Children's home run by Barnardo’s in Redbridge

Inspection report children’s home: SC025940 1 SC025940 Registered provider: Barnardo’s

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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 home is owned by a national charity. It is registered to provide care for up to six children who have learning disabilities. The premises is wheelchair accessible, with all of the bedrooms situated on the ground floor. The types of placements offered include long-term placements, short breaks and respite. Care delivery incorporates the principles of social pedagogy.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager started working at the home in May 2018 and was registered with Ofsted in May 2019.

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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: 16 January 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC025940 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/01/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 31/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/07/2017 Full Good 12/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC025940 3

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Recommendations

 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. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, to make the bathrooms less institutionalised.  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) In particular, risk assessments must include risks to peers and further details regarding preventative action.  The registered person should ensure appropriate opportunities are available for each child to enjoy life, relative to their stage of development and individual needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.10) In particular, that children get to experience going away on holiday and that staff

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Recommendations

consider a child’s go-karting request.  The workforce development plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff and used to record the ongoing training and continuing development needs of staff. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access facilities and resources to support their training needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) In particular, the need for staff to increase their knowledge of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make great progress in relation to their starting points. All of the children are exceeding expectations. A social worker described the change in their child as ‘miraculous’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are calmer and more confident, and have increased social and independent- living skills. All the children have significantly improved their school attendance since the last inspection. Children are making progress in their education, with some children Inspection report children’s home: SC025940 4 being put forward for early GCSEs and others receiving awards for educational achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are influential within the home and the organisation. Regular house meetings enable them to make group decisions regarding the decor, the menu and activity plans. Children have also shared their views during a royal visit and with local authority commissioners.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are person centred, explaining in each child’s own voice how they want to be supported. Care planning clearly outlines what success looks like for each child. Life-story books also contain photos of children’s achievements and their fun memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a variety of activities in and outside of the home. They also get to try new experiences, such as going to the theatre and a classical music concert. The children have also requested a go-karting trip.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to lead a healthy lifestyle through their diet and exercise. The good health arrangements contribute to the children’s improved physical and emotional well-being. They are no longer experiencing seizures and they appear happy and settled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to learn about diversity through celebrating religious and cultural festivals. This is educational and helps children to appreciate difference. Children have recently enjoyed Easter activities and they will shortly be learning about the Five Pillars of Islam for Eid.

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

Safeguarding practices help to protect children and promote their welfare. Staff receive regular training on a range of safeguarding issues and they promptly report any concerns. Children feel safe and they learn the importance of personal safety, such as fire safety and road safety. Children are calmer and more respectful and there are fewer incidents of challenging behaviour. Children listen to staff and they are learning to apologise for unacceptable behaviour. A social worker highlighted that their child was previously ‘very aggressive’ and that they are ‘very impressed’ with the change in this child. Children enjoy working towards their personalised rewards and respond well to the incentive scheme. Physical interventions are not needed and staff now record the effectiveness of sanctions. Behaviour management is closely monitored and analysed. Trends and patterns are identified and this information is used to help staff manage children’s needs at particular

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

times of the day. Staff work with children who may express their emotions in a challenging way. This includes children who have a diagnosis of ADHD. Staff want additional training to increase their awareness in this area. Inspection report children’s home: SC025940 5 Health and safety matters are managed well. There are a range of risk assessments which highlight potential hazardous issues. However, a risk assessment for one child did not take into account their threatening behaviour towards another child. The information on preventive action was also very brief.

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

Staffing levels are appropriate, ensuring that children receive supervision and support. There are no issues in relation to children going missing from the home or being at risk of radicalisation or exploitation. The organisation’s recruitment practices are thorough.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers aim to improve the quality of care and to provide a life-enhancing service for children. Staff work in partnership with teachers, social workers and other professionals to ensure that children receive the best possible care. A social worker said that leaders and managers were ‘very open to new ideas and solution focused’. New organisational initiatives are being introduced to meet the changing needs of children, such as the community-based well-being hub. The registered manager also oversees a community outreach service. Quality assurance systems focus on monitoring the quality of care and supporting continual improvements. Staff morale is high. The staff take pride in working for Barnardo’s and they feel the home is heading in the right direction. Staff praised the support that they receive from senior staff and the registered manager. Staff benefit from regular reflective supervision

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Efforts have been made to make the building more comfortable and homely. The refurbishment of the home is ongoing. However, the bathrooms continue to look institutionalised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has laid the foundation for good child-centred practice. There are plans to further improve this area of practice, including training in relation to social pedagogy and trauma-informed practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children receive support from staff who have the necessary experience and qualifications. Staff receive ongoing training which further equips them for their role. However, the workforce development plan does not include details of completed training courses or staff development needs.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC025940 6 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: SC025940 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Barnardo’s, Unit 13A Silver Fox Way, Cobalt Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE27 0QJ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Suzanne Turner-Jones

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Inspector

Sharon Payne: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC025940 8 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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