Children's home run by Area Camden Limited in Haringey

Inspection report children‟s home: SC473639 1 SC473639 Registered provider: Area Camden Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children‟s home provides care for up to 10 children and young people. The home‟s statement of purpose states that the home cares for children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is situated on two separate sites near one another.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC473639 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/03/2019 Full Good 26/06/2017 Full Outstanding 19/12/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/08/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children‟s home: SC473639 3

p.2

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.

p.3

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—

p.3

Requirement Due date

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

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.3

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(2)(h))

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the staff’s recording of information is of a high standard. This relates to care plans, risk assessments, behaviour management strategies and young people’s independent-living booklets. 01/03/2020

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

p.3

Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

p.3

Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

p.3

Requirement Due date

information relating to the care, protection or safety of the child;

p.3

Requirement Due date

the date and circumstances of all incidents where a child goes missing from the home, including any information relating to the child’s whereabouts during the period of absence. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c)) 01/03/2020 Inspection report children‟s home: SC473639 4 In particular, the registered person must ensure that records of children or young people going missing distinguish between missing episodes and unauthorised absences. Records must be accurate in reflecting the length of time that children or young people are absent from the home. The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.3

Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

p.4

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.4

Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(iv))

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider must ensure that children and young people’s identity needs are identified and met. 01/03/2020

p.4

Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.4

Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(i)) 01/03/2020

p.4

Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

p.4

Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

p.4

Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance;

p.4

Requirement Due date

so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age 01/03/2020 Inspection report children‟s home: SC473639 5 and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; and

p.4

Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24(1)(a)(b)(c)(d))

p.5

Recommendations

 The children’s guide should help children to understand how to make a complaint in line with the home’s complaints procedure (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22). In particular, ensure that information about making complaints is explicit in advising children and young people that they can contact Ofsted to share any concerns they may have.  Some records may be kept electronically (regulation 38) provided that this information can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to review it and, if required, be reproduced in a legible form. Electronic records should be held at the individual home in accordance with data protection principles. IT systems should ensure the safe storage of these records and business continuity planning should be in place to prevent loss or damage to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph

p.5

Recommendations

14.2)  Any home using CCTV or other monitoring equipment should have a written policy describing how this will support the safeguarding and well-being of those living and working in accordance with regulation 24. Homes must gain consent to any monitoring or surveillance by the placing authority in writing at the time of the placement (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16). This relates to ensuring that the home’s CCTV policy contains accurate information.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people settle in well when they first arrive. They share trusting relationships with staff. A young person told inspectors, ‘I would more than love to stay here longer. I would pay to stay here; I would pay rent, but I have got to move.’ Children and young people feel secure, make good progress and have excellent experiences.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people said that they feel listened to. They do not make complaints about the home, but prefer instead to share any concerns they may have directly with the staff. Written information currently provided for children and young people by the home about making complaints does not include the option that children and young Inspection report children‟s home: SC473639 6 people can contact Ofsted with concerns.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Key-work sessions are regular and meaningful. Residents‟ meetings are another forum for children and young people to share their views and contribute to the home‟s development.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people receive personalised care. However, support plans are not comprehensive and do not, for example, highlight how staff will meet children and young people‟s identity needs. Therefore, this aspect of their care does not receive sufficient attention.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make steady overall progress. This is in relation to their health and their emotional, social and psychological well-being. Children and young people‟s learning outcomes are variable. Some are thriving at school and college, and in work placements. Others, however, do not engage with their education and so their learning outcomes are poor.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people develop practical living skills with the support and supervision of staff. This helps them to prepare for adulthood. However, staff do not chart young people‟s progress in developing practical skills. The booklets for recording independent-living skills are sometimes not completed and so it is difficult to gauge young people‟s progress.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people enjoy a creative range of leisure activities. During the inspection, the two homes were decorated in preparation for Halloween. It was also half term. Staff, in consultation with children and young people, had drawn up a programme of half-term activities. Some children and young people had enjoyed a summer holiday abroad to the Gran Canaria.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people keep in touch with their families and friends when it is safe for them to do so. If children and young people prefer not to have contact with family members, staff respect this.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people benefit from the staff‟s close working relationship with other care professionals. One local authority social worker said, „I‟m impressed by the staff team. Communication is very good, and they are quick to respond. They come prepared with reports for meetings, and they are very involved.‟

