Children's Home run by Stonelake London Limited in Brent

Inspection report children’s home: 1264048 1 Registered provider: Stonelake London Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home. The statement of purpose states that the home is a therapeutic home. It provides specialised programmes of care and support for children aged 10 to 17 years of age who have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted on 12 September 2017. The current manager was registered with Ofsted on 11 August 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

This inspection was conducted on site and involved meetings with children and staff. Feedback was received from social work, education and mental health professionals as well as parents. A staff questionnaire was also shared for those staff who were not on site, but wished to contribute their views.

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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

Date of last inspection: 19 December 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1264048 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/12/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/09/2019 Full Good 18/03/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 04/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1264048 3

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improvement to be good

There were three children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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improvement to be good

Information provided about children when they arrive at the home is not consistently used to inform decision-making and to complete robust plans. Staff do not fully explore the impact of children’s backgrounds with them, such as the effect their backgrounds have on their behaviours. Therefore, children are not given sufficient opportunities to understand themselves and to develop more positive ways to interact.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour management practices are inconsistent. Sanctions are implemented in response to negative behaviour. However, staff do not ensure that the children are aware of what these sanctions will be before they are implemented. Staff members do not know all the children well. This limits their understanding of how to motivate children and encourage positive behaviours. Staff members are inconsistent in boundary-setting with children. Consequently, processes such as reward charts are ineffective and have led to an increase in conflict between staff and children.

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improvement to be good

Daily planners are not effective. Staff members do not ensure that there are sufficient daily structures and routines for all the children. This does not support children who are not actively engaged in education and wish to remain distant and isolated. Children are not incentivised to participate in fun, challenging learning activities that will allow them to build on their self-esteem and confidence. Consequently, children have few reasons to interact productively with staff or to remain in the home.

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improvement to be good

The impact and influence that staff members have on children are variable. Staff are able to work with and interact positively with some children. However, staff are not sufficiently experienced to deal with children who present complex behaviours. Some children therefore remain self-sufficient and detached, despite having been in the home for a number of months.

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improvement to be good

Children have good relationships with members of staff and reported that they feel safe in the home and its local area. Although children know how to complain, and have heard of Ofsted, they said that they would like to be listened to more. Staff want to improve the circumstances of children and are eager to do so. Group sessions with the children cover relevant topics such as personal hygiene, bathroom etiquette, knife crime/gang culture and harmful sexualised behaviours. Inspection report children’s home: 1264048 4

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are not used as a tool for working with the children. Staff do not use the information available prior to a child moving into the home to consider the impact they may have on children already living in the home. Information about risks to children is gathered on an ongoing basis, but is not effectively used in subsequent discussions with the professional network.

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improvement to be good

A lack of clear plans and effective decision-making means that children’s behaviours have not improved as expected, and in some cases have deteriorated. Managers and staff are caring for children without understanding the complex reasons for their behaviours. Concerns about bullying between the children are viewed by staff as ‘pranks’. Children’s own high-risk behaviours are not adequately addressed. This means that strategies for reducing the risks to children are not devised/implemented, and opportunities to reduce these risks are missed. Consequently, protection from bullying for some children is delayed, which could place children at risk of further harm.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding arrangements are inconsistent and not robust. Several missing-from- home incidents have been recorded as ‘absent without authorisation’. This means that the correct procedures for children missing from home and care are not being followed or implemented. The staff’s discussions with children when they return to the home are superficial and do not take into account the information that is already known, or properly consider contextual safeguarding concerns. Reporting of safeguarding concerns to Ofsted has not been consistent. Consequently, it is difficult to understand if risks in the home are reducing.

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improvement to be good

Working relationships with the professional networks are positive. Feedback from professionals is that staff members attend relevant meetings, advocate for children’s educational attendance and communicate concerns. The manager is in the process of developing proactive and effective working relationships with the local police to support and protect children.

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improvement to be good

Children have good relationships with their key workers. Children were observed acting freely and comfortably in the home. Children have not been restrained and staff try to use reason to explain day-to-day decisions to them.

