Children's home run by Heartwood RSL Ltd

Inspection report children's home: 2528264 1 Registered provider: Heartwood RSL Ltd 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. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides person-centred care for children who have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in August 2019 and the manager was registered at the same time.

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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 15 September 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on our website.

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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

Date of last inspection: 28 January 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2528264 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/01/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: 2528264 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children praise the level of support they receive, and they appreciate the opportunity of visiting the home, prior to moving in. Staff constantly encourage children, and they work hard to help children achieve their individual goals. A parent described the home as ‘perfect’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is highly valued, and children receive extensive support to achieve their educational and career goals. Staff have supported children within school, which has helped children who struggle with their school attendance. Children have achieved online qualifications, and they are helped with job-hunting and careers advice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to build children’s confidence and self-belief. Throughout the home, there are inspirational quotes which aim to visually motivate children. Staff also create life story albums for children, which capture each child’s achievements and meaningful memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive encouragement to lead a healthy lifestyle, which results in improved diets and regular exercise. Children enjoy going swimming and using the home’s gym equipment. A staff member is a former personal trainer and the home also has a partnership arrangement with a boxing organisation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff respectfully support and work together with children’s relatives, which helps with maintaining family relationships. For example, a mother cooking for her child when visiting the home and staff supporting a family to take their child clothes shopping. Children can also entertain their friends at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive help to develop a positive identity. Children enjoy culturally reflective meals for example, African and Caribbean cuisine. Staff also help with haircare, for example plaiting children’s hair in traditional African styles.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are developing their independent living skills and older children have successfully moved into semi-independent accommodation. Children are aspirational about their futures, and their talents and interests are nurtured. The home funds music studio sessions and older children benefit from the funding of driving lessons and their provisional licence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children currently living at the home smoke cannabis. Staff consistently warn children of the dangers of cannabis misuse, and referrals have been made to a substance misuse service. Although the staff team have mindfulness resources, a holistic approach has not been taken to help children to consider alternative methods of relaxation. Inspection report children's home: 2528264 4

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

Children benefit from effective safeguarding arrangements. A social worker and a youth offending officer commended the ‘very good’ daily communication system which focuses on keeping children safe.

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

The home provides a stable and caring base for children. Children describe the home as ‘calm’ and say they ‘feel safe’ living here. Staff are positively helping children who have experience of criminal exploitation and gang involvement.

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

Leaders and managers have developed effective partnerships with external agencies, which focus on working together to safeguard children. There is a good understanding of contextual risks outside of the home. For most children, there has been a reduction in the frequency of them going missing from the home.

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

Children receive consistent encouragement to be safe within the wider community. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of child protection and contextual safeguarding risks such as exploitation.

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

Staff benefit from a range of safeguarding training, which includes raising their awareness of gangs, county lines and youth violence. There are good links with the safeguarding designated officer. Any allegations are appropriately managed.

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

Children live in a home which focuses on their personal safety. Certificates confirm the safety of the premises, and staff undertake regular health and safety checks. Children receive protection from the thorough staff recruitment practices.

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

Since living at the home, children’s emotional well-being has improved. Children develop trusting relationships with staff, which enable them to discuss their feelings. Children praised how the managers dealt with the COVID-19 outbreak in the home, particularly in relation to the support they received whilst recovering from the virus.

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

Occasionally, staff have to physically intervene to protect a child from causing harm to others. Staff rarely have to use sanctions; they prefer to reward children’s achievements. On one occasion where a sanction was used, the manager had not recorded the child’s comments.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has demonstrated an ability to manage the home in a flexible way throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Children express their satisfaction with the care they receive, and they did not highlight any areas for improvement. Children have benefited from the strong leadership and the caring and resilient staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a passion to continually improve and to provide a quality service for children. Staff have a good understanding of each child and their Inspection report children's home: 2528264 5 individual strengths. Leaders and managers have addressed the requirements and recommendations from the assurance visit effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a commitment to ensuring children move into the home in a planned manner. A good matching risk assessment evaluates the impact of each new child moving into the home. The registered manager demonstrates a reflective approach to each child’s placement and the lessons learned when children leave.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is supported by a deputy manager and a senior support worker. Children receive care from a competent, committed and diverse staff team. The home also benefits from supportive senior leaders and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff act as positive role models to children, and they take great pride in their work. Staff benefit from regular individual supervision, ongoing training, monthly team meetings and annual appraisals. Staff are working towards the required Level 3 qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although staff have received some training on caring for children with mental health needs, they would appreciate further training in this area. During the inspection, a mental health professional was providing bespoke training to manage one child’s particular needs. Some staff also felt it would be beneficial for all staff to understand trauma-informed practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a good-quality assurance system, which is focused on enhancing children’s quality of life. Children influence their own care planning and the running of the home and they have also contributed to the Children’s Commissioner’s ‘Big Ask’ survey. Constructive monthly monitoring reports also highlight the home’s strengths and identify areas for further improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children live in a comfortable and well-maintained home and there is a peaceful atmosphere. Children can personalise their rooms to reflect their individuality, which includes the opportunity of buying items of soft furnishings of their choice. Children can relax in a range of communal areas, which includes the lounge, the paved garden and an outdoor games/chill out room. Inspection report children's home: 2528264 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

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3) (b)(ii)) 1 August 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure staff help children work to change negative behaviours in key areas of health and well-being, such as misuse of drugs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.18)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. In particular, additional training on mental health awareness and trauma-informed practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 2528264 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 416 Green Lane, Ilford, Essex IG3 9JX

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Inspector

Sharon Payne, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2528264 8 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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