Children's Home run by Laurel Leaf Homes Ltd in Newham

Inspection report children‟s home: SC060545 1 SC060545 Registered provider: Laurel Leaf 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

This privately owned children‟s home provides care and accommodation for up to eight children. The home‟s statement of purpose states that the home cares for children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities. The registered manager‟s post has been vacant since October 2017. The current manager applied to register with Ofsted on 17 January 2019 and this is currently in progress. The responsible individual post has been vacant since 11 May 2019.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children‟s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC060545 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 26/06/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/10/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 06/07/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children‟s home: SC060545 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child‟s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; help each child to understand how to keep safe; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(i)(ii)(iii) Specifically, the registered person must ensure that each young person has a robust and comprehensive risk assessment and risk management plan. 01/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(h)) Specifically, the registered person must ensure the effective monitoring of safeguarding concerns and when young people are missing from care. 01/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children‟s home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)) 01/10/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC060545 4 Specifically, the registered person must ensure that each young person has a care plan developed by the home. The registered person must ensure that— within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— the name of the child; details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the

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Requirement Due date

measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)— has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv)) Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all the required detail is recorded and that there is an oversight of physical interventions by a person who has not been involved in the restraint that is being reviewed. 01/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children‟s home. The registered person must— maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4; ensure that the records are kept up to date; and retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37(1)(2)(a)(b)(c)) 01/10/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC060545 5 Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the register of admissions and discharges to the home contains all the required details. The personal representatives of a deceased registered provider— (a) may carry on the home without being registered in respect of it— (i) for a period not exceeding 28 days; (ii) for such further period as may be determined in accordance with paragraph (4); (4) HMCI— (a) may extend the period in paragraph (3)(a)(i) by such further period, not exceeding one year, as HMCI may determine; and

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Requirement Due date

(b) must notify any such determination to the personal representatives in writing. (Regulation 51(3)(i)(ii)(4) Specifically, the representative of the registered provider must inform Ofsted of their plans for the future of the home. 01/10/2019

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Recommendations

 Ensure that where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time educations as soon as possible. In the interim the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. If no education place is identified by the placing authority, the registered person must challenge them to meet the child‟s needs under regulation 5 (engaging with the wider system to ensure children‟s needs are met). („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  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

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Recommendations

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‟, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report children‟s home: SC060545 6

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improvement to be good

Young people do not always receive well-planned care in this home. One young person, who has been living in the home for a month, still did not have a care plan that shows how staff can meet his needs. The lack of a written care plan undermines the consistency of care. Staff work hard to reach young people and to build relationships with them. One social worker recognised some small steps in their young person‟s developing relationship with the home‟s manager as a large step forward. The social worker praised the home‟s commitment to the young people and their „stickability‟. Young people make the most progress in their increased safety and, specifically, in the reduction of missing from care episodes. Although concerns remain about the young people‟s whereabouts, they now go missing less often. Examples include a young person who used to go missing for several days and now sleeps at the home every night.

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improvement to be good

Engagement with education is varied. A tutor commented how staff valued education highly and were creative in exploring ways to enable one young person to engage. However, this young person has continued to refuse to engage in any education. Staff support the young people to develop healthier lifestyles. Young people access the health services that they need. The home has a psychologist, who helps staff to develop a better understanding of the young people‟s emotional well-being. A robust procedure for dealing with young people‟s medication enables them to manage safely any health issues that they experience. The recently refurbished lounge provides a pleasant environment. However, other areas of the home are in disrepair. The provider has a plan to upgrade the decor of the whole building and make it homelier. At the time of this inspection, the garden had a significant amount of rubbish in it. This

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improvement to be good

included some bulky items, such as a refrigerator and a mattress that have been left there for several weeks. The rubbish made the garden unwelcoming. Young people have good opportunities to expand their experiences. They enjoy a wide range of activities of their choice, such as swimming, go-karting, boxing and going to museums and restaurants. One young person said that all the staff are good to him and take him out.

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improvement to be good

Incomplete risk management plans undermine the support that helps young people to be safe. One young person‟s risk assessment did not include some significant risks that the home had been made aware of by the placing authority. Inspection report children‟s home: SC060545 7 Records of physical interventions are not maintained as required, making it difficult to monitor the use of restraint in the home. In the incidents where the manager intervened physically with a young person, there was no independent oversight and support to everyone involved. Robust professional relationships help to protect young people. The home makes appropriate safeguarding referrals to the designated officer of the host local authority. Examples include an allegation of mishandling by staff during a physical intervention. Young people receive all-round support that enables them to be safer. The manager proactively shares safeguarding concerns with the placing authorities, such as

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improvement to be good

information that indicated that a young person might be at risk of criminal exploitation. This resulted in regular professionals‟ meetings and a reduction in missing episodes. The home has an effective procedure for safeguarding young people who go missing from care. Staff work closely with the police, social services and, when appropriate, families of the young people to ensure the swift and safe return of young people to the home. The home enables the young people to develop better insights into risks and resilience. Young people can access training on safeguarding topics. This training and subsequent conversations help the young people to develop a better understanding of risks and how to protect themselves from those risks. Integral to the home‟s admission procedure is a well-formulated and effective assessment of risks. This includes a dynamic risk assessment of the impact of potential admissions on young people who already live at the home, and vice versa. A

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improvement to be good

comprehensive assessment of the locality risks also contributes to the safe decisions being made when placements are being considered.

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

This service does not have a registered manager or responsible individual. This is partly due to the unexpected death of the responsible individual. The lack of registered persons has impacted on the leadership and management of the home. The registered provider‟s representative informed Ofsted about the unexpected changes. They must inform Ofsted about the future of the home and of any plans to appoint a responsible individual. An experienced and qualified manager applied to register with Ofsted six months ago. The registration process is in progress at the time of this inspection The leaders and managers understand the home‟s strengths and weaknesses. A comprehensive development plan is in place to guide further improvement. The leaders and managers have identified the monitoring of records as an area for further improvement. Some simple records, such as the detail in the home‟s register of admissions and discharges, have not been kept as required. To strengthen the quality

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

assurance processes, a new independent visitor has been appointed. Staff are managed and supported well. They receive regular, good-quality supervision Inspection report children‟s home: SC060545 8 that focuses on their work with the young people. Staff talked about the reviews of their individual performance being meaningful and inspiring. A clear workforce development plan facilitates staff‟s professional development. Staff are committed to learning. They access a wide range of training opportunities including those on safeguarding topics, such as gangs, knife crime, children criminal exploitation, children sexual exploitation, radicalisation and female genital mutilation. The manager has established positive working relationships with the placing authorities. Professionals from those authorities talk highly about the service and about the current manager‟s leadership. They reported that the communication with the home is good and

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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: SC060545 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Laurel Leaf Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 42 Stavordale Road, London N5 1NE

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Inspector

Seka Graovac, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC060545 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 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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