Children's Home run by Kartikeya Solutions Limited in Haringey

Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 1 SC483623 Registered provider: Kartikeya Solutions Limited

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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 run home for up to five children and young people. The home‘s statement of purpose states that the home provides care and accommodation for children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The provider also has a registered school on site.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is also the provider of the service. They were registered with Ofsted in 2014.

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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: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/06/2018 Full Good 18/04/2017 Full Good 16/11/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 20/04/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 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

Fitness of manager 2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b)(i), a person has the appropriate experience and qualification if the person has— (a) within the last 5 years, worked for at least 2 years in a position relevant to the residential care of children; (b) worked for at least one year in a role requiring the supervision and management of staff working in a care role; and (c) by the relevant date, attained— (i) the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare (England) (―the Level 5 Diploma‖); or (ii) a qualification which the registered provider considers to be equivalent to the Level 5 Diploma. (Regulation 28 (2)(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)) 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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (a) lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‘s statement of purpose. (Regulation 13 (2)(a)) In order to meet this regulation, the registered manager must ensure that the culture and principles of care are consistent with the therapeutic approaches set out in the home‘s statement of purpose. 01/10/2019 Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 4 Fitness of workers The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children‘s safety. (2) The registered person may only— (a) employ an individual to work at the children‘s home; or (b) if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that

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Requirement Due date

individual to work at the home; if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). (3) The requirements are that— (a) the individual is of integrity and good character; (b) the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; (d) full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (2)(a)(b)(3)(a)(b)(d)) In particular, the provider must obtain satisfactory references prior to employment to ensure that the applicant is suitable to work with vulnerable children. For all staff, the provider must evidence qualifications and registration with any professional bodies where this is relevant to the role. 01/10/2019

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child‘s assessed needs as recorded in the child‘s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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Recommendations

To strengthen practice in this area, the home must, prior to admission, consider how it can manage known behaviours and be resilient through crisis to reduce the risk of unplanned endings. Matching should also make use of the home‘s impact risk assessment to fully consider the need for new admissions to settle and cope within the existing group of children.

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Recommendations

 The behaviour management strategy should be understood and applied at all Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 5 times by staff, and must be kept under review and revised where appropriate. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 46, paragraph 9.34)

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Recommendations

In particular, the provider must ensure that the behaviour management interventions are informed by the home‘s therapeutic support and behaviour management plans. Managers‘ review of behaviour incidents should also promote learning in line with the therapeutic principles of the home.

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Recommendations

 Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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Recommendations

In particular, it is essential that the review of any physical intervention is not undertaken by staff that were directly involved.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should:

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Recommendations

 Detail the necessary management and staffing structure (including any staff commissioned to provide health and education), the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home‘s statement of purpose;  Detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training (such as safeguarding and health and safety and mandatory qualifications);  Detail the process for managing and improving poor performance;  Detail the process and timescales for supervision of practice (see regulation 33 (4) (b)) and keep appropriate records for staff in the home.

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Recommendations

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 staff – including the home‘s manager. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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improvement to be good

Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 6 The overall experience and progress of children and young people require improvement because of a high number of incidents of challenging behaviour. This has a negative impact on the experience of care for some children and young people. In addition, children and young people leaving the home since the last inspection have done so in response to incidents of challenging behaviour, rather than in a planned way in line with their care plans.

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improvement to be good

Despite this, many children and young people make positive progress from their starting points. This is because of the care and support that they receive from staff. Social workers commented that in some cases, children and young people with complex needs make exceptional progress. While one parent said that that she was happy with the care provided for her child and felt staff were doing all they could to keep her safe.

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improvement to be good

All children and young people currently living in the home have made progress in terms of their engagement in education. Some have made significant improvement in their academic studies. Staff carefully consider how to prioritise engagement in education against the need to focus on other areas relating to children and young people's safety and well-being. They mostly get the balance right.

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improvement to be good

For some children and young people, it is not always evident that staff make enough effort to get them up in the morning in order to maximise their chances of attending education.

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improvement to be good

Children and young people talk positively about their relationships with staff. They are able to confide in staff and share their worries. Children and young people said they feel that staff genuinely care for them. Staff generally provide nurturing care and recognise that children and young people need to feel cared for and safe.

