Children's home run by Barnardo’s in Redbridge

Inspection report children’s home: SC038117 1 SC038117 Registered provider: Barnardo’s

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated and owned by a charitable organization (Barnardo’s). It is registered to provide short breaks for up to four young people who have learning difficulties and physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 21 to 22 November 2017

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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: 2 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people have a positive experience and enjoy their short breaks. Inspection report children’s home: SC038117 2  The staff know the young people well and provide excellent, thoughtful, individualised care.  The young people benefit from a range of outings and positive activities.  Staff are effective at managing behaviour and do so without the need for sanctions or physical interventions.  The staff identify areas where young people may be vulnerable to harm and take steps to keep them safe.  Staff training in relation to managing complex health needs is regularly updated.  Management systems for monitoring the quality of care are effective and ensure that young people receive excellent care in a safe environment.

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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 records in relation to the administration of medication are disorganised and this increases the risk that errors may occur and go unnoticed.  Staff training should include learning for staff to better understand the specific needs of young people who have autistic spectrum disorder.  At all times, the home should have staff on duty who are trained as fire marshals.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 03/08/2016 Full Good 04/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC038117 3

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Recommendations

 The provider must improve the systems for recording the administration of medications in order to reduce the risk of errors. The recording of medication should be regularly monitored and reviewed by the manager of the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15).

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Recommendations

 The provider must review the staff training programme to include learning in areas that are relevant to the specific needs of the young people using the service. For example, if young people are on the autistic spectrum, staff should undertake training to understand autism and how they can best support and care for them. ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.15).

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all core training is updated at the agreed frequency as identified in the home’s workforce development plan. In particular, staff fire marshal training should be updated. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

No young people were staying in the home at the time of this inspection. The observations in relation to the positive experience of young people are based on feedback from parents and placing social workers. Some direct feedback from young people was available from responses to Ofsted’s point-in-time survey.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people spend up to 16 nights per year on short breaks. They looking forward to staying at the home, they meet friends and have fun. The home has a spacious play area with a suitable range of play equipment. This means that young people can go outdoors and play. This is good for their health and well-being. They also frequently go out on trips and outings in the local area and further afield. These include trips to the countryside for walks, visits to a butterfly house, going out to eat and a planned trip out to see the Christmas lights.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy positive relationships with staff. One young person reported that ‘staff are friendly and caring’. Another young person stated that staff ‘tell me how to do things, they talk to me and ask me what I want to do’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents are very positive about the care provided for their children. A parent stated; Inspection report children’s home: SC038117 4 ‘They are brilliant with him, he is always laughing and singing when I pick him up.’ She singled out individual staff members for special praise. Parents consistently reported that their children ‘love’ coming for short breaks. They praised the care provided and they all paid compliment to the staff, describing them as friendly and welcoming.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each young person has a detailed care plan. This is completed in partnership with parents and, where possible, includes the views of young people. This means that staff have a detailed picture of each young person. They know their likes and dislikes, their favourite toys and how to comfort them if they are distressed. This means that young people have access to the things that are familiar to them and experience care that is consistent with the care and support they get at home. This helps young people feel safe and secure. This also creates a secure base for them to enjoy their short breaks and benefit from the experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the fact that young people spend a relatively short time using the service, the home has clear goals and plans in place to help them make progress. Staff focus on areas such as self-care, independence skills, improved communication and social development. This means that staff work with a sense of purpose to help young people take small steps and learn important skills to enhance their ability to reach their full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The needs of young people are central to planning in the home. Staff give careful consideration to matching groups of young people to ensure that they mix well and that they can be safely cared for as a group. New admissions are also well planned. Staff liaise closely with parents to ensure that they know how to care for each child. A thoughtful induction process ensures that each child is introduced to overnight stays at their own pace. This helps young people feel safe and they settle quickly into the routines of the home. When young people reach 18, staff support parents and young people to move on to adult resources in a planned way. They often continue to have contact with young people who have left in order to maintain positive relationships and to help them settle in to adult resources.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff communicate well with other professionals. They ensure that young people are well prepared for education and pass on relevant information to the child’s school. They act as a good parent would by sharing information and strategies relating to the care and support of young people, including health issues. Social workers and other professionals commented positively about the standards of care provided to young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team is culturally diverse and the home has an inclusive culture that welcomes all and seeks to promote equality of opportunity. Individual care plans detail the cultural and faith needs of young people and clear plans are in place to ensure that these needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have clear strategies to help young people overcome barriers to communication. They are attentive to their needs and feelings. They regularly seek the views of young people and consult closely with them in relation to planning short breaks. Inspection report children’s home: SC038117 5

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

Young people are safe. Detailed care plans and risk assessments are in place for all young people. These identify areas of vulnerability for each young person and outline clear strategies to reduce risk and keep them safe. Staff are familiar with safety plans and ensure that these plans are put into practice.

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

Young people with complex health needs have detailed care plans to ensure that they are safe and healthy. Staff undertake training in relation to the administration of medication, PEG feeding and caring for young people who have epilepsy. There are detailed protocols in place to ensure that staff all know how to spot concerns early and how to respond to emergencies. The recording in relation to risks and healthcare are well organised, easy to access and easy to understand. The recording of the administration of medications is disorganised. Some recording sheets were difficult to locate and were not in the correct section of the medication file. Historic records were not archived and this made it difficult to easily locate the medication sheets currently in use. No errors were noted, but the way the information is presented makes errors more likely and suggests that management monitoring of medications needs to improve.

