Children's Home run by St Christopher’s Fellowship in Islington

Inspection report children’s home: 1159682 1 Registered provider: St. Christopher’s Fellowship

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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 provides care and accommodation for six young people. The home’s statement of purpose states that it provides care for young people who have social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home’s approach to working with young people is based on social pedagogy. The registered manager was registered with Ofsted on 11 January 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 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: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1159682 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/06/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/05/2017 Full Good 09/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: 1159682 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

Review of quality of care The system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the quality of care must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45(5)) 01/10/2019

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Recommendations

 Ensure that 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, ensure that the sofas and internal walls are repaired.  The registered person should agree with the local police force, procedures and guidance on police involvement with the home to reduce unnecessary police involvement in managing behaviour and criminalisation of behaviours. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 47 paragraph 9.40)  Records of restraint should enable the registered person to review the use of restraint to identify effective practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59) In particular, ensure that the dates of debriefings with young people and staff are

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Recommendations

recorded.  Staff must be familiar with the information sharing requirements relating to the children they care for. (Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.8) In particular, ensure that there is a procedurally driven response to crisis situations. Inspection report children’s home: 1159682 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress from their initial starting points. A teacher praised the positive difference that they noticed in a young person since he began living at the home. Most young people have lived at the home for over a year. Young people are growing in confidence, empathy, self-awareness and resilience. The culture of the home allows young people to thrive and they have aspirations for their futures. Young people actively contribute to decision-making, influencing menus, activities, life at the home and staff recruitment. Staff work holistically with young people to provide targeted support. Meaningful key- work sessions enable staff to have honest conversations with young people. This assists with young people’s personal development, encouraging self-reflection and building on their self-worth. Most young people are achieving well educationally, and they have recently completed their GCSEs. An on-site school is available and there are a wide range of educational

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

activities provided to young people during the school holidays. Young people said that they are looking forward to starting college courses, possible apprenticeships and mainstream school in September. Young people try a variety of new experiences, for example visiting the Supreme Court and art exhibitions. Young people enjoy movie nights, gaming competitions and barbecues. They also contribute to life at the home through gardening, creating art, baking and cooking. Staff encourage young people to be proud of who they are. Young people practise their faith, for example eating a halal diet and fasting during Ramadan. Birthdays are celebrated, and young people receive gifts of their choice. Young people receive encouragement to lead healthy lifestyles. They eat a balanced diet and receive assistance to maintain a healthy weight. Young people enjoy a range of physical exercises which includes swimming, jogging, cycling, boxing and going to the

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

gym. Concerning health issues are managed appropriately. For example, action plans have been developed to tackle one young person’s cannabis misuse. The home places emphasis on addressing the emotional well-being of young people. This enables young people to request support regarding their mental health. Young people also receive guidance on healthy personal relationships and sexual health.

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

Young people said that they feel safe. The home implements effective safeguarding arrangements. There are currently no concerns in relation to bullying, or the risk to young people of radicalisation, sexual or criminal exploitation. Young people view the Inspection report children’s home: 1159682 5 home as a safe base and there are no issues with them going missing. A youth justice manager praised staff at the home for having ‘a child-centred, restorative and trauma-informed approach to their work’. The challenging behaviours of young people are seen as a form of communication and staff work hard not to criminalise young people. Occasionally, the police have been called to the home and there is not an agreed protocol with the local police force regarding these call-outs. Young people learn how to keep themselves safe in the local community and they have ongoing discussions with staff regarding how best to reduce their own vulnerability.

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

Young people care about each other and they disclose to staff if they have any safeguarding concerns regarding their peers. Staff also benefit from ongoing relevant training, which helps them to protect young people. Young people are learning to take responsibility for their actions using negotiated reparative sanctions. Since the last inspection, there has been just one restraint and records now detail debriefings with young people and staff members. The dates of debriefings, however, are not recorded which restricts the ability of managers to review whether the use of the restraint was appropriate. Staff work creatively with young people and strive to provide the best outcomes for them. This means that young people learn to manage their moods through better self- regulation. There are clear strategies and effective interventions for managing risks, which include waking night staff and room searches. Leaders and managers acknowledge when they

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

are unable to meet children’s complex needs. When this is the case, they work with placing authorities to ensure that young people move on in a planned manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are working hard to establish a stable staff team and ensure the implementation of consistent and child-focused practice. Staff concerns are managed appropriately and, where necessary, disciplinary procedures are used to address poor staff practice. The diverse staff team has a youthful enthusiasm and a wide range of previous experiences. Staff expertise includes social work, psychology, sports development and teaching. Social workers praised staff for being ‘very proactive’ and ‘empathic’. A strength of the organisation is the significant support provided to leaders, managers and staff from senior managers. This ensures that there is a clear understanding of the home’s aims, what works well, and the areas for further development. There is a firm commitment to helping young people to believe in themselves and maximising their potential. Monthly independent monitoring reports provide a constructive overview of the home

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

and highlight the home’s strengths and areas for improvement. The registered manager also completes a quality of care review. However, although feedback from young people, placing authorities and staff is collected, it is not detailed in this report. Social care professionals generally praised the good levels of communication and Inspection report children’s home: 1159682 6 partnership working. Feedback, however, was received regarding various staff members contacting a social worker regarding the same incident. A social worker felt ‘the home would benefit from a more uniformed and procedurally driven response’ to crisis situations. Leaders and managers demonstrate commitment to the well-being and development of staff. Staff have regular individual supervision, appraisals, team meetings and extensive training. Vocational training is in progress for staff who do not have the necessary qualification. Leaders and managers have addressed the requirements and most of the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

recommendations from the last inspection. Young people now participate in educational and social activities and there are improvements in the home’s record-keeping and the notification system. The refurbishment of the home is ongoing to provide a homelier atmosphere for children. Young people have helped with the colour scheme of the home and they are currently working on creating a music studio. However, some internal walls have holes in them and ripped wallpaper, and the lounge sofas were also lightly stained and had a ripped armrest. This detracts from the efforts being made to provide a pleasant and comfortable home for young people.

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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: 1159682 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: St. Christopher’s Fellowship

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Putney High Street, London, Wandsworth SW15 1SZ

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Inspector

Sharon Payne, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1159682 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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