Children's Home run by Kartikeya Solutions Limited in Haringey

Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 1 SC483623 Registered provider: 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 operated home, registered for up to five young people.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/04/2017 Full Good 16/11/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 20/04/2016 Full Good 02/11/2015 Full Good Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 2

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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

28: Fitness of manager 2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b)(i), a person has the appropriate experience and qualification if the person has— (a) within the last 5 years, worked for at least 2 years in a position relevant to the residential care of children; (b) worked for at least one year in a role requiring the supervision and management of staff working in a care role; and (c) by the relevant date, attained— (i) the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare (England) (―the Level 5 Diploma‖); or (ii) a qualification which the registered provider considers to be equivalent to the Level 5 Diploma. 20/09/2018

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (a) lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‘s statement of purpose; In order to meet this standard, the registered manager must ensure that the culture and principles of care are consistent with the therapeutic approaches set out in the home‘s statement of purpose. 15/11/2018 Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 3

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Recommendations

 9.38 Regulation 19(2) details sanctions that are prohibited in behaviour management. Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‗Guide to the children‘s home regulations, including the quality standards (2015)‘, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  Many children placed in homes may undergo a difficult transition and what should be simple aspects of their care take on a substantial significance in this context. Staff should provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming and supportive. Staff should seek to meet the child‘s basic needs in the way that a good parent

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Recommendations

would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations, including the quality standards (2015)‘, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  For children‘s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children‘s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‗institutional‘ impression. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations, including the quality standards (2015)‘, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  Just as in a family home, children should be able to access all shared areas of

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Recommendations

their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child‘s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each child in the home (regulation 21(c)(i)). Any decisions to limit a child‘s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home, must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child‘s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child‘s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations, including the quality standards (2015)‘, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The home‘s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Children and their parents should be supported to understand the nature of records kept by the home and how to access them. Children should be actively encouraged to read their records and to add further information to them. They

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Recommendations

should be regularly reminded of their rights to see information kept about them and be given information about how they might be supported to access their records in later life. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations, including the quality standards (2015)‘, page 62, paragraphs 14.5 & 14.6) Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 4  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child‘s assessed needs as recorded in the child‘s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. To strengthen practice in this area, the home‘s impact risk assessment should identify measures in place to manage identified risks. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations, including the quality standards (2015)‘, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  Ensure that the staff roster includes the managers of the home. It must reflect an

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Recommendations

accurate record of who actually worked in the home on a given date and time. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations, including the quality standards (2015)‘, Schedule 4 (3))

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress from their starting points. For some young people, this means that they are now attending the home‘s education centre and are on course to reintegrate back into mainstream education. Attendance for other young people is sporadic, but all young people have clear plans for education and are making positive steps to improve engagement and attendance. Young people are generally positive about their experience of care and they can all identify trusted staff who they have a positive relationship with. Placing social workers spoke highly of the staff and the quality of care provided by the home. One social worker described how the staff had made a significant impact in relation to supporting a young person to improve behaviour and engage in more healthy routines. Another social worker reported that staff had gone ‗above and beyond‘ in order to help a young person engage with support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home employs a child psychotherapist for five days per week. She provides consultation for staff to help them better understand the needs and presenting behaviours of young people in the home. She also provides counselling and direct work for some young people. She is able to take time to get to know the young people and provides a flexible service. This means that some young people, who may struggle to engage with community resources, are able to access therapeutic support. Despite the benefits of this therapeutic support, some young people raised issues that suggest that the therapeutic approach is not fully embedded into the culture and practice in the home. The physical environment does not always present as homely. One young person commented that a large noticeboard in the lounge makes the home ‗feel like a children‘s home‘. Some young people felt that there were ‗too many sanctions‘. A high number of young people received financial penalties for issues that did not relate to

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

behaviours that would warrant financial reparations. The physical environment is clean, tidy and safe. The young people can, and do, personalise their bedrooms. However, one room, recently occupied by a new resident, Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 5 was sparse and unwelcoming. The registered manager explained that staff would work with the young person to personalise this space, but acknowledged that it can take time for some young people to engage with staff to do this. The staff know the young people well and make good use of assessments and support plans to ensure that young people get the help that they need to keep safe and stay healthy. Staff ensure that young people get good advice about making healthy choices and that they attend health appointments. Staff support young people to learn skills for independence in a way that is appropriate to their individual needs. One young person recently moved on successfully in a planned

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

Young people reported feeling safe in the home and in the local community. Staff are suitably trained in key areas of child protection. They understand the risks and vulnerabilities for each young person. There are always sufficient staff on duty to provide supervision and support to keep young people safe.

