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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC032502 1 SC032502 Registered provider: The London Borough of Hillingdon Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The London Borough of Hillingdon operates the home. The home provides care for up to 13 children. In the statement of purpose, the provider states that the home specialises in looking after unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home has been operational since November 2003. The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2018.

p.1

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.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 26 January 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: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC032502 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/04/2019 Full Good 09/10/2018 Full Good 18/07/2017 Full Good 19/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC032502 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and well cared for in the home. They form close and secure relationships with the managers and staff, who are committed to them. Professionals praise staff for supporting the children in every aspect of their lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress socially, emotionally, physically and educationally. Children have aspirations for the future and staff help children to achieve their goals. There are persistent efforts by staff to work closely with schools, colleges and the virtual school team to provide children with the best opportunities to achieve academic success.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop their independence according to their individual needs. Children make successful moves to semi-independent living and stay in touch with the staff after they have left the home. This ongoing support helps children through the early stages of living on their own.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to stay healthy. This includes being supported to access local health services and attend routine appointments.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s cultural and identity needs are met well. Children enjoy cooking food from their own cultures and are introduced to local communities to enable them to follow their own culture and religion. This helps children to be able to embrace their culture and to celebrate their faith.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children regularly attend house meetings and take responsibility for recording their own minutes. This helps to build the children’s confidence.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s hobbies and interests are supported. They are given opportunities to enjoy activities such as joining dance, drama and football clubs. However, children feel that more structured activities during holiday periods are needed. The registered manager has acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the children’s activities and outings. The registered manager hopes that as restrictions are lifted children will be able to enjoy more outings.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s wishes and feeling are well reflected in case recording. However, some children’s care plans are not up to date and recording of the key-work sessions is not consistently good. The registered manager is aware of this and is working to improve record-keeping in the home.

p.3

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

Children told the inspector that they feel safe in the home. Staff understand and address risks specific to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, including the possibility of being trafficked, going missing from home and exploitation. Inspection report for children’s home: SC032502 4 Risk assessments capture relevant risk factors and reflect children’s individual needs. Staff know how to identify and respond to safeguarding concerns. When concerns arise, these are shared with key professionals. This ensures that children are safeguarded effectively.

p.3

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

Staff follow procedures to address incidents of children going missing from their care. There is good evidence of multi-agency work in relation to children going missing from home. This approach to working together ensures that children are safe.

p.4

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

Some of the staff’s mandatory safeguarding refresher training is out of date. The registered manager is aware of this shortfall and the training has now been booked.

p.4

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

The registered manager understands the procedures to be followed when an allegation is made against a member of staff. The local authority designated officer told the inspector that the home appropriately seeks advice in relation to safeguarding concerns and reports them appropriately.

p.4

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

Safer recruitment and employment practices ensure that staff are suitably vetted. This prevents unsuitable people from working at the home and helps to ensure the safety of children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders, managers and staff strive to make a positive difference to children’s lives. The registered manager is present and readily available to support children and staff.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a permanent and stable staff team. This ensures that children experience consistency and continuity of care. Managers and staff have successfully engaged children to comply with the COVID-19 pandemic rules and self-isolation when required.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff reported that they feel well supported and valued by leaders and managers.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for improvement. The registered manager commented that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on staff receiving training and on delivering regular staff supervisions.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Ofsted has not received some of the monthly independent quality assurance reports. Additionally, the six-monthly quality of care report does not include feedback from all stakeholders. This is a missed opportunity and potentially limits the opportunities for independent scrutiny and challenge.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is going through a major refurbishment. Inspection report for children’s home: SC032502 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 maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

p.5

Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(b))

p.5

Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that care plans are updated and key-work sessions are recorded consistently. 4 February 2022

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

p.5

Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

p.5

Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires.

p.5

Requirement Due date

A visit by the independent person to the home may be unannounced.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

p.5

Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. 4 February 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC032502 6 The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

p.5

Requirement Due date

upon request, the local authority for the area in which the home is located;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the registered provider and, if applicable, the registered manager; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

the responsible individual (if one is nominated). (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5) (7)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

p.6

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.

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

p.6

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

p.6

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)) 4 February 2022

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role Inspection report for children’s home: SC032502 7 they play in the training and development of staff in the home. In particular, ensure that staff receive refresher mandatory training. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that all staff receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. A record of supervision should be kept for staff. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33 (4)(b). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality

p.6

Recommendations

standards’, page 61, paragraphs 13.2 and 13.3)

p.7

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 for children’s home: SC032502 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: The London Borough of Hillingdon

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Childcare and Early Years Service, 4E/02 Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge UB8 1UW

p.8

Inspector

Gulcin Ardic, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC032502 9 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.8

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9