Children's Home run by Solace Care Redbridge Limited in Redbridge

Inspection report children’s home: 2613806 1 Registered provider: Solace Care Redbridge Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to four children. The provider states in their statement of purpose that they provide care for children with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted on 15 December 2020. The first child was admitted to the home on 18 January 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has not had a registered manager since 21 May 2021. Ofsted has received an application for registration from the current manager, who has been in post since 3 August 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

This inspection was conducted on site and involved meetings with children, staff and managers. Email and telephone contact took place with parents, family members, and placing authority social workers.

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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 requires improvement to be 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. Inspection report children’s home: 2613806 2 Date of last inspection: not applicable

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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: 2613806 3

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected. Inspection report children’s home: 2613806 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress and achieve positive outcomes. This is evidenced by two children successfully returning to the care of their families with the support of staff. Children form close relationships with staff and when children have left the home, they stay in touch with the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy good routines and work with staff to create their own weekly planners. This provides structure for children and reflects their own wishes and feelings. For example, they enjoy their preferred activities, such as going horse riding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s education. Consequently, all children are making good educational progress from their starting points. One child is engaging well with home tuition that is provided by the local authority after being out of education for two years, and is now working towards attending mainstream school soon. Another child successfully passed his GCSE exams last year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from placing social workers is positive. One placing authority social worker said that the staff in the home are good role models and have helped a child to develop their confidence and learn how to stay safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children get support to maintain positive relationships with their families. For children whose families live far away, staff ensure that regular video and telephone calls take place. Regular contact with family members gives children a sense of stability and lessens their anxieties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s voices are heard. One child told the inspector, ‘People listen to me here, that has not happened in other places.’ Importantly, staff use this information to inform their practice and how they care for children. This leads to more positive experiences and outcomes.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not ensured that a serious allegation against a child is captured in the child’s risk assessment. Despite there being no impact on the care provided to children, this shortfall has the potential to place staff and other children at risk.

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improvement to be good

Some risk assessments lack clear guidance to staff on what action they should take. For example, risk assessments for self-harming behaviour do not tell staff what to look for in bedroom checks, or when to get medical attention. This leaves staff without details to help keep children safe. Inspection report children’s home: 2613806 5 Staff lack training in important areas of practice relevant to the children in the home, such as gang culture. This limits staff knowledge and ability to recognise safeguarding concerns to protect children.

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improvement to be good

There is a clear protocol for children who go missing from the home, which staff understand and follow. However, independent return-home interviews are not consistently carried out. This limits the support for children at a vulnerable time.

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improvement to be good

Safer recruitment practice is robust and ensures that staff are suitable to work with children. This ensures the safety of children living in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff recognise when children are struggling. Staff are alert to key behaviour indicators, such as changes in body movement, and understand children’s individual triggers. Staff speak to children calmly and suggest alternative strategies, such as going for a walk.

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improvement to be good

Ofsted was not informed of two recent serious incidents involving a child. The failure to provide timely information limits the regulator’s external oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management structure of the home has improved. The new manager is suitably experienced and has made an application for registration. The home now has an experienced deputy manager in place. The new management team has introduced positive changes to staff practice, such as increasing key-work sessions with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The physical environment is well maintained and safe for children. The home is warm and welcoming and has a family atmosphere. This helps children to feel comfortable in their home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have made an active decision not to admit any more children until they can be sure that the children currently living in the home are settled. This provides stability for children. Despite this, the admissions process for new referrals is not robust. Leaders and managers do not sufficiently evidence how they can meet the specific needs of the proposed child. This limits the ability of managers to carry out a full assessment of a child’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are well informed and have a clear understanding of the progress children are making. When children struggle, leaders and managers liaise with the professional network to ensure that safety plans are put in place. This maintains the stability of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is positive and staff retention is good. Staff comment on effective management support and value regular supervision. Positive staff retention ensures that children have stability and consistency of care. Inspection report children’s home: 2613806 6 Staff have worked hard to ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic has had little impact on the children. When members of staff have tested positive for the virus, managers have followed government guidance and protocols. All children have been able to maintain contact with friends and families as per agreed plans with the placing authorities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Ofsted has not received an updated statement of purpose. The most-recent document was received in December 2020. This limited the preparation for this inspection. Inspection report children’s home: 2613806 7

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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 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers should ensure that risk assessments address all areas of concern. 25 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 20 January 2022

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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

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 any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. 20 January 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2613806 8 (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers should ensure that staff receive training relevant to the individual needs of the children living in the home. 25 February 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can meet the child’s specific needs, and evidence how the home can achieve this. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s risk assessments are continually reviewed and comprehensively include details of the steps the home will take to manage the risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return-home interview. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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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: 2613806 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Solace Care Redbridge Ltd

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Muhammad Ishtiaq

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Inspector

Leanne Grant, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2613806 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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