Children's Home run by Bayis Sheli Limited in Hackney

Inspection report children’s home: SC490365 1 SC490365 Registered provider: Bayis Sheli 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

A private limited company with charitable status provides this service. The home may accommodate up to eight children who may have a physical and/or learning disability. This includes up to four children under short-break arrangements and up to four children permanently. The home’s statement of purpose emphasises meeting the needs of Jewish children, in ways which are consistent with their culture and faith.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 13 September 2016

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Requires improvement

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Enforcement action since last inspection

None Inspection report children’s home: SC490365 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Leaders, managers and staff fulfil the home’s statement of purpose effectively and efficiently. As a result, the home has a positive impact on the lives of children.  Children receive high-quality care and support.  Staff are effective in promoting positive outcomes for children. Children have positive experiences and have their needs met.  Children are safe and protected and develop feelings of trust and belonging.  Children are able to express themselves, make positive choices and contribute to their care. They make good progress across different aspects of their lives.  The home excels in providing a culturally and religiously fulfilling environment to children of Jewish faith.  Connections with the local Jewish community are strong.  Good behaviour management practices enable children to develop increasingly safe and more constructive behaviours.  Staff network effectively with professionals from different disciplines. The

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Key findings from this inspection

partnership with the local school is particularly strong.  Staff work closely with children’s parents and siblings to promote a good family life.  The independent visitor’s insightful monthly monitoring reports underpin a realistic assessment of the strengths and weaknesses, and continued improvement of the home.  The home’s physical environment is maintained very well. The premises are kept safe and secure at all times.  The home has excellent facilities, such as a swimming pool and well-equipped soft-play room, sensory room and garden.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development

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Key findings from this inspection

 The quality of record-keeping is variable. Some records of accidents and physical interventions are not clear or sufficiently detailed. Managers have failed to identify and rectify these weaknesses.  The arrangements for overseeing incidents of physical interventions, when the registered manager is involved, are not clear.  The plan for staff training is unambitious. Inspection report children’s home: SC490365 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/09/2016 Full Requires improvement 22/06/2016 Full Inadequate 22/03/2016 Interim Not judged Inspection report children’s home: SC490365 4

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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, 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, improve the monitoring of the records of accidents and physical interventions and ensure their quality. 01/10/2017

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Requirement Due date

Behaviour management policies and records The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— the name of the child; details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (‘the user’), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (‘the authorised person’)— has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; 01/09/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC490365 5 and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement in particular relates to the recording of the duration of the measure, the name of the persons who used the measure and of any other person present when the measure was used and the user of the measure being spoken to. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(iv)(vi)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate resources to support their training needs, in particular, training on communicating with children who have communication difficulties and countering child sexual exploitation and radicalisation. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences of living in this home, whether this be permanently or for short breaks. Children receive good-quality care. They are supported well by staff and have their individual needs met. Staff treat children with emotional warmth, dignity and respect. As a result, children make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel safe, listened to and supported. They have developed positive relationships with staff members. An effective key-working system results in the continuity of relationships and the development of positive attachments. Children have developed feelings of familiarity, trust and belonging. The stability of the staff team and unified approach to care minimises the impact to children when staff changes occur.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with care professionals to ensure that children are safe and that they enjoy positive experiences and make progress. The network includes professionals from different disciplines, such as social work, health, education and police. Professionals speak positively about the quality of care that they observe during their visits to the home and through other contacts with the staff. A social worker described a placement that the home provided in an emergency situation as ‘brilliant’. She said that the staff were ‘fantastic’ and that the registered manager was ‘really good’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality support from staff that is in line with their education, Inspection report children’s home: SC490365 6 health and care plans. The home’s own care plans are comprehensive, clear and reviewed regularly. Children experience care that is sensitive and responsive to the full range of their needs. The home meets particularly well the needs of children who have orthodox Jewish background and faith.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to express themselves, make positive choices and contribute to their care. They constantly talk with children, telling them what is going on and reassuring them. Staff help children to set, work towards and achieve their personal goals. The goals are divided into 10 specific, individualised and measurable targets. For example, brushing one’s teeth has been broken down into 10 stages, from not being able to do it independently to achieving full independence. Staff review children’s progress towards achieving these steps on a regular basis. This gradual approach has been effective in promoting children’s progress and attainments across different areas of their lives. Staff celebrate children’s achievements at every opportunity. The feelings of achievement have helped children to develop self-esteem and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with children’s parents and siblings to promote a good family life. A parent who visits their son every week commented how they were always welcomed into the home. He and his wife are extremely happy with how the staff support their son. The parent said that the staff take their responsibility for looking after children seriously, and with warmth and care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children remain in good health. Children who have medical conditions receive good support to manage them well. A safe medication procedure ensures that they receive medication as prescribed by their doctors. For example, one child who has a particular health condition has a clear protocol in place that results in good information sharing between the home, their school and the health services working with them. This example of good partnership working has meant a decrease in the frequency and duration of the child’s epileptic seizures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made good progress in developing their social skills and positive behaviours. They enjoy a good range of social, recreational and educational opportunities in the home and in the local community. They regularly visit local shops, parks and youth clubs. They have developed positive relationships with the people who live locally. Some local teenagers have befriended a young person who lives in this home and visit regularly. The children feel part of the local Jewish community, which reaffirms their Jewish identity. Being supported to celebrate Jewish holy days and follow traditions and customs of Jewish faith is a source of great joy for children. One of them said that they really like that about the home and about the area where the home is situated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has excellent facilities. These include a swimming pool, an aquarium and an enclosure for a pet rabbit. Children also benefit from a well-equipped soft-play room, sensory room and garden. Children clearly enjoy using these facilities. This provides them with good opportunities to develop their skills, while simultaneously being engaged in fun activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that they ‘love the home and the staff’ and that they do not want to leave Inspection report children’s home: SC490365 7 this home. The registered manager works proactively and flexibly with the placing authorities to manage young people’s transitions into adulthood as smoothly as possible. This has included extending the children’s home service when it is in the best interest of a child. The children, their parents and the placing authorities are highly appreciative of this opportunity.

