Children's home run by London Borough of Waltham Forest

Inspection report children’s home: 2563530 1 Registered provider: London Borough of Waltham Forest Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by the local authority. It provides short breaks or long- term care for up to eight disabled children.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in January 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 28 January 2021 to carry out a monitoring 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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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2563530 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2563530 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have accessed short breaks and day care for most of the year. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the manager has not been able to offer a full service. One child has been living at the home for long-term care since April 2021.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have worked hard to develop a strong relationship with the child in long-term care. She initially struggled to settle in the home. Staff persevered in developing good communication with her and focused on making sure her needs were understood and met. As a result, she has made good progress and considers the home as ‘her home’. Her parent said, ‘She is very happy here and is very, very, very settled here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children seem ‘at home’. They move freely around the building and choose what they would like to do. There is a good balance between creating a low-arousal environment and providing a good range of activities for children. Despite the restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, children have enjoyed good opportunities to have fun in the home and in the community when possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children of varying abilities are encouraged to share their views through house meetings and their parents and carers. Children who are unable to communicate any concerns are reliant on the staff to notice any changes in their demeanour or mood. Staff are confident advocates for children and understand the many risks presented to children because of their vulnerability. Staff respond calmly and kindly in meeting children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are generally well supported. However, leaders and managers have failed to address their concerns effectively. These relate to a placing authority social worker advising staff to covertly administer medication to one child without consultation with medical professionals and senior leaders from the placing authority. Furthermore, this is not in line with the home’s policy and procedure for the safe administration of medication. Although staff have administered medication safely, they have failed to ensure that the rights of the child are maintained. However, leaders and managers have now taken action to address this shortfall.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The physical environment of the home is safe and well maintained. The registered manager regularly seeks the views of parents and stakeholders, for example from the initial design of the building to its current day-to-day use. Parents feel able to share their views, and leaders and managers respond swiftly to concerns raised. However, a recurring issue relating to telephone lines has left parents feeling anxious when they are unable to connect to the home. Inspection report children’s home: 2563530 4

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

Staff plan for children’s daily experiences well. They take into consideration how best to keep children safe as well as ensuring that they have fun. The independent reviewing officer for short-breaks services said, ‘Parents do have trust that their children are safe, if anything they ask for more services.’

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

Staff support children to self-regulate their feelings and to express themselves in a safe way. Staff conduct good risk assessments to manage and reduce the risk of children self-harming. However, records of risk assessments are not routinely updated to reflect changing risk levels. Leaders and managers are aware of shortfalls related to maintaining good records and have plans in place to address these.

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

Staff manage children’s behaviour and physical intervention well. However, incidents of physical restraints and behaviour management are not always accurately recorded, sufficiently detailed and do not include records of staff learning following these incidents. This does not help to keep children safe or demonstrate good management oversight.

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

Allegations against staff are rare. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding policies, managing allegations and whistle-blowing procedures. This helps to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager. Since the monitoring visit in January 2021, leaders and managers have focused strongly on improving staff culture and developing the staff’s skills. As a result, the home is staffed by a suitably skilled and diverse staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders, managers and staff are passionate about providing good-quality care for children. They consistently prioritise the needs of children. This has helped children to have good experiences when away from their families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision and training. However, supervision records are not always sufficiently detailed, and managers do not maintain a record of training. This compromises the oversight of staff practice and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite the restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders and managers have maintained links with the local community. Staff have continued to provide support to families. For example, they have provided advice over the telephone and delivered food to families. Inspection report children’s home: 2563530 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 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

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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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

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and 14 December Inspection report children’s home: 2563530 6 a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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 spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; 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) (2) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all the above records are accurate and detailed. Where staff provide different accounts of the same event, the registered person must ensure that the record provided is an accurate description of the event.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

if the child dies before attaining the age of 18, for 15 years from the date of the child’s death;

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Requirement Due date

in cases not falling within sub-paragraph (a), for 75 years from the child’s date of birth;

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Requirement Due date

securely in the children’s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there; and 14 December Inspection report children’s home: 2563530 7 in a secure place after the child has ceased to be accommodated in the home. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

ensuring that children’s risk assessments are kept up to date and reflect the current level of risk;

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Requirement Due date

ensuring that children’s records, such as key-work sessions, daily records and any record detailing children’s experiences, include full and accurate information and are signed and dated.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a record of supervision is kept for staff. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33 (4)(b). It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving supervision and the staff member have a copy of the record. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraphs 13.3 and 13.4)  The registered person should ensure that care is taken to make sure that prescribed medicines are only administered to the individual for whom they are prescribed. Medicines must be administered in line with a medically approved protocol. Records must be kept of the administration of all medication, which includes occasions when prescribed medication is refused. Regulation 23 requires the registered person to ensure that they make suitable arrangements to

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Recommendations

manage, administer and dispose of any medication. These are fundamentally the same sorts of arrangements as a good parent would make but are subject to additional safeguards. Where staff have questions or concerns about a child’s medication, they should approach an expert such as a general medical practitioner, community pharmacist or looked after children’s nurse. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  The registered person should ensure that they develop the home’s effective working relationships with each child’s placing authority and with other relevant persons, which may include services, individuals (including parents), agencies, organisations and establishments that work with children in the local community, such as police, schools, health and youth offending teams (regulation 5, engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met). This particularly refers

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Recommendations

to ensuring that parents can contact the home when required. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.3) Inspection report children’s home: 2563530 8  The registered person should ensure that they have a workforce plan which is updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home. It should also be used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: 2563530 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sycamore House, Forest Road, Walthamstow E17 4JF

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Anthony Lyseight-Goslin

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Inspectors

Jayshree Pillay, Social Care Inspector Leanne Grant, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2563530 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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