. In particular, ensure that records of missing persons and imposed sanctions are recorded consistently in logs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the young people in the home’s care. In particular, ensure that regulation 44 reports include the number of times that young people young people are absent, or are missing. (‘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 children’s home is one of a number of homes owned by a private organisation. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for no more than six young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 18/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/11/2015 Full Requires improvement 07/01/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/07/2014 Full Adequate

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Requires improvement

This home provides good-quality care. However, the inspection rating of the overall judgement is influenced by the inadequate judgement of the leadership and management outcome area.

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Requires improvement

Staff records highlight those individuals with whom it is not safe for young people to have contact. However, on recent occasions these plans have not been consistently followed. Although no harm was caused such shortfalls raise the chance of incidents occurring and young people being exposed to avoidable risks.

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Requires improvement

Young people receive individualised care that meets their needs and they make fair progress from the point that they move into the home. One young person told the inspector, ‘Staff here are all right. And yes, I do think they care about me. I like it here.’ Another young person commented, ‘The staff here are cool. So much nicer than at my last home.’ Young people build trusting relationships with key staff working with them. They feel listened to and believe that staff are interested in their welfare. Staff treat young people with dignity and respect.

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Requires improvement

Young people make decisions about their day-to-day experiences and staff encourage this. For example, staff regularly consult young people on meal choices, activity planning, and the decoration of their rooms and communal spaces. Young people receive good information about the home, the way it works and staff’s expectations of them. Young people are aware how to make complaints. Since the last inspection, no child has made any complaint against the service. Staff work hard to set clear boundaries for young people to help to keep them safe. They use appropriate strategies to work sensitively with individual young people to help them to understand why some of their requests are not actioned. This is especially the case if requests pose some risk to children’s safety.

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Requires improvement

The staff team appropriately meets the identity needs of young people. Staff explore, and encourage young people to explore, any gender, cultural or religious needs that they may have. For example, staff help young people to identify places of worship within and beyond the local community and support, if young people wish for regular attendance.

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Requires improvement

Young people make good progress in relation to their health, education, emotional, social and psychological well-being. Staff encourage young people to take responsibility for their own healthcare needs and support their efforts. Young people promptly register with primary healthcare services and any required specialist services such as young people and adolescent mental health services. Young people have good access to healthcare services and staff follow up on any treatment required and medical advice. Young people eat healthy, nutritious meals that they prefer, and participate in meal planning, shopping and meal preparation.

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Requires improvement

Staff are first aid trained and recently completed training in the administration of medication. Despite this, staff’s recording of young people’s medication regimes is not appropriately detailed or accurate. This shortfall does not place young people and young people at immediate risk of harm

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Requires improvement

Young people regularly participate in physical exercise such as bike riding and going for walks locally. Staff encourage young people for whom the medical recommendation is that they lose weight to do so gradually and safely. This helps to promote a healthy lifestyle and improve self-esteem.

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Requires improvement

Young people make fair educational progress. Historically, some young people have very poor attendance at school and their educational attainment has not been good. Staff are aware of young people’s learning needs and develop strategies to support their educational success. This includes facilitating homework and revision study. Some young people are very committed to achieving targets and so have good motivation and drive to achieve academically. Staff offer support to promote positive educational outcomes, including the negotiation of home tutoring where other learning options are not available. The manager has recently introduced a recording tool to help staff track educational progress. Staff’s liaison and communication with educational professionals is consistent and effective. This helps to promote young people’s learning outcomes.

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Requires improvement

Young people have access to a range of leisure activities that are of their choosing. Typical activities include hair and beauty activities, go-karting, playing computer games and film nights at the home. Staff encourage young people to select and participate in their preferred activities, although regularly young people decline to do so.

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Requires improvement

Young people feel staff are interested and take seriously their views and opinions. They regularly attend weekly residents’ meetings, which is a good opportunity for them to share their views on a wide range of issues. These include the review of house rules, meal and leisure preferences and behavioural issues. Individual key work sessions, and staff’s distribution of feedback forms are other avenues available to young people to inform staff of what they think. Their views have influence on the development of the service.

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Requires improvement

Young people have the opportunity to develop independent skills in preparation for adulthood. Some young people are working on improving their personal hygiene, the completion of household chores, shopping and budgeting. Some are making good progress.

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Requires improvement

Staff support young people to keep in touch with their brothers and sisters, parents and friends, as outlined in individual care plans. Young people’s friends and family members are welcome to visit at the home. Presently, staff are arranging a birthday party for one young person.

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Requires improvement

Staff work hard to protect young people from harm, neglect and abuse, and young people say that they feel safe. Young people benefit from staff’s training in safeguarding and the home’s child protection policies, which are comprehensive and familiar to the staff team.

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Requires improvement

The manager maintains good communication with the local authority designated officer (LADO), primarily for advice. However, in a recent instance, staff failed to contact the LADO promptly when a child made an allegation against a staff member. This is not in accordance with child protection protocols and is not safe care practice.

