Children's Home run by Destiny House in Harrow

Inspection report for children’s home: SC038906 1 SC038906

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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 for up to three children. The provider states in its statement of purpose that the home cares for children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s manager registered with Ofsted in March 2021. The responsible individual is a regular presence in the home and has been in post since it opened in 2002.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC038906 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/05/2021 Full Good 20/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/07/2019 Full Good 07/02/2019 Interim Not judged Inspection report for children’s home: SC038906 3

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improvement to be good

When considering new referrals for children to move into the home, managers and staff visit and liaise with children’s homes, foster placements or families to help them to understand the child’s history and the environment that the child will be coming from. This has helped some children to settle into the home. However, some children have moved from the home in an unplanned way due to increasing safeguarding concerns and staff not managing these appropriately.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to express their wishes and feelings in respect of their day- to-day care. Leaders and managers regularly seek children’s views about the care provided to them and they are supported to engage in their care planning and educational meetings. A child said they feel listened to. However, children’s records do not clearly reflect views. Leaders and managers create a sense of family for children, where adults are trusted and responsive. Specific staff do not complete key-work sessions with individual children, but instead are responsible and available for all children. This means that children can approach any member of staff for support. One child has developed a particular relationship with a staff member which has been described as ‘grandfather-like.’ This has helped the child to identify an appropriate role model, which is giving him a positive experience of adult relationships.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff place great emphasis on educational attainment for children. In general, children make good progress from their starting points. Weekly planners have a good balance between extra-curricular activity and study. One child who was reported as ‘not being able to sit still for any length of time’, who had not attended mainstream school for some time, is now engaging in education and is preparing to take exams in five GCSEs and a vocational qualification.

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improvement to be good

Children have access to a number of community-based resources that help them to develop their independence and self-esteem. A link with a multi-purpose youth centre enables children to receive pastoral support in the form of extra-curricular activities, employability and enterprise skills, money management courses, CV development and first-aid training, as well as sporting activities. The child currently living in the home attends church with a staff member, which he enjoys.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff generally have positive relationships with children, who respond well to set boundaries. One child’s presentation and general well-being have improved over time. Support around sleep, hygiene, nutrition and effective communication has enabled the child to develop awareness around how to manage his own well-being positively and establish positive relationships outside the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff and managers view children’s relationships with family members and those important to them as significant in helping children to understand their life story. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038906 4 Staff and managers therefore promote relationships for children and work with parents and others to re-establish and maintain communication.

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improvement to be good

The child currently living in the home says that he feels safe and protected.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing from care, detailed and accurate records are not completed. Records do not demonstrate how staff and managers respond to missing-from-care incidents to manage and reduce risks to children. Consequently, leaders and managers are not able to monitor and review missing-from-care incidents effectively to help them to improve practice and recording.

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improvement to be good

Leaders, managers and staff’s assessment and management of risk is an area that requires improvement. For example, when a member of staff brings their own children to the home while they are working, this is not risk-assessed and consideration is not given to the staffing ratios and responsibilities. There are no records to document when the children are present in the home. Furthermore, staffing levels are not increased and staff responsibilities are not clear. This practice does not demonstrate a good understanding of effective safeguarding practice.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always take effective action to prevent children from going missing from care. For example, on one occasion a child with a history of being missing from care left the home to go to the local shop. Despite the child leaving with a bag containing his clothes and belongings, staff did not challenge or question the child about this. They did not try to discourage the child from leaving the home or taking all of his belongings with him. The child subsequently went missing from care. This demonstrates poor and ineffective practice that does not help to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

The police have been called to the home on a number of occasions to help staff to manage the escalating behaviour of children. It is not clear from records what action is taken to de-escalate these situations before the request for police intervention. On one occasion when a child was arrested, the records do not demonstrate that staff took sufficient action to de-escalate the child’s behaviour and prevent the need for police intervention. Furthermore, records do not demonstrate whether debriefs with staff or children take place following these incidents. Consequently, staff and managers do not fully assess the impact of their behaviour strategies on children’s behaviour. Furthermore, children do not always benefit from opportunities to learn to manage their own behaviour.

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improvement to be good

The children’s guide does not include sufficient information relating to the use of CCTV and the practice relating to children’s bedrooms being searched in order to ensure that children are safeguarded effectively. Furthermore, the information is unclear and confusing. Additionally, the information is not written in a child-centred way. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038906 5 Regular checks are completed in respect of statutory requirements for children’s homes on appliances, gas, electricity and fire safety equipment. However, further professional assessment is required in respect of the doors designated as fire doors within the home to confirm that they fully meet fire regulations and ensure that children are protected from the risk of harm by fire or smoke inhalation.

