Children's home run by Sherico Care Services Limited in Westminster

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037543 1 SC037543

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Sherico Care Services Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

 A private provider operates this home.   The home provides care for up to three young people.  The provider states in its statement of purpose that the home accommodates young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.  The manager was registered on 11 January 2019. 

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Information about this children’s home

Ofsted is aware of the challenges that COVID-19 (coronavirus) is currently posing to those we regulate. During this visit, the inspector took into consideration the impact of any measures being taken to slow the spread of COVID-19 by the home. This has included the effect that these measures have had on staffing arrangements.

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This monitoring visit

Due to the COVID-19 situation, this monitoring visit was undertaken in two parts. Some inspection activity was completed remotely via telephone calls while a brief on-site visit was undertaken to ensure the safety and well-being of the young people.

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This monitoring visit

The site visit assessed the home’s compliance with a restriction of accommodation notice which was served on 6 February 2020. The home has complied with the notice and two young people remain living in the home.

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This monitoring visit

Ofsted has not received any notifications from the home of serious incidents since the last monitoring visit. The provider stated that this is largely due to the young people settling and having not gone missing from the home. Although no serious event notifications have been forwarded to Ofsted, one placing authority social Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037543 2 worker reported concerns to Ofsted about a previous notified incident which indicates a different version of events than was recorded by the home.

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This monitoring visit

The provider was contacted by telephone to discuss the home’s compliance with the six requirements made at the interim inspection. Both the interim manager and the quality assurance manager were also spoken to prior to the on-site visit.

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This monitoring visit

The telephone discussions indicated a mixed picture regrading progress made by the home in meeting the requirements. Not all of the independent visitor reports have been submitted to Ofsted by the provider. This makes it difficult to gauge any independent overview of what is happening at the home.

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This monitoring visit

The quality assurance manager advised that, in general, the young people are co- operating more and that since the interim inspection things have settled down at the home.

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This monitoring visit

One placing authority social worker told the inspector that her young person had settled down since January and the frequency of them going missing from the home had reduced. However, the same placing social worker raised a concern about the staff not responding to a request to collect the young person, after the young person had been found by police in a distressed condition in the community and subsequently taken by the police to the accident and emergency department of a hospital. This meant that the young person was left in the early hours of the morning at the hospital until the placing social worker could attend and bring them back to the home around mid-morning. Despite this, the placing social worker did not feel that her young person was at risk of immediate harm.

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This monitoring visit

The registered manager has been absent from the home on sick leave since mid- March and has subsequently been on maternity leave. A new interim manager has commenced working in the home. The provider’s quality assurance manager has advised Ofsted of the arrangements for management cover for the period of maternity leave, however, at this stage the interim manager has not submitted an application to Ofsted to register.

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This monitoring visit

The quality assurance manager stated that there has been training for new staff and that newer staff receive more frequent supervisions if they haven’t previously had experience of working with children.

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This monitoring visit

The quality assurance manager also reported that police call-outs have reduced and there has only been one incident at the home since January. One young person had a period of missing that lasted for ten days, but that, during this time, staff spoke with the young person daily and a strategy meeting was held with the placing authority. However, this missing incident was not notified to Ofsted.

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This monitoring visit

Staff spoken to during the on-site visit reported that staff morale is positive. The interim manager reported that no staff had left the home since her arrival. Staff said Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037543 3 that they feel that the interim manager has begun to implement her own ideas and that the young people have responded well.

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This monitoring visit

During the inspector’s inspection of the property, a room used by young people known as ‘the chill-out room’ was found to be dirty. The floor contained dirty plates, bowls, cutlery, a cigarette packet and cash on the floor. On discussion with the night staff, it transpired that the money belonged to one of the young people.

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This monitoring visit

Staff and young people understand the government guidance regarding COVID-19. The home is attempting to adhere to ‘social distancing’ and prioritise regular handwashing and cleanliness in the home.

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This monitoring visit

One young person was spoken to during this visit. He stated that he was happy in the home and appreciative of staff support, notably around his recent birthday. Less positively, Ofsted was not notified of another young person’s absence, which lasted for 30 hours, from the home. This is of concern, particularly given the current government restrictions.

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This monitoring visit

In the absence of the independent monitoring reports and the very limited scope of the on-site inspection, it is difficult to verify the level of improvement made by the home. Furthermore, the management arrangements in the home are in transition with a new interim manager recently taking on the role. Therefore, although the home has complied with the restriction notice, the requirements made at the interim inspection are repeated. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037543 4

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 23/01/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 25/07/2019 Full Good 22/02/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 03/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037543 5

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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

Independent person: visits and reports The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month. The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to— HMCI. (Regulation 44(1)(7)(a)) Specifically, ensure that reports are sent to HMCI in a timely way. 30/06/2020

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans; help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those 30/06/2020 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037543 6

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Requirement Due date

expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful; help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship; strive to gain each child’s respect and trust; understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children; are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same; de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or

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Requirement Due date

potentially violent behaviour by children; understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; and that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11(1)(a-c)(2)(a)(i-xiii)(b)) Specifically, in helping the staff team to work effectively together and maintain boundaries and respect in the home. Notification of a serious event The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(b)) 30/06/2020

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard 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 30/06/2020 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037543 7 promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; and

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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,b)(2)(b,c,d,e,f,h)) Fitness of workers The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only— employ an individual to work at the children’s home; if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). The requirements are that— the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. (Regulation 32(1)(2)(a)(3)(b)) 30/06/2020

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended 30/06/2020 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037543 8 that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose; that arrangements are in place to— plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(iii))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Specifically, this is in relation to ensuring management oversight of significant incidents and missing from home records.  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information.

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Recommendations

Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Specifically, this is in relation to ensuring consistency of records and recording actions that have been taken, such as requesting return home interviews.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037543 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sherico Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sherico Care Homes Ltd, 2-4 Balmoral Road, London E10 5ND

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Inspectors

Barnaby Dowell, social care inspector Christine Kennet, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037543 10 to 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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