Children's Home run by Amelia’s House Limited in Brent

Inspection report children‟s home: SC448693 1 SC448693 Registered provider: Amelia‟s House Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care and accommodation for four young people who have complex needs. The home‟s statement of purpose specifies that it will look after young people with learning disabilities, autistic spectrum disorders and/or behavioural and emotional challenges. The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 2013.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 12 to 13 September 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 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 Inspection report children‟s home: SC448693 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/10/2017 Full Good 27/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/08/2016 Full Good 09/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC448693 3

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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 registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2;

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual‟s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must take reasonable steps to ensure that any individual who is working at the home and who does not fall within paragraph (2) (a) and (b) is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual‟s duties. (Regulation 32 (7)(a)(b)(c)(d)(8)) 01/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 01/11/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC448693 4 36 (1)(a)(b))

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person‟s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (4)(a)(b)(5)) 01/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children‟s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(5)) 01/11/2018

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 42, paragraph 9.5) In particular, leaders and managers should ensure that only the young people‟s most up-to-date risk assessments are kept in care files. Inspection report children‟s home: SC448693 5  The registered person should have a workforce development plan. The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of the staff. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  Ensure that the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home is reviewed at least every year. The review should include the

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Recommendations

identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home‟s location and strategies for managing these. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people live in a homely, safe environment where they are making good progress with their social and emotional development. The staff team is attuned to the needs of young people who are non-verbal and understands their individual needs and encourages them to participate by utilising a range of communication methods.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Consequently, the young people‟s ability to communicate is improving. For example, staff understand that when a young person uses a hand-to-mouth gesture, they are making a request for a snack or a tap to the head means that l am feeling anxious.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers have ensured that the environment is well maintained, providing safe, personalised spaces that young people enjoy and are proud of. These range from a soft quiet time room to a garden that provides young people with a variety of outdoor activities. Photographic displays of activities and life skills achievements are displayed in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and the staff team have high aspirations for the young people and work determinedly to support them to achieve as much independence as possible within their capabilities. The staff team does not see disability as a barrier to achievement. As a result of this, young people gain a significant number of self-care and independent living skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people attend school regularly. Staff advocate to ensure that effective inter- agency work occurs between the home and young people‟s schools. Staff strive to ensure a consistent approach to behaviour management and a shared understanding of the individual learning needs of the young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team encourages young people to become independent in their self-care skills wherever possible. Personal care is delivered sensitively and privacy is guarded to ensure that the young people retain their dignity. Inspection report children‟s home: SC448693 6 Managers have taken a proactive approach to seeking additional medical and health support when required and have good working relationships with health practitioners. A hospital consultant congratulated the team for working collaboratively and expertly rising to the challenge of caring for young people who have complex needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people are working to individually set targets and goals that develop their skills and prepare them for adult living. The young people‟s goals are consistently reviewed and updated, providing a clear account of their development to support their continued learning.

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

Managers and staff focus on young people‟s emotional well-being. They are skilled in behaviour management and redirect young people‟s attention if they become anxious or distressed. Clear strategies provide staff with the guidance required to manage complex behaviours.

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

Risk assessments are thorough. They detail the complex individual risks associated with young people and provide staff with clear instructions of how to respond when situations arise. However, they are not always updated in a timely manner to reflect young people‟s progress in their understanding of safety. For example, although a young person has developed an understanding of road safety and appropriate behaviour in the community, these improvements are not reflected in his risk assessment.

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

There are strong links with the local safeguarding board which enable staff to access regular and relevant training. There have been no safeguarding concerns, incidents or complaints since the last inspection. Young people relate well to each other and are mutually respectful of their personal space.

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

The young people‟s views are frequently sought. The staff team is skilled in interpreting the young people‟s wishes and feelings. These are used to inform plans for the home and young people.

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

The home is situated in a neighbourhood that has low levels of anti-social behaviour and exploitation. However, the location risk assessment has not been updated and does not provide an accurate reflection of the potential dangers in the area.

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

There are shortfalls in the careful selection and vetting of staff. For example, not all application forms are completed in full. One application form did not contain a full employment history for a member of staff which had not been followed up by managers.

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

Medication arrangements are secure and staff are confident in the administration procedures.

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

Leaders and managers are highly visible in the home. The registered manager is Inspection report children‟s home: SC448693 7 passionate about her work and has high aspirations for young people. This passion and drive results in significant improvements and outcomes for all the young people.

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

The registered manager has appropriate experience and leadership attributes, although she has not yet completed her level 5 diploma. The registered manager ensures that the home meets the aims and objectives as outlined in the statement of purpose.

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

The relationship between staff and young people is excellent. Care professionals commented positively on the communication that they share with the home, the commitment shown to young people and the significant progress made by young people since they moved in.

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

Although young people receive a good quality of care, there are ongoing shortfalls with documentation. These shortfalls highlight a weakness in the management of the home. Leaders and managers need to improve the workforce development plan, record-keeping and their quality assurance system.

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

Independent monitoring reports are descriptive but do not provide the registered manager with the independent evaluation of practice that is required. In particular, the independent person fails to provide the registered manager with their opinion of the effectiveness of safeguarding in the home and the promotion of young people‟s welfare. Furthermore, the registered manager‟s quality of care reviews do not capture sufficiently the opinions of children, their parents and stakeholders.

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

Staff training is regular and relevant to the needs of the staff team. Supervision is regular and the expectations of the registered manager are clear. Discussions with staff demonstrated that they had a good understanding of recent training and shared learning.

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

Managers have good links with the host borough. A social worker commented that for one young person this is the „first real home‟ that they have ever had.

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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 Inspection report children‟s home: SC448693 8 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: SC448693 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Amelia‟s House Limited

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Inspector

Juanita Mayers: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC448693 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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