Children's Home run by Footsteps Care Limited in Waltham Forest

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness . The provider has taken effective action in response to the shortfalls identified at the previous inspection. Care plans and daily recording now demonstrate that staff are providing excellent support to ensure that young people attend and achieve in education. A school teacher reported that staff in the home always attend parents evening and that they communicate effectively with the school. All young people in the home benefit from structured routines. They engage positively with staff support and make progress in education. The provider has updated its child protection policies and procedures in response to requirements made at the previous inspection. These now include guidance for staff in relation to keeping young people safe from risks of radicalisation, sexual

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

exploitation and female genital mutilation. This guidance is not complete as it does not clearly identify the action that staff should take if any concerns arise. This is an issue of recording rather than practice as staff are trained in these areas of safeguarding and know how to escalate concerns. The staff have a good understanding of the needs and vulnerabilities of the young people. Each young person has a detailed risk assessment and behaviour management plan. These documents set out how staff should intervene to protect young people from harm and to promote positive behaviour. All staff have undertaken training in behaviour management. When young people are anxious or upset, staff act quickly to provide support and reassurance. Young people are generally well behaved, sanctions are used sparingly and physical interventions are seldom required to manage behaviour incidents. Behaviour incidents are clearly

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

recorded by staff and closely monitored by the registered manager to ensure safe practice. The registered manager and the responsible individual of the home work effectively in partnership with placing authorities to investigate safeguarding concerns. They take prompt action to address concerns. If standards of care fall below expected standards, they challenge this and support staff to improve. The home has a detailed workforce development plan in place. Staff have undertaken core training in child protection, first aid and fire safety. Not all staff have completed training on how to support young people with autistic spectrum disorders. This means that not all staff have the skills and knowledge they need to care for the range of needs of the young people. The registered manager is aware of this and has commissioned further training for all staff. He is also supporting the staff to increase their knowledge and theory base using resources provided by the

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

British Institute of Learning Disabilities (BILD). This helps to ensure that staff support and care for young people are informed by up-to-date research and development. The registered manager has made improvements to the supervision and appraisal of staff. These now include feedback from young people and professionals to help support staff learning and development. One young person provided feedback on her key worker and said that ‘She is nice. She always talks to me and listens.’ This helps staff to understand how young people experience the care that they provide. High staffing ratios ensure that young people are closely monitored and that they receive the individual attention they need. Staff work effectively as a team and have a clear focus on making sure that young people are safe and content. They talk about young people with passion and commitment. Young people appreciate this and respond well. They make progress in education, learn skills for

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

independence and generally have a positive experience living in the home. They do not go missing from the home and staff monitor their whereabouts at all times. Staff are alert to risks presented by social media. They closely monitor young people in their use of the internet and mobile devices. Since the last inspection, all young people moving on from the home have done so in a positive, planned way. Staff work effectively in partnership with parents and this has meant that some young people have been able to return to their families. Young people enjoy living in the home. They report positive relationships with staff and each other. Staff support young people to take part in a range of activities both in the home and in the local community. The provider has recently made improvements to the communal areas to make it more homely and comfortable for young people. The young people’s bedrooms are comfortable and personalised so

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

that they reflect the needs and wishes of each young person. The physical environment is safe and well maintained. Checks in relation to fire safety are carried out in accordance with the home’s procedures. The registered manager of the home is experienced in the role. He has good oversight of the quality of care provided to young people and closely monitors practice in relation to safeguarding. He takes action to address shortfalls in practice and has a clear, child-centred vision in relation to service development. The provider has updated the home’s statement of purpose and this now accurately describes how care is provided for young people. The registered manager has also updated the home’s policy in relation to the use of CCTV. This ensures that methods of surveillance are not overly intrusive and used only when necessary to keep young people safe.

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care and accommodation for eight children who have a learning disability. The organisation operates another children’s home which also caters for children who have similar needs.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

24/03/2016 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) meet(s) the Care Standards Act 2000, the 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

13: The leadership and management standard In order to meet this standard, the registered person must: (c) ensure that staff have the skills to meet the needs of each child. In particular, staff must undertake autistic spectrum disorder training. 01/06/2017

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 Policies for the protection of children should be reviewed regularly and revised where appropriate. This specifically relates to ensuring that child protection policies clearly identify what action staff should take in response to concerns. (Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.22)

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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 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 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. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the

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Information about this inspection

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 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

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

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