Children's home run by London Borough of Tower Hamlets in Tower Hamlets

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 .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection in August 2016, two young people have moved on to live independently in supported accommodation. Both young people benefited from stable, long-term placements at the home. Staff supported them to learn life and independence skills to help them to manage living in the community. The registered manager and staff operate a semi-independence scheme that provides young people with a budget to do their own shopping and meal preparation. Young people receive support in learning budgeting, cooking and other important independence skills. The staff make this fun by organising their own television copycat competitions to encourage participation in learning new skills. Last year, the young people held a ‘Come Dine with Me’ competition and this year they have been running a ‘Bake Off.’ Young people have enjoyed these activities and learned new skills at the same time.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Two other young people have been living in the home in stable, long-term placements, one for over four years. They are both engaged in the independence living scheme and are being prepared for moving from the home later this year.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager and staff team have helped to smooth transitions for young people leaving the home. They have supported them to move their belongings and taken them shopping to purchase essential items when leaving the home. One of these young people visited the home during the inspection. She said how well she was getting on and how she appreciated the support that staff had given her, which had enabled her to make a successful move.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Two new young people have moved into the home since the last inspection. Both are settling into the home well and the early indicators are that the staff team is working closely with the parents and educational providers to understand their needs and progress their care plans. This has helped the young people to settle into the home and establish good attendance at school and college.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Several other young people have experienced short-term placements since the last inspection. The majority had well-organised and planned moves. However, one young person’s placement ended in an emergency, which was distressing for all. The leaders and managers are holding discussions about admissions and discharges, and will be looking at incident reports to learn from this transition and improve the processes for future placements.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager has completed a review of the quality of care provided at the home. She has produced an overview of where the strengths and weaknesses of the service are and what is needed in the coming months to improve services. The leaders and managers have a development action plan in place. This is to improve services at the home, and includes a focus on the following:  Ensure that the staff team uses team meetings more effectively  Ensure consistent recording of incident reports  Plan admissions and discharges of young people to the home  Consider how the staff team is meeting the relationship standard.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff supervisions are regular and staff feel supported to do their jobs effectively. Staff said that the staff team is supportive and, despite some struggles, they work well together and have improved their communication through more structured team and handover meetings, and better record keeping.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

An independent person visits the home once a month and provides a report for the leaders, managers and the regulator. However, these reports do not take into account the views of parents and professionals on a regular basis. Moreover, although the same reports provide information about safeguarding in the home, there is no rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Two further shortfalls were found during the inspection, first in the making of appropriate notifications and second in the recording of restraints. Staff make clear and accurate records of incidents. However, some of these incidents required notification to the regulator, yet this had not been done. No young people came to any harm because of this shortfall. There are also inconsistencies in the reporting of restraints. Although all physical restraint involving young people is reported, in some cases the incidents are not cross-referenced or reported correctly. This again had no immediate impact, but could leave both young people and staff vulnerable to harm and/or allegations.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager continues to work very closely with the host placing authority. The lead professional for the child and adolescent mental health services was at the home during inspection and is a regular attendee at team meetings. He stated that he finds staff to be very proactive, good at communicating, and excellent at working with families and recognising the importance of this work.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The leaders and managers have met the one requirement and one recommendation from the previous inspection. The home has experienced a stable period since that time. Staff have an excellent knowledge of the young people whom they work with and have undertaken some good work on preparing them for independence.

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by the local authority. It provides care and accommodation for up to six young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 17/08/2016 Full Good 02/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 05/08/2015 Full Requires improvement 09/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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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

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if: (b) an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; (c) there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; (e) there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(b)(e)) 14/05/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure that records of restraint are kept and enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  Any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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’.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children’s home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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 .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for 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

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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

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