Children's Home run by Kartikeya Solutions Limited in Haringey

Inspection report children’s home: SC483623 1 SC483623 Kartikeya Solutions Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run home registered to care for up to five young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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Requires improvement to be good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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Requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 16 November 2016

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Requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Declined in effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people are happy in their home and are supported by a committed and dedicated staff team.  Staff consistently strive to understand young people and their challenging behaviours. This promotes good behavioural management. Inspection report children’s home: SC483623 2  Excellent safeguarding practice, supported by strong relationships with local professionals, ensures that young people are safe.  Young people benefit from a number of on-site specialist services, including education provision, a child and adolescent psychotherapist and a horticultural therapist. They engage well, promoting a culture of achievement and raised self-esteem.  There are a number of shortfalls in staff training. One staff member has failed to obtain their Level 3 qualification within the required timescale. The registered manager and the interim manager have not commenced any form of recognised management qualification. The statement of purpose fails to reflect this.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The approach to helping young people gain independent skills lacks structure and formal recording. This, coupled with insufficient advocacy provision, means that the progress made by young people is difficult to assess. This may result in poorly informed care planning decisions.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/11/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 20/04/2016 Full Good 02/11/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC483623 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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

32: Fitness of workers (4) An individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained – (a) the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England). 15/10/2017

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Requirement Due date

33: Employment of staff The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development. In particular, ensure that managers commence the required management qualification and that all staff complete suitable training in female genital mutilation and the ‘Prevent’ agenda. (Regulation 33(4)(a)) 15/10/2017

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Requirement Due date

16: Statement of purpose In order to meet the quality standard in relation to the statement of purpose, the registered person must keep the statement under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 16(3)(a)) 01/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject of a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the registered person and the home’s staff are familiar with the care planning process for children looked after and must assist children to prepare for meetings in relation to this. An independent advocate can also be called upon to support a child in their reviews. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.14)  Assist each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or moving to live independently. This includes supporting the child to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope, with the home’s support, and, where the child is Inspection report children’s home: SC483623 4 moving to live independently, practical skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting and personal self-care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the children’s guide helps children to understand: how to make a complaint in line with the home’s complaints procedure; and how to contact the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: Good

Young people are very happy in their home and form close and trusting relationships with staff. There is a genuine sense of community within the home. One young person commented, ‘They do everything to make sure we grow up right.’ Young people benefit from good levels of individualised care and a supportive staff team. Young people make good progress. This includes improved school attendance and engagement and an improved ability to manage their emotions appropriately. Staff support young people to address difficult life histories and achieve placement stability. Consultation with young people is mixed. Despite young people’s voice being heard within the home through regular meetings, independent advocacy is not routinely available when they first move in. This denies young people important advice and guidance from a trusted source, separate from the placing authority and care staff. The children’s guide does not currently include the contact details of the children’s

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: Good

commissioner. There is insufficient evidence of work on developing independent living skills. This does not allow professionals full information regarding any progress made in key-work sessions and may result in ill-informed care planning decisions. Staff offer young people new activities and opportunities. Young people enjoyed a recent overnight stay at the seaside and made cards for the staff team. These strong relationships promote a positive culture of progress and achievement. The ethos of the home is understood by young people with transparency key to building trust and mutual appreciation. Young people are encouraged to be open and honest with staff. Staff work tirelessly with young people to explain their need to safeguard them and impose appropriate behavioural expectations. One staff member summarised this as ‘singing from the same song sheet’. Staff strive to offer structure and positive routines. All elements of progress such as

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: Good

managing anger effectively are warmly celebrated. Staff are inventive and proactive in exploring and promoting new experiences. This includes young people face-painting at local functions and volunteering at a local charity shop. This helps to develop social skills, self-esteem and career aspirations. Specialist services are easily accessible. The home offers on-site access to therapeutic Inspection report children’s home: SC483623 5 provision. The home’s child and adolescent psychotherapist is a consistent presence in the home. This helps to normalise therapeutic work and support engagement. She supports staff by offering insight on key trigger words and behaviours. Staff speak of understanding the ‘inner world’ of young people. Staff provide an album of photos for each young person. This helps record their achievements and place progress in the context of their starting points when they first moved in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: Good

Young people make progress in education. One placing social worker commented, ‘He has made more progress there than anywhere else.’ The on-site education provision works in tandem with care staff to monitor behaviours and effectively plan interventions. When not accessing the in-house provision, staff incentivise and promote academic achievement effectively. Staff offer appropriate challenge to placing local authorities when provision is deemed not to be meeting the needs of young people. One young person recently transitioned to a specialist provision outside of the home. Care staff are presently advocating for increased lesson provision to further support progress. Staff skilfully use education to celebrate culture and difference, such as recently making traditional African masks. Sexual health screening is routinely offered. The afternoon ‘well-being curriculum’ encourages young people to take regular exercise and promotes

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: Good

healthy living. Young people now access the internet safely. Effective internet filtering monitors are in place, while staff work hard to educate young people as to the dangers posed by social media and inappropriate use.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: Good