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good

Leaders and managers do not have sufficient knowledge of the legislation and guidance that regulate their roles. Information provided for the inspection did not appropriately assess the needs of the children living in the home. This means that senior staff are unable to develop effective ways of working that meet the complex needs of the children in the home. Inspection report children’s home: 1264048 5 Leaders and managers do not implement clear planning and decision-making procedures. Although staff members record a range of information, patterns and themes are not robustly collated. Therefore, leaders and managers do not progress children’s plans or take effective action where necessary. There is insufficient focus on children and their experiences, and on strategies for combatting and reducing risk-taking behaviours.

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good

The provider is not meeting the therapeutic element of its statement of purpose. Staff are not therapeutically trained, and children are not offered focused and regular therapeutic interventions. Staff are providing reactive rather than proactive care for some children. Therefore, children are living in a home that does not have the resources promised to meet their needs.

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good

The management team does not have a workforce development plan. Systems to ensure that the right people with the right skills are working in the home are not therefore robust. Exploration of gaps in employment is not evidenced or recorded. Not all staff have completed an appropriate induction, and probation processes are not clearly defined. Managers have not ensured that all staff working at the home have the required level 3 diploma or an equivalent qualification. This means that some staff who are caring for children do not have the necessary qualifications and skills and are not clear about what is required/expected of them when carrying out their role.

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good

Leaders and managers do not have robust quality assurance processes. There is a lack of critical management oversight of practice in the home. Consequently, leaders and managers are not sufficiently clear about how to support children’s progress.

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good

The manager has implemented a number of changes and has a vision for the home to develop. The manager is working with an independent visitor to help improve the service. Staff morale and motivation have been affected by the number of recent changes, including the introduction of a new management structure during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, staff feel generally positive about the future.

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good

The manager acknowledged that the requirements from the last full inspection in September 2019 had not been met. In addition, most of the requirements from the assurance visit in October 2020 also remain unmet. These previous requirements are restated. One previous recommendation relating to the maintenance of the home has also been restated.

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good

Requirements are made for the continuing professional development and fitness of workers. Inspection report children’s home: 1264048 6

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, this is in relation to demonstrating that the home provides therapeutic care as stated in the home’s statement of purpose. 1 November 2021

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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 each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(b)) 1 November 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 1264048 7 Specifically, this is in relation to demonstrating the targeted work done to help children, after racist and other types of intimidation and bullying incidents between them.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that if it is identified that a specific risk assessment of the risks of child sexual and/or criminal exploitation is required, this is completed in a timely manner. 1 November 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 promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 1 November 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 1264048 8 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 staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, this is in relation to having clear, evaluative oversight of occurrences and practices in the home.

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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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, this is in relation to the proactive use of an impact risk assessment (‘matching’ document) prior to a child moving into the home. 1 November 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 1264048 9 The registered manager must undertake such continuing professional development as is necessary to ensure that the registered manager has the skills needed for managing the home. (Regulation 29 (4))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered manager must feel confident and skilled in all aspects of their role. 1 November 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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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

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, this is in relation to ensuring that appropriate checks are made in relation to the staff’s qualifications, and that the checks confirm what is considered equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. 1 November 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the missing child policy”) setting out— 1 November 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 1264048 10 the steps taken, and to be taken, to prevent children from being absent without permission; and

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Requirement Due date

the procedures to be followed, and the roles and responsibilities of persons working at the home, in relation to a child who is, or has been, so absent. (Regulation 34 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff ensure a safe return of the child to care, after the missing child has been found.

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that a record in the form of a register is kept, which shows in respect of each child—

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Requirement Due date

the date of the child’s admission to the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

the date on which the child ceased to be accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s address immediately before being accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s address on leaving the home;

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Requirement Due date

the statutory provision (if any) under which the child is accommodated. (Schedule 4.1)

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, this is in relation to dates missing from the register and full address details not being included. 1 November 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 1 November 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 1264048 11 an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, this is in relation to notifying Ofsted of children needing hospital attention and patterns of missing-from- home episodes.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all areas of the home are maintained to a satisfactory standard. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, paragraph 3.9, page 15)

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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: 1264048 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stonelake London Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sinckot House, 211b Station Road, Harrow HA1 2TP

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Inspector

Tolulope Sawyerr, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1264048 13 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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