Children's Home run by Adeza Care Homes Limited in Waltham Forest

Inspection report children’s home: SC032468 1 SC032468 Registered provider: Adeza Care Homes Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides support and accommodation for up to four young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or a mild mental disorder. The company owns another children’s home in the area.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined in effectiveness. At the last inspection, two requirements and six recommendations were raised. The home’s progress in securing compliance with the requirement regarding staff qualifications is slow. Although all staff without a Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare have been enrolled on a course, none of them have started working towards obtaining this qualification. The registered person has secured compliance with the requirement regarding staff probationary appraisals. They have also taken into account the other recommendations, and have achieved improvement in practices relating to distinguishing more clearly the incidents when young people go missing from the home or are absent without authority, staff lone working and staff recruitment records. However, staff have not improved their practices relating to medication. Despite an increase in monitoring of the

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

administration of medicines, the home was unable to account for eight painkilling Inspection report children’s home: SC032468 2 tablets. This means the medication practices are not robust and potentially place young people at risk of harm. Five requirements and three recommendations were made at this inspection. The arrangements for the management of the home have weakened since the last inspection. Despite being off work with illness at the time of the inspection, the registered manager came in to facilitate the inspection. The home has deleted the post of deputy manager. At the time of the inspection, one of the home’s two team leaders was on maternity leave. At the beginning of the inspection, the person in charge of the home was a member of staff with one year’s experience of working in residential care . The quality of safeguarding of the young people at the home has declined. Staff do not have sufficient safeguarding awareness or the necessary knowledge to understand the

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

full range of risks facing young people in their care, such as the risk of young people being trafficked to other counties for the purpose of criminal exploitation. The young people who currently live at this home have been involved in some serious incidents since the last inspection. These incidents have tested the quality of the home’s safeguarding practices and found them lacking in insight and robustness. In particular, risk management practices are not individually tailored to address all the vulnerabilities of some young people. In addition, staff lack the skills required to identify these risks or to help young people to build the resilience that they need in order to remain safe. None of the staff have received training on gangs and the risks they pose, for example by exploiting young people and involving them in criminal activities such as selling drugs. Furthermore, the home’s training plan fails to identify a need to provide staff

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

training in these areas of concern. This is particularly worrying as the home’s locality risk assessment identifies that there are gangs in the area. This means that young people who may be vulnerable to gang involvement are at risk. The registered manager has updated the home’s locality risk assessment following two serious incidents that happened to young people who live at this home. Although the registered manager said that she had spoken to other professionals about safety in the local area, the document does not make any reference to consultation with other professionals or with the young people involved in the incidents. Staff have received training on behaviour management. However, this training did not include the use of physical interventions. Only two out of ten staff have received training on physical interventions, and this shortfall raises the risk that staff could encounter situations where restraint is required without having the necessary training

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

to intervene safely. The home’s records state that there have been no physical interventions since the last inspection. The home benefits from the independent visitor’s monthly reports. One of the areas that the independent visitor has highlighted as needing improvement relates to ‘return home interviews with young people after missing from care’. As a result, staff have started recording the conversations that they have with young people when they return back to the home after going missing. Since the last inspection, two young people have moved on to semi-independent accommodation, having made a number of improvements in their lives while living at the home, mainly around their life skills. The home terminated the placement for one of Inspection report children’s home: SC032468 3 these young people, while the other move was planned by the placing authority. The home has readmitted a young person who sees this home as a place of safety.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/08/2017 Full Good 13/01/2017 Full Requires improvement 19/07/2016 Interim Not judged 07/01/2016 Interim Not judged

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; and help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, improve the quality of the individual risk assessments/management plans for young people by making sure that all known vulnerabilities and risks to their safety are addressed fully, including risks to being subject to criminal exploitation. 01/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the leadership and management standard requires the registered person to ensure that staff have the 01/04/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC032468 4 experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff receive training on the use of physical interventions and understanding of gangs and criminal exploitation. The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23 (1)) 01/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered persons must ensure that an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification, which is the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. (Regulation 32(1)(2)(3)(4)(a)(b)) 01/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review of premises, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46(2) 01/04/2018

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Recommendations

 Any registered manager placed in charge of a children’s home or staff member in a deputy or supervisory role such as ‘shift leader’ should have substantial relevant experience of working in a children’s home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.21). In particular, the registered person should review the current management structure and the arrangements for who is in charge when the registered manager is absent.

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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.

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Information about this inspection

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

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out Inspection report children’s home: SC032468 5 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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Adeza Care Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Second Floor, Kestrel House, Falconry Court, Bakers Lane, Epping, Essex CM16 5BD

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Deborah Pacquette

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Inspector

Seka Graovac, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC032468 6 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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