Young people feel safe. There are no reports of any bullying or intimidation. Any discriminatory behaviour is challenged quickly and appropriately by staff. Regular and effective key-work meetings give ample opportunity for any concerns to be raised by staff with young people. Multi-agency work is strong in the home. It is supported by improved record-keeping. Staff communicate regularly with key professionals such as mentors to monitor behavioural patterns and keep people safe. Notifications of serious incidents now occur regularly to Ofsted, allowing for more effective monitoring of the home. Behavioural management is successful and positive behaviour is consistently encouraged. Staff regularly review and evaluate the effectiveness of strategies and interventions. Substance misuse is challenged robustly and key-work sessions promote discussions regarding reduction strategies and the negative impact of ongoing misuse.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: Good

For example, sanctions such as supervised spending when cannabis use is suspected work well in reducing its use. As a result young people understand staff expectations and respect their consistent approach. Staff work hard to avoid stigmatising poor behaviour. They use good relationships between themselves and young people along with their experience to contact specialist services such as mental health provision when the need arises. The frequency of restraint has reduced. When restraints occur, staff de-brief more effectively to ascertain the wishes and feelings of young people and develop coping Inspection report children’s home: SC483623 6 strategies. Safeguarding is strong in the home. Staff work effectively with key local professionals such as police to obtain statutory orders to protect young people at possible risk of child sexual exploitation. These orders, allied with improved closed-circuit television

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: Good

monitoring of the area around the home, help keep young people safe. This work is supported by thorough and robust risk assessments. These offer staff clear guidance and promote effective and consistent care practice. Young people reduce risk-taking behaviour. Staff are committed to helping young people to avoid becoming criminalised. Staff offer creative interventions such as direct work from the fire brigade to address fire-setting behaviour or youth offending services to outline the dangers posed by carrying weapons in public. This allows young people to reflect on the consequences of their actions and in turn improves their behaviour. There is a strong response when young people go missing from the home. Local police note good levels of care on visiting the home. Individualised missing-from-home plans ensure a well-managed and appropriate staff response. Independent return to care interviews now occur more regularly and support staff in developing strategies for

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: Good

avoiding repetition. Work with parents and family members is a major strength of the home. Staff maintain good levels of communication and support regular, safe contact for young people. Family contact establishes a crucial additional layer of support for young people. The in-house therapist offers parents a unique insight into the care plan and the strategies being used to work with their child. This helps to increase parental participation, to develop young people’s relationships with family and to reduce incidents of going missing from home. Staff are good advocates for young people. They are proactive and reflective. Staff recently successfully advocated for a reduction in medication levels for one young person as the prescribed dosage was deemed to be hindering his daily functioning. This supports the development of trusting relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Requires improvement to be good

The registered manager is also the owner of the home. He is well supported by an interim manager. Both are qualified social workers and have been in post since the opening of the home in 2015. However, neither has commenced the required management training. This hinders the development of the home. The registered manager was not present during the inspection, although the interim manager was present. The educational provision has been operating without formal registration. Following engagement with Ofsted’s unregistered schools team, an action plan has been agreed. This plan clearly outlines the statutory requirements that the home must comply with to provide such a service and a timescale for completion. Progress made against the agreed targets will be supported by the rigorous scrutiny offered by the independent visitor. Gaps in training extend to the whole staff team. One staff member is still to complete

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Requires improvement to be good

Inspection report children’s home: SC483623 7 the Level 3 qualification within the required timescale. Staff have not completed training on the ‘Prevent’ agenda or on female genital mutilation. Concerns over training were raised in the last inspection and continue to limit the skills of staff and their ability to understand behaviours. The statement of purpose requires updating to reflect the gaps in training. Staff morale is good. Staff reported that they are all ‘working together well’. They feel valued and appreciated by improved, regular supervision and appraisal. There is no use of agency staff within the home. This further promotes consistency and improved relationships for young people. Despite the shortfalls in training provision, staff report good access to specialist training outside of the home and engaging sessions with the in- house therapist. Recruitment practice is safe. Managers ensure that references are suitably verified and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Requires improvement to be good

that staff enjoy a positive induction package. This preserves the stability of the staff team. Case files show strong management oversight. Files are reviewed regularly and any gaps in key-work recording are followed up. Care plans reflect and develop the areas of concern identified by the placing local authority. Chronologies are updated regularly, facilitating analysis of behavioural patterns. The files now offer a more accurate and vivid picture of the progress achieved by young people. Managers challenge care planning decisions appropriately. Effective challenge assists in ensuring that all decision- making remains child-centred. Feedback from other care professionals is positive. Social workers refer to the ‘hands-on and supportive management team’. Admissions are well handled. This is evidenced by the length of placement and the stability achieved by young people. For example, one young person’s recent admission

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Requires improvement to be good

was preceded by increased staff training and introductory visits. This ensured suitable preparation for the young person concerned. The environment is safe. The in-house maintenance manager ensures that the home is in a good state of repair with all of the necessary risk assessments undertaken. The home’s premises are appropriately secure, therefore offering a safe environment for young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC483623 8

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how well it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation and 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’. Inspection report children’s home: SC483623 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kartikeya Solutions Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 47 Hillfield Park, London N10 3QU

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Inspector

Barnaby Dowell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC483623 10 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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