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

Children are safe in this home. Good safeguarding practices protect them effectively. There have been no major accidents and no incidents of abuse, neglect, bullying, self- harm, exploitation, missing, substance misuse or radicalisation.

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

Children trust the staff and management of the home. They know that their safety is taken seriously. With staff support, children have become calmer and better at managing their anxieties and difficult feelings. Children have been helped to improve their self- awareness and behaviour. For instance, instead of seeking staff attention through negative behaviours, children have learned to communicate in more constructive ways. The examples include using a pictorial language and/or an electronic device to communicate wishes and feelings instead of throwing themselves on the floor in a tantrum or smashing things. With trust that they will be listened to, children have become more able to seek and accept help. As a result, children’s communication skills and their understanding of their rights have improved.

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

The use of restraint is appropriate. However, the follow-up and recording of restraints is not always undertaken in line with good practice guidelines. For example, on occasions the registered manager has become involved directly in physical interventions. In these instances, the registered manager sought the child’s views on the restraint that he had carried out. This meant that the incident was not reviewed by a person independent of the event that took place, and therefore lacked independent scrutiny. The weakened oversight also meant that some records of the physical interventions were not maintained in the level of detail required. For example, the duration of the restraint and full names of the staff involved were not recorded. These shortfalls do not place children at risk of harm.

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

Excellent behaviour management plans and robust risk management plans are fully embedded in staff practices. Children receive good support to manage their feelings and behaviours safely. Firm boundaries and staff’s caring attitudes keep children safe and help them to develop safer behaviours. A steady reduction of incidents of challenging behaviours over time clearly evidences that the staff promote children’s positive behaviours effectively. For example, a young person has stopped exhibiting challenging behaviours, such as biting, flooding the place, taking their clothes off and self-harming. These behaviours used to occur regularly.

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

Behaviour management plans contain information that is relevant for the individual children. The plans comprehensively describe each child’s need for safety, while taking into account their need for independence. They provide clear guidance to staff on the Inspection report children’s home: SC490365 8 safeguarding strategies to use in particular situations, such as encouraging a child to take deep breaths when there are signs that the child is getting anxious, or encouraging them to use their bedroom as a designated safe space. Regular sharing of information with other professionals and children’s families contributes to the meaningful reviews of the plans. Working in collaboration with other professionals enhances the safety of children. The partnership with the local school is particularly strong.

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

The organisation operates a safe staff recruitment procedure. Records evidence that the staff and volunteers have been carefully vetted to ensure that they are suitable to work with children.

