Children's home run by The Beeches UK limited in Redbridge

Inspection report children’s home: SC053529 1 SC053529 Registered provider: The Beeches UK Limited 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 for up to five children with a learning disability and/or other complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 2 September 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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 inadequate

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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: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC053529 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 06/03/2019 Full Good 24/05/2017 Full Good 21/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC053529 3

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improvement to be good

The overall experiences of children and the quality of care that they receive are compromised by staffing vacancies and the very high use of temporary staff. Issues are compounded by ineffective management oversight.

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improvement to be good

The high number of different staff who look after the children affects children’s ability to form nurturing relationships with staff. Core staff and external professionals have consistently highlighted these issues. Although managers have embarked on a recruitment exercise, at present, staffing issues remain and some staff are working very high numbers of hours to support the home.

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improvement to be good

Despite the staffing challenges, there are positives. Some children are making progress. One headteacher said that children have become calmer and more settled at school because of the way in which the staff have worked with the school.

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improvement to be good

The staff offer children a range of activities, despite the restrictions arising from COVID-19. Children have regular time away from the home and enjoy a variety of home-based activities. The staff and managers are beginning to work with children to help them to develop skills such as using transport and cooking.

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improvement to be good

The staff and managers support children to spend time with their families in person and virtually. As a result, children are sustaining and developing relationships with those who are important to them.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, the home has put in place cultural and diversity plans for two children. These plans are supported by work that has been carried out by a counsellor who has been commissioned to work with the children on identity.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good awareness of how to raise safeguarding concerns. However, on one occasion, senior managers’ records relating to a safeguarding concern were incomplete. Poor safeguarding records have the potential to affect the quality of safeguarding practice.

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improvement to be good

Leaders’ and managers’ oversight and monitoring of records are not consistently good enough. They have not ensured that recruitment records for agency staff always contain the required information. In addition, managers are unaware of the process regarding overseas checks. Managers were unsure when or how they would make these checks. The recruitment policy does not consider this. Inspection report children’s home: SC053529 4 Children’s individual risk assessments cover a range of risks and behaviours and include individual strategies that staff use to support the children. This contributes to core staff having a good understanding of children’s behaviours and how to manage these effectively.

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improvement to be good

On occasions, the staff use physical interventions. These are proportionate and only used after other approaches have been tried.

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improvement to be good

The staff help children to stay safe online. Online safety quizzes and key-work sessions are used to help children understand online risks. One child worked alongside their key worker to write an online safety agreement. This helps children to understand what appropriate online behaviour is and remain safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The management team’s capacity is limited. The deputy manager’s post has been vacant, except for three weeks, since the assurance visit. A team leader post has also been vacant since January 2021. Staffing vacancies have made it necessary for managers to work shifts. Although senior managers have offered some additional support, these gaps have compromised managerial capacity and oversight and contributed to several significant management shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Monitoring by leaders and managers is ineffective. There are gaps in leaders’ and managers’ knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Leaders and managers have been ineffective in making improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The internal review of the quality of care was not submitted to Ofsted. The report that was completed did not include any feedback from children, their parents, placing authorities or staff. This fundamentally limits the opportunity for leaders and managers to learn and take action to improve the quality of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not ensured that staff have received regular supervision. This includes agency staff who have worked at the home more than 20 times over the past couple of months. As a result, staff are not receiving the level of support that they should be receiving. In addition, managers have not clearly followed up with staff when other staff have raised questions about their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Some records of physical intervention do not include a record of management oversight. When they do, the manager has reflected on incidents to make improvements to the care provided. The lack of oversight of other incidents means that these opportunities for learning are not always taken up.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

One child has moved into the home since the assurance visit. He did so at very short notice. This is contrary to the home’s statement of purpose. The impact risk assessment that managers undertook was of poor quality and did not consider the effect that the child’s arrival might have had on the child and other children at the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC053529 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

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies.

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that records relating to safeguarding are clear, accurate and up to date, and that impact risk assessments give sufficient consideration to risks arising from potential mixes of children. 21 May 2021

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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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 30 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC053529 6 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that children receive care from a consistent and skilled staff team;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that management capacity is sufficient to provide advice, guidance and support to the staff working at the home;

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Requirement Due date

monitor records to ensure that they are accurate and complete; and

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Requirement Due date

review the actions taken during incidents and offer challenge and guidance to the staff.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)) 21 May 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC053529 7 In particular, ensure that children only move into the home in line with the criteria set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

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 individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that agency staff have had the required checks and that managers are guided on and understand how and when to complete overseas checks for staff. 31 May 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all staff, including agency staff, receive regular, reflective, challenging and effective 7 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC053529 8 supervision focused on children’s experiences, needs, plans and feedback.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 30 November Inspection report children’s home: SC053529 9

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC053529 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Beeches UK Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 212 Ballards Lane, SBCH House, London N3 2LX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rebecca Ouellani

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Inspectors

Ashley Hinson, Social Care Inspector Joe Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC053529 11 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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