Children's Home run by London Borough of Hounslow in Hounslow

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC062128 1 SC062128

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London Borough of Hounslow

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides care and accommodation for up to six children. The home’s statement of purpose states that care is provided for children with social and emotional difficulties and who have faced significant loss and trauma in their lives.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has not had a registered manager in post since 12 January 2020. The home’s new manager has been in post since March 2021 and has applied for registration with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 20 July 2021 to carry out a full inspection. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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This monitoring visit

This children’s home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 20 July 2021. As a result, three compliance notices were issued under regulations 12, 13 and 35.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was carried out to assess the progress made in meeting the three compliance notices. All other requirements will be assessed at a future visit.

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This monitoring visit

Ofsted considers that the home has partially met two of the three compliance notices, (Regulation 12 and 13). The progress made is sufficient not to require a compliance notice, but further action is required to continue with the progress made. A subsequent compliance notice under Regulation 35 has been made.’ Despite some progress in some areas, there are still ongoing concerns with regards to management monitoring, the failure to update the behaviour management policy and the inconsistent recording and evaluation of physical restraints.

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Regulation 12

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC062128 2 There have been no changes to the staff team or the six children living in the home since the last inspection. This limits an assessment of the home’s procedure for admitting new children.

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Regulation 12

Two children were spoken to during this visit. One child said, ‘Things have got a little bit better; staff listen to me more.’ Another child commented that staff do not communicate with each other, and this has resulted in the child having repeated requests made to search their property when they return to the home. This has left the child feeling confused and unsettled in the home. Some high risk, vulnerable children are beginning to make progress and the risk to them is reducing.

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Regulation 12

Children are now receiving an increased level of support. The level of social workers’ visits to the home has increased to fortnightly following the last inspection. Children report that they value this increase in support, and this is helping to improve their relationships with their allocated social workers. When concerns are raised the professional network is now meeting more regularly to review safety plans. In one case, professionals are meeting on a weekly basis. This is ensuring that there is a more coordinated response to overseeing children’s safety.

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Regulation 12

However, children’s care plans are not up to date and are not subject to effective management monitoring. A care plan sampled during this inspection had not been updated since June 2021 and it failed to reflect significant concerns around alcohol use and potential exposure to child sexual exploitation. Consequently, there is a risk that staff returning from annual leave, agency staff and other professionals visiting the home are ill informed of the risk the child can face in the community.

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Regulation 13

Managers are now more visible and known to both staff and children. Senior managers within the local authority and the manager have written to each child individually to seek their views on the home and their suggestions for further improvements. A senior manager has visited the home to speak with staff and children directly, prior to drafting the home’s improvement plan.

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Regulation 13

The local authority has introduced a new ‘midway review’ process of care plans. This new process will be completed by the independent reviewing officers and are aimed at reducing drift and delay in care planning.

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Regulation 13

The home currently has three staff vacancies and has begun a round of staff recruitment. Children have been invited to participate in a forthcoming round of staff interviews for permanent positions within the home.

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Regulation 13

Staff training provision has improved. Managers have commissioned additional behaviour management training and training relating to trauma-informed practice. This is due to take place in September 2021. All of the staff have completed a ‘level 3’ course in safeguarding, except for a staff member on long term sick leave. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC062128 3

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Regulation 35

The home’s behaviour management policy has not been updated. Therefore, the provider has been unable to document agreed practices and progress towards meeting this notice.

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Regulation 35

Staff have contacted the police to support behavioural management on two occasions since the last inspection. Police assistance was justified on both occasions. The manager has informed staff that police attendance should be considered as the last possible option for staff. The manager now reviews each incident when the police are called to the home to assess if alternative behaviour management techniques could be deemed as more appropriate.

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Regulation 35

Management monitoring of restraint practice remains a concern. Managers have failed to fully investigate an incident when a staff member has been alleged to have caused an injury to a child during an incident. Managers have failed to promptly speak to the child concerned. Managers only became aware of the concerns when the child reported these allegations three weeks after the incident to her parent. This has caused a delay in an investigation being triggered. Furthermore, there was a failure to inform Ofsted of the incident in line with regulation. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC062128 4

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 20/07/2021 Full Inadequate 18/02/2020 Full Good 20/11/2018 Full Good 14/11/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC062128 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 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; and

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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

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to managers ensuring that information received from social workers is used to identify how staff will specifically help each child and support them to make progress. 20 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them; 20 October 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC062128 6 engage with them; and

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child; and

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This refers specifically to staff providing a safe environment in which all children are able to see how their views and opinions have contributed to the care they receive.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans; 20 October 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC062128 7 help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC062128 8 (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(xi)(xii)(xiii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This refers specifically to staff creating a culture in which children are supported to understand their own and others’ behaviours in a manner which reduces conflict in the home.

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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

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; and

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iv)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to staff’s understanding and implementation of each child’s individual risk assessment, and their role in keeping children safe, particularly with regards to risks of exploitation. 20 October 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

promotes their welfare. 20 October 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC062128 9 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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 to 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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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)(d)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This refers specifically to leaders and managers ensuring that staff offer children the best care possible and that they are fully aware of how staff are contributing to improving the care offered to children.

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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

that arrangements are in place to— 20 October 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC062128 10 manage and review the placement of each child in the home;

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Requirement Due date

that, subject to regulation 22 (contact and access to communications), contact between each child and the child’s parents, relatives and friends, is promoted in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(ii)(d)(f))

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Requirement Due date

This refers specifically to managers’ understanding about the impact on children when changes occur in their lives, such as children moving into the home or changes to contact with family and friends.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if— there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and the registered provider— is an organisation or a partnership; does not satisfy regulation 28; or is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home. If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of— the name of the person so appointed; and the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) (2)(a)(b)) This relates specifically to the appointment and registration of a manager. 20 October 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.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only— 20 October 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC062128 11 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,

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the manager being fully satisfied that all staff, including agency and temporary staff, are suitable prior to working with children.

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Requirement Due date

*The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and 20 October 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC062128 12 a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(vii)(viii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff using agreed behaviour management strategies and to children being offered a debrief following every measure of control, discipline or restraint. In addition, for staff to ensure that all incidents of physical restraint are recorded and are evaluated accordingly.

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Requirement Due date

If there is a referral of a person working in the home pursuant to section 35 (Regulated activity providers: duty to refer) of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006(1), the registered person must without delay notify—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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 (3)(a)(b)(c) (4)(a)(b)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to leaders and managers ensuring that all allegations against staff are referred to the safeguarding officer. In addition, this refers to managers ensuring that safeguarding notifications are submitted within the required time frame. 20 October 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC062128 13 The registered provider must appoint, at the registered provider’s expense, a person ("the independent person") to visit and report on the children’s home carried on by the registered provider.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraphs (4) and (5), the registered provider may not appoint the following as an independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered provider is a local authority, a person who is employed by that local authority in connection with the carrying on of the authority’s social services functions (as defined by section 1A of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970(1)) relating to children. (Regulation 43 (1) (3)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to the independent person having objective and independent oversight of the care given to children. 20 October 2021

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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

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5))

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Requirement Due date

This refers specifically to leaders and managers having clear systems by which to monitor and to evaluate the care given to children and ensuring that all views are incorporated into the resulting quality of care review. 20 October 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC062128 14 *These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: London Borough of Hounslow

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, Lampton Road, Hounslow TW3 4DN

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Inspector

Barnaby Dowell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC062128 15 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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