p.6

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

Children and young people spoken with said that they feel safe. Staff protect them from harm, abuse and neglect. A young person said, „I used to self-harm, but not here. I want to stay here until I am 18.‟ Children and young people benefit from the staff‟s knowledge of and training in safeguarding. Staff are familiar with the home‟s child protection policies. Inspection report children‟s home: SC473639 7 Staff understand the risks posed to children and young people. Risk assessments include strategies that help to curb risk-taking behaviour. These strategies are largely effective. However, the staff‟s recording of risk assessments is not always clear or accurate. Some focus on risks that are not posed to children or young people, while others do not highlight the impact of known risks. Some differing risks are recorded together instead of separately. In one case, several pages of the risk assessment were missing.

p.6

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

Some children and young people are frequently reported missing. Records of unauthorised absences and incidents of children and young people going missing are inconsistent. Some records of specific missing episodes have stark and conflicting information about the length of time children and young people were away from the home.

p.7

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

Staff do not clearly make a distinction between when children are missing and when they are absent without permission. As a consequence, information about children and young people‟s absences is sometimes inaccurate. It is therefore difficult to confirm whether missing trends are on the decline.

p.7

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

Staff take appropriate action when children and young people are missing. This is to encourage their safe return home.

p.7

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

Children and young people are well behaved and critical incidents do not occur often. Staff promote positive behaviour, and children and young people adhere to boundaries and house rules. There have been no allegations made against staff and no incidents of staff restraining children and young people. Bullying does not happen.

p.7

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

The home‟s use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) is not conducive to an open, nurturing environment. CCTV use in communal areas is unwarranted, as the behaviour of children and young people is good. A young person said, „I‟d be happy not to have them. They never asked me to consent, they were already there. I would still feel safe without them.‟ Some staff share this view.

p.7

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

The home‟s CCTV policy contains inaccurate information. This relates to information about who has remote access to CCTV coverage and the presence of signs that inform visitors of CCTV use on the premises.

p.7

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

Staff help children and young people to keep themselves safe. Key-work sessions include discussions about risk-taking behaviour and the danger posed by such behaviour. Residents‟ meetings often include discussions that explore safeguarding issues. These include information-sharing about sexting, healthy relationships, internet safety and grooming.

p.7

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

Staff recruitment practices are thorough. These confirm that staff are suitable to work with vulnerable children and young people.

p.7

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

The staff’s communication with safeguarding professionals is good. This ensures that when child protection issues arise, there are effective and coordinated plans in place. Inspection report children‟s home: SC473639 8 This helps to keep children and young people safe.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership and management of the home have been strengthened by the organisation‟s appointment of additional quality assurance officers. Their monitoring includes reviewing the quality of staff records. However, some records fail to reflect the work being completed with children and young people.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Care plans, risk assessments and behaviour management plans are terms that staff use interchangeably in records. As a result, when documents are updated, it is difficult to determine which of these processes are being reviewed. Care plans are insufficiently detailed and do not contain some important information.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some staff expressed that they have difficulty in accessing information held on the home‟s IT system, or information from the main office when they are working at the service‟s smaller home. This hinders the staff‟s ability to work effectively on children and young people‟s documentation.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staffing levels are appropriate to meet the needs of children and young people. Managers‟ recruitment of permanent staff has been successful. The support of staff is excellent. They receive regular and meaningful supervision and staff appraisals are completed every year.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training, and development opportunities show significant improvement since the last inspection.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers display an ambitious vision for the service and have high expectations for what children and young people can achieve. The registered manager is well qualified and suitably experienced to manage the team.

p.8

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and other leaders challenge other professionals when the responses from other services are not in children and young people‟s best interests. Leaders, managers and the staff team place the well-being of children and young people at the centre of their practice.

p.8

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 Inspection report children‟s home: SC473639 9 the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

p.8

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: SC473639 10

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Turnpike Lane, London, Haringey, N8 0EP

p.10

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nuala Harrington

p.10

Inspectors

Sandra Jacobs-Walls: social care inspector Seka Graovac: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC473639 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.10

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.11

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.11

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.11