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

Other management monitoring systems are excellent. The manager regularly reviews recording and ensures that plans are updated in response to any change in circumstance or concern. All safeguarding areas are reviewed on a monthly basis and any shortfalls are identified and addressed promptly.

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

Staff undertake regular training in relation to safeguarding. Most of this training is face- to-face and this means that staff have the opportunity to discuss how to relate the training to the particular needs of the young people using the service. Staff are alert to any signs of abuse and they understand the risks that young people may face in relation to exploitation, grooming, female genital mutilation and radicalisation. They understand how to intervene and report child protection concerns. There have been no safeguarding concerns or incidents in the home.

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

The manager of the home oversees the staff rota. This is carefully planned to ensure that there are sufficient staff on duty to meet the needs of the young people staying overnight. There are always experienced, trained staff on duty to manage complex health needs and to provide dedicated care to those young people who need extra supervision and support. Staff are mindful to protect the privacy and dignity of young people when they provide personal care to those young people who need it.

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

The physical environment is designed in a way that ensures that young people cannot leave without this being noticed. Staff plan shifts carefully to ensure that young people have the supervision to keep safe. Trips outside the home are carefully planned, to ensure that young people who may be at risk cannot abscond or put themselves at risk. Children do not go missing and there have been no significant incidents or accidents that have put children in harm’s way.

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

Young people are well behaved, and groups are well thought out to ensure a good mix. Inspection report children’s home: SC038117 6 There have been no concerns in relation to bullying or young people causing harm to each other. Staff have excellent relationships with the young people and know them well. This means that they spot problems and intervene early to prevent situations escalating. There have been no incidents that required physical intervention and no serious behaviour incidents in recent months.

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

Staff are trained in safe moving and handling techniques to ensure that young people are not at risk as a result of poor practice in this area. They are trained in the use of specialist equipment. One parent described how staff responded positively to a small concern she raised in relation to fitting a leg splint to her child. She said that staff responded ‘instantly’ and she was invited in to provide training and observe staff fitting the splint correctly.

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

The home has clear procedures in place to handle complaints and regularly seeks feedback from parents to inform its practice.

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

The physical environment is clean, well maintained and regularly monitored to ensure that there are no hazards. The manager oversees the health and safety in relation to the building and any problems are addressed promptly. Fire equipment is regularly checked and serviced and each young person has an individual evacuation plan in the event of a fire. Staff fire marshal training has not been updated in line with the home’s fire safety procedures. The service is located on the second floor and some young people have limited mobility and would need a lot of support to evacuate in the event of a fire. Staff practise fire drills regularly, but there is not always a member of staff on duty who is designated as a fire marshal.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager of the home recently resigned and an interim manager is covering her duties. The service is also under review and there is uncertainty about whether the home will continue to provide short breaks for young people. Despite these challenges, the staff and management team continue to focus on the needs of young people and ensure that the quality of care provided remains of a high standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The previous registered manager of the home worked hard to ensure that she left the home in good shape. She put excellent systems in place to monitor the quality of care and safeguarding practice in the home. Her monthly management monitoring reports evidence that she accurately identified strengths of the service and areas for development. The service takes prompt action to remedy any shortfalls. The standards of recording in relation to care planning and risk management are excellent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The interim manager is a very experienced senior practitioner. She has achieved a level 4 management qualification in caring for children and young people. She is familiar with the management monitoring systems and well placed to continue to have the excellent oversight demonstrated by the previous manager. She is managing a particularly challenging time of change within the service and also undertakes a number of shifts on duty working directly with young people. This direct contact with staff and young people Inspection report children’s home: SC038117 7 is very helpful in terms of being accessible as a manager and to monitor practice at first hand. It does, however, place some time pressures on her being able to undertake other management duties. The senior manager is alive to these pressures and provides close support and guidance. She is also leading the change management agenda with the team and this takes some pressure off the interim manager and allows her to focus on

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

frontline practice. This ensures that the care and safety of young people remain central to planning and practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The interim manager ensures that staff supervision continues to take place at regular intervals. This provides a safe space for staff to reflect on their practice and to receive support and direction in their work with vulnerable young people. Staff feel supported by the interim manager and comment that she is accessible and open to their feedback. Staff undergo bi-annual performance reviews. This highlights their strengths and identifies clear development needs to improve practice. The manager ensures that all core training is regularly updated and that staff have the knowledge and skills to provide safe care. Staff do not undertake specialist training to further enhance their practice in relation to supporting young people with a range of learning difficulties. For example, a number of young people using the service are diagnosed as having autistic spectrum disorder, yet staff do not undertake training in this area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from professionals highlighted no concerns and reflected positive views about the quality of care provided to young people. The staff communicate effectively with social workers and commissioners, though one professional expressed that they had some concerns that the departure of the registered manager would remove an important, effective line of communication.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team is implementing plans to ensure that young people receive high standards of care through a difficult transition period for the service. All shortfalls identified at the last inspection have been addressed. Staff now actively seek and make use of information contained in young people’s education, health and care plans. Clear plans are in place to inform staff in relation to emergency protocols to manage complex health needs. Complex health interventions are routinely informed by expert medical professionals.

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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 differences 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. Inspection report children’s home: SC038117 8 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

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Information about this inspection

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: SC038117 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Barnardo’s, Barnardo House, Tanners Lane, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex IG6 1QG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Suzanne Turner-Jones

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Inspector

Lee Kirwin, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC038117 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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