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

The registered manager has developed good working relationships with local authorities, designated officers and other professionals with safeguarding roles. Investigations into allegations or suspicion of harm are handled in accordance with the law and guidance on good practice. For example, the registered manager provided good support to all parties involved throughout the process of dealing with an allegation. He facilitated a smooth reintegration of a staff member into the team, in line with the conclusion of the investigation.

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

The home’s physical environment is kept safe and secure at all times. An effective risk management process ensures the implementation of comprehensive health and safety controls. After visiting the home, a local police officer wrote to the manager, ‘The security of the building is excellent. The evacuation procedures you have in place are of an impressive standard. The proposed procedure to implement in the event of an intruder is more than adequate and forward thinking in the current climate.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders, managers and staff fulfil the home’s statement of purpose effectively and efficiently; they provide a good children’s home. Leaders’, managers’ and staff’s work is of a high professional standard. They follow guidance on good practices. Short breaks are managed well and in ways that enhance the overall provision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders, managers and staff monitor children’s progress and outcomes rigorously. Improving children’s lives remains at the centre of staff practice at all times. Children’s files clearly demonstrate the good-quality care that they receive and the positive impact that this service has had on their lives. For example, a detailed analysis of the situations in which challenging behaviours occurred has led to identifications of triggers and development of more specific behaviour management strategies. As a result of good behaviour management support, children’s behaviours have improved significantly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management monitoring of the home is generally of a good standard. Records are predominantly kept to a high standard in particular children’s files. However, the log of accidents is not maintained consistently. For example, some entries lack clarity and detail. These weaknesses have not been picked up. Such shortfalls although not placing children at risk of harm undermine the ability of managers to monitor trends accurately. Inspection report children’s home: SC490365 9 The registered manager and staff work collaboratively with external professionals and children’s parents to achieve the best approach to children’s care. They also work closely with the local community to help children to achieve social integration. The registered manager and staff have developed a particularly close relationship with the local Jewish community. They excel in providing a culturally and religiously fulfilling environment to

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

children of Jewish faith. The short breaks programme revolves around Jewish holidays and is very successful.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Respect, acceptance of differences and enabling children who have a disability to have their voice heard characterise the home’s ethos. The leaders, managers and staff involve children as much as possible in decision-making processes. For example, a young person took an active part in the recent staff recruitment process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced registered manager has steered the development of this children’s home with dedication, resilience and competence to now achieving a good-quality service. The independent visitor’s insightful monthly monitoring reports underpin a realistic assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. This enables managers to gain an objective and meaningful review of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leaders and managers have motivated and enabled staff members to demonstrate good care practices. They have responded positively to the Ofsted inspection reports and the opportunities for improvement that were identified by other professionals. The trustees have provided funding necessary for ensuring that the service is resourced well and in a position to continue to improve. They have engaged a renowned consultancy service to guide and oversee the continued improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is properly staffed and resourced to meet the needs of children. The high staffing levels are maintained in line with the children’s complex needs. The staff duty rotas balance sensitively the gender, skills and requirements of the staff with the needs of the home as a whole. The registered manager always gives priority to the needs of the children. The staff team is cohesive and shares the vision of leaders and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings, formal supervision, practice-based leadership and reviews of staff performance assure the high quality of staff practices. The registered manager robustly challenges weaknesses in staff performance and provides extra guidance, support and training when necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The opportunities that staff have to receive training and obtain professional qualifications are adequate. The leaders and managers have a wealth of ideas to enhance the staff team’s level of competence. This includes organising further joint training with the local school. However, the home’s current training plan is not comprehensive. For example, no training on countering radicalisation and child sexual exploitation or on effective communication with children who have communication difficulties has been scheduled. Despite providing support to children who are fluent in a sign language, none of the staff have had relevant training. A child was proud to have taught staff members some sign language meanings. Inspection report children’s home: SC490365 10 Staff have positive attitudes towards learning and their further professional development. They want to do what is best for children and achieve excellence in their

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

practice. They said they trust the home’s management to ‘lead the way’.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have 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 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.

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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 it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’. Inspection report children’s home: SC490365 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bayis Sheli Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: New Burlington House, 1075 Finchley Road, London NW11 0PU

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Inspector

Seka Graovac, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC490365 12 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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