Children's Home run by Woodford Children's Services Ltd in Redbridge

Inspection report children's home: 2559019 1 Registered provider: Woodford Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run children’s home which provides care and accommodation for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered on 1 November 2019 at the same time as the home. This is the home’s first full inspection.

p.1

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.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 4 February 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children's home: 2559019 2

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality individualised care at this home. Children’s experiences and outcomes are directly influenced by the staff team’s approach and the strong leadership and management at the home.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s relationships with staff are well established and strong and are a particular strength of this home. Several staff members refer to their peers, the children, and leaders and managers as being ‘one big family’. There is a stable and consistent staff team working at this home, and all the children have lived here for over a year. This provides a secure base which allows children to settle and start to achieve.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living at the home often have complex needs associated with previous experiences of trauma. However, children make good progress from their starting points. There are some great achievements for children, such as returning to education and passing exams, learning how to regulate their emotions and improved relationships with their families.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a strong voice in how the home is run. They are encouraged to write any of their concerns in the ‘grumbles’ book so that these can be resolved before they become complaints. Children contribute via their own meetings about choices in menus, proposed activities and the internal décor of the home.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive day-to-day experiences. Staff make things fun and celebrate the small things. For example, the inspector observed staff cheering and singing while unloading the shopping and cleaning the home.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

In response to the pandemic and having to be more home-based, staff encourage children’s participation in activities at the home, for example in a chess competition. As outdoor activities and venues open more widely, a plan of structured events including go-karting is being discussed for the summer holidays.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported to develop their independence skills. They are supported to learn how to look after themselves, encouraged to clean their bedrooms and to help with shopping and cooking. One child, who moved from the home in an unplanned way, continues to be supported in a semi-independent home as staff undertake outreach work to help him settle.

p.2

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

The manager starts to identify risks to children before they come to live at the home. New referral forms, and additional information requested from placing local authorities, help the manager to understand children’s needs. This robust process ensures stability for all the children living at the home. Inspection report children's home: 2559019 3 Once children move into the home, they are supported to contribute to their care plans and are consulted about how the risks to them are managed. Care plans include a good analysis of risk and detailed behaviour management strategies to help staff to manage risk, including when children go missing or when a physical intervention is needed. Trigger points for children are recorded and these help staff to provide individual care, to reduce risk and to help to keep children safe.

p.2

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

Staff follow the required protocols and processes for when children are at risk of harm, including when they are missing from home. Missing-from-home records include detailed information and outline the attempts made by staff to actively look for or communicate with children. Relevant professionals and parents/carers are kept informed and placing local authorities are asked to conduct return home interviews when children return to the home.

p.3

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

Although managers request return home interviews and strategy discussions, when an increase in risk warrants a safeguarding intervention, this information is not easy to find on the home’s electronic recording system.

p.3

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

The staff team is stable and consistent, and staff members have developed positive relationships with children. This helps staff to create clear and consistent boundaries and expectations for behaviour. Responses to children’s behaviours are consistent, and this creates a secure home for children.

p.3

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

Staff understand safeguarding practice and are confident in recognising child- protection and wider safeguarding issues. Staff are also confident in understanding when and how to report safeguarding concerns, even if the concern is about leaders and managers. All the staff we spoke to during the inspection, understand the role of the designated officer and know who their designated safeguarding lead is.

p.3

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

The number of incidents that have happened at the home is low. However, on two occasions following incidents, the provider has failed to notify the regulator as required. This does not ensure that the regulator has prompt oversight of serious incidents at the home to determine if further action is required to safeguard children.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post since the registration of the home on 1 November 2019. Between 1 November 2019 and 31 May 2020, the manager simultaneously managed this home and the sister home next door until another manager was recruited.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are child focused, ambitious for children, have high expectations of what children can achieve and of what staff are required to do to meet children’s needs. This ethos drives up standards and ensures that children receive good-quality individualised care. Inspection report children's home: 2559019 4 Leaders and managers know the children well and understand their progress and outcomes. Local authority care plans are shared with the provider. This helps staff and managers to be fully involved in care planning for children with placing local authorities. When it is felt that a care plan is not meeting a child’s needs, the manager challenges the placing local authority and supports children to involve an advocate when they are unhappy.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers ensure that staff are safely recruited. Safer recruitment processes ensure that only staff of the right calibre are offered employment at the home. Staff spoken to reported feeling well supported and respected in their roles. Staff also described a good induction process and said that they have access to ongoing online training to support them.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is working towards a therapeutic approach to the care provided to children. To support this approach, a systemic psychologist consults with staff once a month at the team meeting. This helps staff to understand and manage children’s behaviour more effectively.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have well-developed, positive relationships with other professionals. This helps to improve children’s outcomes, support their safety and promote their welfare. For example, strategy meetings are requested, and safety planning is carried out with professionals when children are at risk of criminal or sexual exploitation. Several professionals gave extremely positive feedback about the good level of communication and positive partnership working they have with the manager and staff.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers actively promote tolerance, equality and diversity. Examples of this include children having the choice of food from their own culture and being able to store, cook and prepare kosher food separately. There is zero tolerance to any form of bullying, intimidation or discrimination. This is supported by the positive and inclusive environment and role modelling by the staff and leaders and managers. Inspection report children's home: 2559019 5

p.4

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.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.5

Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

p.5

Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

p.5

Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

p.5

Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child — is instigated; or

p.5

Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

Specifically, this relates to ensuring that all serious events are notified to the appropriate people within 24 hours. 20 August 2021

p.5

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: 2559019 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Woodford Children’s Services Limited

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Abacus House, 14-18 Forest Road, Loughton IG10 1DX

p.6

Inspector

Christine Kennet, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2559019 7 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.

p.6

Inspector

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 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.7

Inspector

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

p.7

Inspector

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

p.7