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

The registered manager is also the responsible individual and owner of the home. This means that there is no independent mechanism to review or escalate complaints if they are not resolved. In practice, young people know how to complain and, generally, feel that staff listen to them. Staff record complaints and the registered manager of the home reviews complaints to ensure that concerns are addressed. Concerns related to safeguarding are referred to the designated officer for safeguarding in the host local authority. The interim manager of the home is a qualified social worker with extensive practice experience in child protection work. She has excellent knowledge and oversight of practice. This ensures that any safeguarding concerns are promptly identified and acted on. At the time of this inspection, the home was going through a difficult period, with a high number of incidents and an unusually high number of missing from home episodes. Staff

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

display the appropriate level of concern when young people are at risk. They work effectively in partnership with the professional network to assess risks and take action to keep young people safe. Staff use rewards and praise to encourage positive behaviour. They have clear boundaries and expectations in relation to expected behaviours and routines in the home. Not all of the behaviour management strategies used are consistent with the home‘s therapeutic model of care. For example, in order to encourage young people to attend education, staff routinely lock all communal areas during school hours. This creates an institutional, rather than a homely, feel. The provider makes good use of referral information when admitting young people to the home. Staff consider the impact of new admissions on the existing group of young people. However, due to the complex care histories and presenting behaviours of some

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

of the young people living in the home, new admissions can sometimes have an adverse Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 6 effect and some placements end in an unplanned way. Practice in this area could be improved by ensuring that young people who are new to the home have settled in, and are making progress, before admitting new referrals. One young person reported that he felt safer now than he did before he came to the home. He said that he goes missing much less and he reported that his behaviour was much improved. He felt that he knew trusted staff members that he could talk to and share concerns with.

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

The registered manager of the home is also the responsible individual and the owner. He has not completed the qualification required for the home (level 5 diploma in social care leadership and management). He does not spend sufficient time in the home to be in day-to-day charge. There is an interim manager in post, who is undertaking the level 5 diploma course and is in the process of applying to register for the role. She is effectively in day-to-day charge of the home. The home continues to provide good levels of care and support to young people who have complex needs, who make progress as a result. The therapeutic model of care, as described in the home‘s statement of purpose, is not yet fully embedded in practice. This means that some opportunities to intervene to support young people in placement are missed. The interim manager is actively driving improvement and has addressed most of the shortfalls identified at the last inspection. She has good oversight of the day-to-day

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

care of the young people and excellent experience and knowledge in relation to safeguarding. Managers have high expectations and keep the interests of young people at the heart of decision-making. This ambition does not always translate into practice because of the shortfalls highlighted in this report. In particular, the physical environment needs to be more welcoming and homely and the use of sanctions needs to be restorative rather than punitive. Because of the high needs of the young people living in the home, the matching process needs careful consideration. The combined impact of these shortfalls suggests that managers need to lead and effect cultural change. This would reduce the risk that unintended consequences do not reinforce feelings of rejection, isolation or loss in the young people. Young people access a range of positive and constructive activities. This enables them to develop interests, keep fit and have fun.

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

Staff training has improved and all staff have completed core training in relation to safeguarding. The home‘s psychotherapist also delivers training to the team to enhance its understanding of the home‘s therapeutic approaches. The statement of purpose has been updated to reflect recent staff changes. Practice in relation to helping young people engage in the care planning process, and supporting them to develop independence skills, has also improved. Despite recent challenges, the staff enjoy working in the home and report that managers are supportive and accessible. Placing social workers reported that the staff and managers communicate effectively and make a valuable contribution to the professional Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 7 network. Records are well maintained. Assessments in relation to the young people‘s needs are thorough and thoughtful. Some young people mentioned that they knew staff recorded

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

‗things about them‘ but didn‘t know why. They did not know how to access their records. Young people‘s records form an important part of their ‗life story‘ and, as such, it is important that they can access and contribute to them.

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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

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: SC483623 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kartikeya Solutions Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Lee Kirwin, social care inspector Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 9 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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