Children's home run by Action for Children Services Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 1271380 1 Registered provider: Action for Children Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a short-break service for children, which is run by a national charity. All children have a learning disability and additional complex needs in relation to either their emotional or behavioural needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 26 November 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 21 October 2020 to carry out an assurance 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

Date of last inspection: 16 January 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1271380 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/01/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 26/06/2019 Full Good 06/02/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 1271380 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children accessing short breaks benefit from staying in a home-from-home environment. Each child has their own bedroom, which has been decorated in a theme chosen by them. Other areas of the home have also been transformed, such as bright and colourful artwork on the walls, and several different areas to play, relax and spend time alone. These developments have been well received by the staff, the parents and especially the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well cared for. The information available for staff about children’s needs is detailed and is obtained from parents and social workers prior to children starting their stays at the home. Because of this, the staff know the children extremely well and can give them the support and care that they need. Working together as a team also means that the staff can implement consistent routines and boundaries. As a result, the children feel comfortable and know what to expect and what is expected of them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager has ensured that children reach their full potential. Committed staff support and encourage the children to follow their individual targets throughout their stay. Records show that the staff keep these under review and that all children have made significant progress over time. During the inspection, children were observed talking excitedly to the manager about their achievements and the anticipated earned rewards.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Listening to children is seen as a priority. The staff are well prepared and use a range of communication methods to enable the children’s voices to be heard. Throughout the day, children are fully consulted on all aspects of their lives and routinely make choices. These include choosing from a list of activities they would like to do, who they would like to support them and even choosing a meal for the next time they stay. This approach has really helped the children to develop trusting relationships with the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Committed staff help and prepare the children for their futures, such as working closely with the wider network to support their transition plans. The staff attend meetings, share information about the children’s needs and accompany children on visits to the identified new provision or placement.

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

Children live in a safe environment. The staff and managers have good systems in place to monitor the health and safety arrangements. These include ensuring that children and staff know what to do in the event of a fire. Children’s medication is also well managed. Only trained staff administer medication, and there are clear instructions in place to guide staffs’ practice. Medication use is kept under regular review and used appropriately by the staff to support the children’s health needs. Inspection report for children's home: 1271380 4 Children benefit from staff who are trained to understand their complex needs. The staff work closely with other professionals, particularly health specialists, and parents to ensure that there is a consistent approach to behaviour management, such as keeping detailed records about the children’s behaviours to enable the staff team to plan how children can be supported. The staff are also very good at using

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

distraction techniques to prevent situations escalating. This, together with their positive approach to behaviour management, means that significant incidents are low, and children are encouraged to learn new skills.

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

All staff are trained in safeguarding. This includes more specialist training for children with disabilities and managing allegations. However, the numerous written pieces of guidance for staff about what to do if they have concerns are ambiguous. Although this has not had a negative impact on the children, it is a missed opportunity by the registered manager to ensure that the child protection policies are effective.

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

The approach to risk management gives children the opportunity to do things they would not normally get to do. However, during one activity, staff on duty failed to consider all the risks when accessing the community as well as failing to follow the correct reporting procedure. This resulted in a serious incident taking place where a child was put at risk but came to no harm. Following a thorough investigation by the manager, appropriate follow-up action was taken. Furthermore, the manager ensured that lessons learned from this incident were fully embedded into practice to avoid reoccurrence.

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

Safeguarding children is put first. The process for recruiting new staff is thorough. The registered manager has high standards and is not prepared to compromise these to fill staff vacancies. He is fully committed to employing the right staff who know and understand the role. The organisation also has a good system in place to ensure that all the necessary checks are carried out prior to new staff joining.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a skilled practitioner and a very ‘hands on’ and visible leader. His passion, enthusiasm and willingness to try new ideas enable the staff team to be creative. Senior managers are very supportive of his vision and work closely with him to achieve this. There are plans to undertake a team-building day, and there is an ongoing focus on the staff ethos and future direction of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Over the past year, the registered manager has worked hard to change the culture of the home to become more inclusive and more child-focused. To achieve this, he continues to actively obtain feedback from the key people in children’s lives, as well as from the children themselves. This information has been used effectively to make a range of improvements to the service. For example, the written information about the home has been produced in different formats and languages for both adults and children. Inspection report for children's home: 1271380 5 The registered manager has comprehensive systems in place for monitoring the day- to-day arrangements. Weekly and monthly quality checks help to identify gaps. Visits from the independent visitor, commissioners and advocacy services are also used effectively to identify areas for improvement and good practice. As a result, the registered manager can maintain good oversight and scrutiny of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there has been a high turnover of staff. Despite various attempts to recruit for all the vacant posts, some positions remain unfilled. However, to minimise the impact on the children, a small number of experienced agency staff have been used to cover the gaps. These carefully chosen staff are treated as part of the team and have equal access to all the of the training provided by the organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is committed to the children. Those spoken to during the inspection enjoy working in the home. Records show that there are good processes in place to ensure that staff receive the right support, learning and development. These include having access to external coaching sessions and the opportunity to internally progress to more senior roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has well-established relationships with other agencies and professionals. Feedback about the quality of care given to children was positive, particularly in relation to their flexible and child-centred approach that is beneficial to both children and their families. Inspection report for children's home: 1271380 6

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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;

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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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)) 31 March 2022

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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— 31 March 2022 Inspection report for children's home: 1271380 7 that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(e))

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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 for children's home: 1271380 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Action for Children

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Action for Children, 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford WD18 8AG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Lucellta Wallace-Esnard

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Inspector

Amanda Harvey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1271380 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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