Children's Home run by London Borough of Hounslow in Hounslow

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 . The registered manager has successfully addressed the recommendation made at the last inspection. Staff and managers now review self-harm incidents, taking into account any patterns of behaviour or unusual behaviour as well as the frequency of the incidents and their cumulative effect. They then use this review to decide on the appropriateness of notifying the regulator. Young people who have left the home since the last inspection have been supported to move to semi-independent accommodation or to live with family members. Managers and staff prepare the young people for this transition through teaching life skills and effective ways to self-regulate challenging emotion and behaviour. The home further supports the young people through outreach at their new placement, which has helped them to stay in education.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

In relation to new placement referrals, the registered manager conducts pre- placement visits with the young person to assess the appropriateness of matching. The manager wants to give young people a chance and allows them appropriate leeway in light of their difficult starting points. However, there is a lack of robust impact assessment of risks to the existing residents in the home. Managers and staff work well in partnership with others to support the progress of the young people in the key areas of their lives. As a result, young people have experienced a reduction in self-harm. Most of the young people attend school or receive alternative education. For those who are not in education, the registered manager is in the process of investigating the possibility of setting up home tuition to help to fill the gap. Through key working sessions, young people are supported to achieve their educational potential, build positive relationships with the adults in the home and achieve

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

targets in line with their care plans. Professionals’ meetings have been convened in line with the young people’s care plans and the behavioural management policy to help to manage the risks associated with going missing and the added risk of child sexual exploitation. Strategies to tackle the issue have been discussed, and the home consistently follows its missing person procedure. Reports are made to the police, local authorities and families, and return home interviews are offered. However, there is room for the home to be more robust in utilising the aggregated information to better understand why the young person has been missing and better inform the home’s actions to help to reduce the missing incidents. Staff members enjoy working with the young people and making a difference in their lives. Staff are finely attuned to the young people’s needs and understand their difficult experiences. The home provides consistent and stable care, operating

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

in line with the ethos of its statement of purpose. There have been no complaints raised since the last inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care and accommodations for up to six young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A local authority provides this service.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

15/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

18/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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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 home takes account of information provided by return home interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. Evaluations of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff to record and to retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, pages 45−46, paragraphs 9.30−9.31)  Ensure that the registered person only accepts placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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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 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 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 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 children looked after 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

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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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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