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Requires improvement

Staff’s management of challenging behaviour is inconsistent and is therefore not fully effective. This is despite staff’s comprehensive completion of risk assessments and behavioural management plans. Staff records reflect well the individual behaviour of children, risks posed and strategies to minimise or eliminate harmful or risk-taking behaviours. Written assessments offer staff clear guidance on anticipating poor behaviour and how best to manage challenging behaviour, should it occur. Key staff are skilled in following through with established boundaries. For other staff maintaining such boundaries is a challenge. This raises the risk that young people and young people will receive inconsistent messages regarding their behaviour and attitude.

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Requires improvement

Managers obtain full vetting information for potential staff members prior to them working at the home. However, not all files confirm that the organisation contacts by telephone the individuals supplying written references to ensure that new staff are suitable to work with vulnerable children.

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Requires improvement

The home’s premises are physically safe and secure to protect and meet the needs of young people, as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. There are good health and safety measures in place, including sound fire precautions. The home’s is secure, and the use of CCTV provides staff with a view of the home’s external perimeter. The premises are comfortable, but require further decoration to modernise the building and to make it more homely. Since the last inspection, there has been one notification to Ofsted of a serious safeguarding nature. Staff have good skills in managing incidents of a highly sensitive nature, ensuring that young people receive appropriate emotional and practical support to help them to manage traumatic experiences.

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Requires improvement

Staff work diligently to explore and help young people to curb risky behaviours. Some young people move in with significant histories of absconding from care, and aggressive and offending behaviour. Staff vigilance and the close supervision of young people result in the reduction of unauthorised absences, young people going missing and critical incidents at the home.

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Requires improvement

Staff are very familiar with local police and local authority protocols in place to prevent incidents of young people and young people going missing. Staff share good links with the local police team. The assigned officers for the local missing person’s unit periodically meets with young people to speak with them about personal safety matters, including the potential for exploitation while away from the home.

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Requires improvement

Staff encourage positive behaviour by promoting the home’s rewards system and sparingly imposing sanctions. Since the last inspection, staff have received training in physical intervention. This was a requirement of the last inspection. There have been no incidents requiring staff’s use of restraint.

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Requires improvement

Staff protect young people from risks posed through use of the internet and social media. Staff are vigilant in supervising children’s access to the internet and protect them from cyber-bullying, grooming and potential abuse.

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Inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager since the former registered manager’s departure in January 2016. The provider’s subsequent attempts to identify and secure the manager’s position previously failed and it has been only very recently that the organisation has appointed a manager for the home. Currently, the home has no registered manager, and this has been the case since January; a period in excess of 26 weeks. In line with Ofsted guidance, this has resulted in an automatic judgement of inadequate for the leadership and management outcome area.

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Inadequate

Leaders have an understanding of the service’s strengths and weaknesses, and monitoring systems are relatively effective. The provider employs an independent consultant to complete regulation 44 monitoring visits. Subsequent reports provide an overview of the home’s operation and functioning. However, these reports do not provide sufficient detail of children’s unauthorised absences from the home or the frequency of them being missing. This is also the case for staff’s recording of missing persons, which is not consistent with the numbers recorded in relevant logs. This is important, so that leaders have an accurate picture of such trends and can respond accordingly. Monitoring visits include the views and opinions of young people and staff, which have an influence on service development. The manager completes regulation 45 quality of care reports, and these provide insight into the quality of the service.

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Inadequate

The home’s statement of purpose is a detailed document which outlines the aims and objectives of the service. However, this requires revision to include information about the home’s use of surveillance and to update staff qualifications. Young people have access to good information about the service, what to expect and staff’s expectations of them. The registered provider is financially viable and able to provide appropriate resources to ensure that the service meets children’s needs well.

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Inadequate

Children’s case files are orderly and contain comprehensive information about their care histories, the work undertaken and future planning. Staff documentation is generally clear and provides an understanding of children’s lives. However, staff do not maintain consistent records of events in specified logs. These include information about medication, sanctions and incidents. This is important so that leaders have an accurate picture of behaviour trends.

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Inadequate

The new manager has extensive experience of working directly with young people, including as a member of a local authority youth offending team and as a youth support worker. She is currently completing a level 5 management diploma course and is in the process of completing an application to register with Ofsted. She has had good training and experience of working with young people who display challenging behaviour, and working effectively within a restorative justice framework.

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Inadequate

Most team members are also new to their current posts. New staff routinely participate in an induction and receive good support and supervision from their line manager. Staff training is adequate, covering key subject issues such as safeguarding, child sexual exploitation, and managing challenging behaviour and self-harm. Training opportunities are also available via team meetings and online training.

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Inadequate

The leadership and management of the home require improvement if the service is to have a significant positive impact on the experiences and safety of children.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of young people 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’. An outstanding children’s home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for young people 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 young people 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 young people being harmed or at risk of harm.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The welfare of looked after young people is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children’s home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for young people and young people. A children’s home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave young people and young people being harmed or at risk of harm or result in young people 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 young people and young people living in the children’s home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of young people 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 young people 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 young people 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 ‘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 .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of young people 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 Young people 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 young people 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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