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improvement to be good

Children and young people have access to and engage with the therapeutic practitioners in the home. This helps them to learn coping skills and gives them a safe space to talk and share their thoughts.

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improvement to be good

Some children and young people enjoy learning and exploring through activities such as gardening. Other children and young people make use of sessions designed to meet their individual needs. One young person uses sensory experiences to reflect and talk about his feelings. Another young person was able to work with the therapist to think about how to stay safer when she is away from the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the health needs of children and young people. They encourage them to make healthy lifestyle choices and ensure that they access health services when they need to.

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improvement to be good

Children and young people benefit from a range of positive activities and trips out. Activities are well planned and well thought out. This gives children and young people good opportunities to learn, have fun and stay healthy.

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

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improvement to be good

The provider undertakes a range of checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with vulnerable children and young people. However, some checks are omitted. For example, the provider did not obtain a reference for a member of staff from their last employer, while references were not sought to obtain information about another member of staff‘s previous work with children. This means that the provider cannot be sure that all new members of staff are suitable for the role and able to provide high standards of care.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide children and young people with clear expectations and boundaries. They challenge negative behaviour and use a range of positive strategies such as rewards and praise. This helps most children and young people to improve their behaviours.

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improvement to be good

The therapeutic staff provide detailed behaviour management plans to help staff understand behaviours and to develop helpful strategies. However, these plans are not always followed. In one instance, a young person was locked outside of the home when he was angry and upset. While this was a highly unusual situation and staff had acted to keep others safe due to the risk of violence posed by the young person concerned, this did not help to calm the situation and ultimately made things worse.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not always pay enough attention when matching new admissions to the home. For example, they committed to admitting two new residents with complex needs simultaneously. This meant that leaders and managers could not know how either of them would settle or assess the impact on the group of children and young people already living in the home. Poor matching increases the likelihood of unplanned endings and incidents of challenging behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Staff have been successful in helping reduce the number of times children and young people go missing from the home. A placing social worker remarked that the staff go the ‗extra mile‘ to establish the whereabouts of children and young people who go missing.

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improvement to be good

Staff undertake regular training in key areas of safeguarding and child protection. They understand how to respond to concerns. The provider escalates concerns and works effectively in partnership with the professional network to investigate and manage them.

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improvement to be good

Children and young people benefit from positive relationships with staff. They receive guidance, care and attention. This helps most children and young people to engage well with support and reduces behaviours and incidents of concern.

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improvement to be good

Physical interventions are seldom used to manage the behaviour of children and young people. The acting manager was involved in one incident and also carried out the management review of the incident. This compromised the quality assurance practice in this area because the review was not carried out by an independent person.

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

The acting manager of the home is in day-to-day charge and has applied to register with Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 8 Ofsted. She is suitably experienced and has made a positive impact on the quality of care for children and young people in the home.

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

The registered manager is not working full time at the home but retains overall responsibility for ensuring that the home meets the children‘s homes regulations and the quality standards; he is also the key decision maker when deciding on new admissions to the home. However, the registered manager has not maintained sufficient oversight to ensure that safe recruitment practices are followed robustly.

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

The shortfalls in relation to matching were highlighted at the last full inspection and have not been addressed. The registered manager has not yet completed a level 5 qualification in leadership and management of residential care.

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

Some areas of practice have improved since the last inspection. The physical environment is homelier and communal areas of the house are no longer locked as a matter of routine. The provider‘s approach to sanctions is no longer punitive and supports children and young people to learn from their mistakes.

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

The acting manager of the home works effectively in partnership with the professional network. She advocates strongly for children and young people and ensures that they get the resources they need to stay safe and healthy. The acting manager has good oversight of the day-to-day care of children and young people. She knows them well and challenges poor practice effectively.

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

Staff reported that the acting manager gives them clear direction and good support. They attend regular team meetings and reflect on practice to learn from mistakes and share good practice.

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

The provider is on a journey to establish therapeutic approaches to improve the day-to- day care and longer-term outcomes for children and young people who have complex needs. They are making some progress towards this ambition. The acting manager is visible and active in promoting good practice in this area.

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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 Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 9 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: SC483623 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kartikeya Solutions Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 47 Hillfield Park, London N10 3QU

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Inspector(s)

Lee Kirwin, social care inspector Inspection report children‘s home: SC483623 11 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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