Children's Home run by Winsbeach Children’s Home Limited in Waltham Forest

Inspection report children's home: SC406638 1 SC406638 Registered provider: Winsbeach Children’s Home Limited 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 three children. The provider states in their statement of purpose that they provide care for children and young people who have emotional or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in 2010. The director of the company is also the registered manager and has been registered with Ofsted since the home opened in January 2010.

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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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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC406638 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/01/2020 Full Good 20/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/08/2018 Full Good 19/12/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: SC406638 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop trusting relationships with staff and thrive from their positive experiences. Their monthly progress reports show good progress in many aspects of their lives. A professional complimented the staff for the ‘huge change’ in one particular child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s notable achievements include improvement in their socialisation skills, awards for professional ‘street dancing’ and mentoring youth club drama students. Staff also ensure that children continue with their interests, such as regular football training.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to develop age-appropriate independence skills. Children learn to cook their own meals, do their own laundry, manage their personal care and travel independently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team encourages children to attend their school or college. Within days of arriving at the home, one child is engaging in their key stage 2 work, and another child is attending college full time after several years of non-attendance. When there are barriers to education, staff consider learning alternatives. However, this is not always successful. The registered manager co-ordinates and challenges placing authorities and other professionals appropriately to help overcome any education difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Where possible, children visit the home before moving in. Children are given an induction to the home, and they are shown around the local area and transport facilities. This helps children familiarise themselves with their new environment. As children settle, they choose their bedroom decorations. With agreements in place, one child has brought some bedroom furniture from their family home to further personalise their bedroom. Staff support children to maintain or re-establish relationships with their families. This helps them to enjoy regular family time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a terraced three-bedroom property and is suitable for the children living in the home. Two maintenance issues were identified by the inspector during the inspection. Maintenance workers resolved the concerns during the inspection. As a result of the inspector’s recommendations, the home’s children’s guide wording was also improved during the inspection.

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

For new referrals, staff take care to assess the compatibility of the children and their needs with the children currently living in the home. This helps children to remain settled when new children move into the home. Children regularly complete the home’s satisfaction questionnaires and state that they feel safe, and they confirmed this to the inspector. Inspection report children's home: SC406638 4 Children engage in structured and informal key-work sessions with staff. Staff help them to understand a range of risks, such as drug misuse, how to stay safe online and the consequences of criminal behaviour. Children’s independent visitor’s and complement the support from staff for children.

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

Children are registered with relevant health services and their health needs are well met. Staff are respectful and sensitive to children, especially when there are health conditions of a personal nature.

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

Staff encourage children’s positive behaviour with praise and rewards. As a result, challenging behaviour and missing-from-home episodes are infrequent. Staff use of restraint to manage challenging behaviour is minimal, and there have been no reports of restraint in the previous 12 months.

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

Children’s risk assessments specify the risks and emerging risks to each child, with staff actions to mitigate those risks. These are kept up to date. However, while staff were aware of and understood one child’s particular risk, it was not formally risk assessed. This shortfall does not have an impact on the safety and well-being of the children in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed effectively by the registered manager. He shares his wide- ranging knowledge and experience with a forum for children’s home registered managers and provides consultation and advice to prospective providers of children’s homes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a strong advocate for children, with a strong sense of the rights of children. There is good evidence of his effective multi-agency working that helps to ensure that children have access to additional needs-specific services. He appropriately challenges professionals and placing authorities for services and other resources to help meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is fully staffed with a stable and consistent staff team, and all staff have a suitable residential children’s home qualification. Staff receive suitable training to meet the needs of the children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that their work is very rewarding and view themselves and the children as, ‘one family’. A member of staff said, ‘We are a friendly family environment.’ An assistant psychologist is part of the staff team, and she helps to contribute to staff’s understanding of and reflection on children’s needs and behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have taken action to meet the requirement and all the recommendations set at the last inspection. Inspection report children's home: SC406638 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. In particular, staff should record all the particular known risks in relation to each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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: SC406638 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Winsbeach Children’s Home Limited

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Inspector

Victoria Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC406638 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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