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improvement to be good

Notifications to Ofsted in respect of serious events have not been made in line with regulation. This includes Ofsted not being notified when a child was missing from care for three weeks and an incident when a child was arrested for criminal damage and for making threats to staff. This limits the regulator’s oversight of the home.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not always ensure that decisions regarding new children moving into the home are robust. The impact risk assessment viewed for the child currently living in the home does not accurately consider the presenting behaviour and needs of the child who was already living in the home. The lack of comprehensive impact risk assessment has the potential to result in poor matching, and children being unable to settle into the home and form positive relationships with peers. Furthermore, this potentially leads to unplanned endings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager is supported in her role by a hands-on experienced responsible individual. Leaders and managers have high aspirations for children, and this vision is shared by an experienced and knowledgeable staff team. However, managers and leaders do not consistently implement and monitor adherence to regulatory requirements and quality standards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Safer recruitment processes are not consistently followed. Safer recruitment checks have not been completed for a member of staff who is currently working at the home. This does not demonstrate that the member of staff is suitable to work at the home and this potentially places children at risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff supervision records do not demonstrate that all staff receive regular practice- related supervision. Staff supervision is completed in a group format. It is not clear how effective group supervision is in addressing individual staff issues and their personal development. There is reported to be an open-door policy with regard to staff discussing individual issues with managers and leaders; however, there are no records to demonstrate this. Staff appraisals still do not include the views of other professionals and children living in the home despite this being raised as a recommendation at the previous inspection. Staff say that they feel supported by leaders and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff supervision and recruitment files are not stored securely to maintain confidentiality and align with the General Data Protection Regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The monitoring and review systems and the review of quality of care report do not demonstrate that the provider analyses information from incidents to identify Inspection report for children’s home: SC038906 6 themes and trends and areas for learning and development. Consequently, shortfalls in practice and recording continue and are not addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff did not follow the placement plan for one child as agreed by the placing authority. The responsible individual reported that an alternative plan was verbally agreed with the placing authority. However, it was not clear from the case records how staff were expected to meet, or met, the child’s needs in what were unusual circumstances. Furthermore, the child’s social worker informed inspectors that the care provided was not always appropriate and in the child’s best interests.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders, managers and staff do not always develop positive relationships with professionals and children’s families. Leaders and managers are at times openly critical of social workers and agencies, which does not promote positive working relationships and the securing of positive outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The training matrix for staff demonstrates that staff undertake a wide range of training, learning and professional support in order to ensure that they can meet the needs of the children they care for. However, the training matrix does not include the dates for staff to repeat or update their training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home environment is in need of repair work, maintenance and decoration, both externally and internally. For example, some children’s bedroom windows do not have window restrictors, the home is cluttered, the decor is tired and worn, and inspectors identified hazards in the home and garden. The responsible individual took action to start to remedy the condition and presentation of the home during the inspection. In addition, some children do not always have access to the kitchen despite risk assessments not being in place to demonstrate the reason for this. Clarity is needed for children as this is not in line with quality standards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers regularly gain testimonies and feedback from a variety of sources, including children. They also consider the impact of current practice on care. A good example of this is the initial referral form that leaders and managers have devised to ensure that gaps in information received about new children moving into the home are minimised. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038906 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(e)(g)(i)(ii)(h)) 4 July 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—

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Requirement Due date

that staff— 4 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC038906 8 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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to staff bringing their own children into the home and that internal and external repairs to the home should be completed promptly to ensure children’s safety.

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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.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the regulation 45 reports should include the views of key stakeholders and demonstrate that analysis of the quality of care provided has taken place, with recommendations for improvement or maintenance of care. 4 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC038906 9 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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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 an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(e)) 6 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d)) 31 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home. (Regulation 25 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the professional assessment of doors designated as fire doors in the home to ensure that they meet fire regulations. 31 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC038906 10 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

The date and circumstances of all incidents where a child goes missing from the home, including any information relating to the child’s whereabouts during the period of absence. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c) and Schedule 3 (14))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, missing-from-care records should be accurate and in line with regulation. 4 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, details of staff who no longer work in the home and services that are no longer offered, such as parent and child placements, should be removed from the statement of purpose. 31 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, placement plans should outline the agreed plan for children and be understood and followed by leaders, managers and staff. 4 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC038906 11

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that just as in a family home, children are able to access all shared areas of their home, including the kitchen, unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each child in the home. Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should ensure that a record of supervision is kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation. Specifically, records must be maintained

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Recommendations

for group and individual supervision sessions, and these should be stored appropriately to maintain confidentiality. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide uses child-friendly language and provides clarity on the use of CCTV and arrangement for room searches. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.21)  The registered person should support staff to have the confidence to have the skills to respond to children who are not adhering to boundaries in a variety of ways, without the need for intervention from police, which should be a last resort. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.14)  The registered person should ensure that staff appraisals take into account, where

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Recommendations

reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. As part of the performance management process, poor performance should be addressed by a timely plan to bring about improvement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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 for children’s home: SC038906 12

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Inspectors

Colin Bent, Social Care Inspector Lisa Mulcahy, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home: SC038906 13 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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