Children's home run by Harmony Residential Homes Limited in Barnet

Inspection report children‟s home: 1226612 1 Registered provider: Harmony Residential Homes Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for three children who have social and emotional difficulties. The manager was registered with Ofsted on 30 April 2018.

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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: 12 September 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/09/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/12/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: 1226612 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

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person‟s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person‟s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children‟s well-being. (Regulation 44 (4)(a)(b)) 31/10/2018

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Recommendations

 When the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet a child‟s needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home, the home must challenge them to meet the child‟s needs. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 12, paragraph 2.8) In particular, ensure that placing authorities respond to requests from children and staff in a timely manner.  Provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 15, paragraph 3.7) In particular, ensure that the communal areas are maintained to a good standard throughout the home.  Ensure that the manager‟s monitoring review identifies areas of strength and possible weakness in the home‟s care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next six

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Recommendations

months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 65, paragraph 15.4) Inspection report children‟s home: 1226612 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress and have positive experiences living at this home. Their relationships with staff are strong, and important to them. Children feel safe, and are encouraged to share their views about their care and feelings. This engagement has enabled them to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points in relation to their education. Children who have experienced previous difficulty have now completed their examinations. Other children attend school well, and one child is engaging in extra tutoring over the holidays to help them to improve their attainment levels.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy activities that are varied and stimulating and support socialisation. Children who previously were unmotivated benefit from these activities. This is successful because staff are motivated, spend quality time with the children and know what children‟s interests are.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of the children‟s individual needs, and take into account children‟s religion, ethnicity and cultural backgrounds. For example, some staff support children‟s religious observance, such as Ramadan, by fasting with them. A diverse staff team that is knowledgeable and receives appropriate training fully meets the children‟s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff identify children‟s needs prior to their admission to the home. Children can visit the home before moving in, or staff visit them. An additional staff meeting informs all staff about the background of the child, their identified needs and how these will be met. Children already living at the home are made aware of a new child moving in. On one occasion, a child wrote a letter of reassurance to a new child, welcoming them to their home. This approach helps children to feel welcomed and helps staff prepare for their arrival.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are innovative and creative in engaging with children. The staff bring a fun element into some key-work sessions, for example turning a game of pool into a creative piece of direct work. This approach encourages children to engage positively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a welcoming and comfortable home. They are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms and display their photographs. However, some areas of the home require attention in order to provide a homely feel throughout, in particular the communal living rooms and carpets.

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

Children‟s concerning and risk-taking behaviour has reduced since moving into the home, particularly in regard to incidents of going missing from care and sexualised behaviour. This is because staff provide effective and meaningful key-work sessions Inspection report children‟s home: 1226612 4 about the concerning behaviour. The staff support children to develop strategies and increase their understanding of how to keep themselves safe.

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

Staff provide children with consistent and clear boundaries. When incidents occur, staff spend time talking to the child to gain their view of the support they need to help them. Individualised incentive schemes and detailed risk assessments help to reduce the recurrence of incidents.

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

The manager takes action when children have raised concerns about the staff‟s practice. Efficient liaison with external agencies, good-quality investigations and a review to establish learning safeguards children and staff. Learning from concerns reduces the risk of incidents recurring. Children are informed of the outcomes of concerns, ensuring that they feel listened to and safe.

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

The staff team models consistent and caring behaviours. The sense of security and belonging this produces encourages the children to behave appropriately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and is undertaking a relevant level 5 qualification. She has a strong commitment to improve outcomes for children. She leads by example and is actively involved in all of the home‟s operations. This enables her to monitor everyday practice effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External monitoring of the home occurs monthly, and the independent person makes recommendations for improvement that the manager can consider. However, the monitoring reports fail to provide an assessment and opinion of the effectiveness of safeguarding children. The reports fail to provide the manager with the independent evaluation of practice that is required. There is minimal impact on the children due to the manager‟s oversight and action.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager produces a detailed six-monthly report of the progress at the home and areas identified for improvement. However, when an area is identified as needing further action, the manager fails to identify potential input, strategies or resources to address the shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff provide detailed information in children‟s daily and weekly records. These records, along with photographic memorabilia, of days out and significant days provide children with memories of their time at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work well with professionals linked to the child and the child‟s family. The manager and staff ensure that all required information is communicated to families and professionals. When discussion or further clarity is required, the manager will request this. However, when a response is not received in a timely manner from an external professional, the manager does not challenge effectively or seek a reason for the delay. This can be frustrating for the child concerned. Inspection report children‟s home: 1226612 5

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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: 1226612 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Harmony Residential Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Flat 3, Robinson Court, 5 Magdalene Gardens, London N20 0AF

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Inspector

Natalie Burton: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1226612 7 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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