Children's home run by Woodford Children's Services Ltd

Inspection report children‟s home: 1268886 1 Registered provider: Woodford Children‟s Home 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

This is a privately owned home. The home‟s statement of purpose states that the home provides care and accommodation for up to five young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The statement of purpose also states that staff will provide young people with a safe, valuing environment where they can develop skills and abilities to successfully move back to their families or into adult life.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2018. She is working towards gaining the appropriate level 5 qualification for managers of children‟s homes.

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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: This is the first inspection since the home was registered in May 2018.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: 1268886 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 registered person must— keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 01/12/2018

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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—

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Requirement Due date

that the home‟s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that risk assessments clearly identify the known risks for children and set out procedures to minimise these. 01/12/2018

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Recommendations

 Just as in a family home, children should be able to access all shared areas of 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 decision 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. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 15, paragraph 3.10) Inspection report children‟s home: 1268886 3 In particular, this relates to the locking of the kitchen and communal areas of the home at night.  Staff should understand factors that affect children‟s motivation to behave in a socially acceptable way. Staff should encourage an enthusiasm for positive behaviour through the use of positive behaviour strategies in line with the child‟s

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Recommendations

relevant plans. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 39, paragraph 8.13) In particular, ensure that behaviour support plans are written in simple language and provide clear guidance on how to identify triggers and strategies to support positive behaviour.  The capacity and competence of staff to build constructive, warm relationships with children that actively promote positive behaviour, provides the foundations for managing any negative behaviour. Staff should have the skills to respond to each child‟s individual behaviour. Where necessary they should manage conflict, maintain constructive dialogues and react appropriately if challenged by a child in their care. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 39, paragraph 8.14) In particular, individual members of staff should not use the myth of sameness based on ethnicity or gender to reinforce positive behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are experiencing highly nurturing and effective care. They are making good progress in relation to their starting points. For example, there has been a significant decrease in missing from home and risk-taking behaviours of some young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people benefit from stable and secure placements. They are supported to develop positive and trusting relationships with staff. Young people spoken with said that they felt respected and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people presented as happy, relaxed and confident in the home. A young person said, „This is the first time l have lived near my family, in a place that feels like home. Staff are helping me to build relationships with my brothers and sisters and l hope to be allowed to have an overnight stay with them soon. I wish to stay here until l am 18.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are not attending mainstream education frequently. Staff recognise that, due to the emotional trauma that the young people have experienced in their lives, a mainstream environment may not suit all young people. To address this, staff work well, and in conjunction with education providers, to consider alternatives and offer these to young people, for example online tutoring and/or one-to-one, face-to-face tutoring.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people participate in regular key-worker sessions with staff. These cover a variety Inspection report children‟s home: 1268886 4 of topics relevant to young people‟s needs. Consequently, young people are enabled to reflect and gain an understanding of their past behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are helped to improve their behaviours and have the chance to discuss personal matters that may be on their minds. One young person said, „X is helping me to have a “voice” and understand how to make good choices.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good attention is given by staff to promoting healthy lifestyles. Young people can take part in a range of activities, for example swimming, rugby, expressive art and writing social stories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff caring for the young people are skilled and committed. Staff know the young people well and understand their complex needs; this enables them to provide a good standard of individualised care and support.

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

Young people live in a homely, safe environment. Consistent staff boundaries help to promote young people‟s sense of well-being and feelings of safety.

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

Sensitive and well-planned safeguarding practice means that young people who have been a significant risk to themselves are kept safe. Risk-taking reduces and young people become increasingly safe while living in the home. Staff caring for young people are skilled and use a variety of coping strategies when young people become anxious or stressed, for example engaging them in expressive art.

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

Positive behaviour support plans and detailed risk assessments are in place. However, these are overly complicated, wordy and do not always provide clear guidance on strategies to manage risk or support positive behaviour.

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

There is good multi-agency working with agencies such as the police and child and adolescent mental health services. Written and jointly implemented safety plans mean that young people are kept as safe as they can be during a crisis.

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

As a result of the positive care they receive and their increasing sense of feeling secure in their home, incidents of poor behaviour and episodes where young people go missing from the home have significantly decreased. The recording of episodes when young people go missing from the home is clear and detailed. This approach reflects a staff team whose members are growing in confidence about their roles and responsibilities.

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

Safer recruitment and selection processes are robust.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have made a good start in contributing to the stability the home provides for young people and the progress that young people make. A passionate registered manager leads a committed staff team. She is confident and inspires staff to Inspection report children‟s home: 1268886 5 develop practice and knowledge and offers staff a high level of support. The registered manager is committed to the professional support of her staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff said that they feel very well supported by the registered manager. They have regular and good-quality supervision from the registered manager. Regular support and group supervision from an experienced psychotherapist allows staff the opportunity to consider their practice and receive expert guidance in how to manage young people‟s support needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is a priority for this home. Staff members receive online training as well as having access to face-to-face training opportunities. There is also some evidence of research being used to inform staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working with professionals is good. All professionals spoken with by the inspector commented on the quality of communication from staff and the positive impact on improving outcomes for young people. Professionals stated that staff are positive advocates for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is ensuring that the home meets its aims and objectives as outlined in the statement of purpose. However, she has not kept the regulator updated on revisions made to the revised statement.

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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: 1268886 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Woodford Children‟s Home Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Flat 4, 130 Brighton Road, Purley CR8 4EX

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Inspector

Juanita Mayers, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1268886 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 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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