Children's Home run by The Beeches UK limited in Peterborough

Inspection report for children's home: SC466786 1 SC466786 Registered provider: The Beeches UK Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to four children with learning disabilities and other complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2022.

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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 for children's home: SC466786 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/06/2021 Full Good 29/10/2019 Full Good 28/01/2019 Full Good 11/05/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC466786 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children have moved out and three children have moved into the home since the last inspection. Three children were living at the home at the time of this inspection and were making good progress. They enjoy spending dedicated time with staff who know them well and who celebrate their individual personalities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two of the children attend the provider’s school and one child attends a local college. All the children have good attendance levels. Staff are ambitious for the children and support their learning by reading to the children in the evenings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are included in the running of the home. They have recently chosen the countries that they would like to celebrate in the newly introduced weekly themed evenings. The children are enjoying participating in preparing the meals and decorating the home with the country’s national flag.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand that it is important for children to maintain relationships with the people who are special to them. Good organisation and communication with the children’s families ensure that visits are well planned, supported and enjoyed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take time to ensure that the children’s voices are heard. All the children know how to make a complaint and are supported to express any concerns or worries that they may have. Children with communication needs are helped to express their wishes and feelings through symbols and pictures. Children feel listened to and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped and supported to regularly attend health appointments. Each child has their own secure medication cabinet and staff ensure that medication is administered correctly. This attention to detail has prevented any medication errors occurring.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy activities such as swimming, hand cycling, glow golf and trips out to local parks and the beach. Staff capture these moments through taking photos and displaying them at the home. However, the children do not have their own books or memory boxes. This means that children have left the home without memorabilia of these special moments to keep as part of their life story.

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

Children enjoy living at the home and feel safe. Nurturing and trusting relationships are evident. One child said, ‘The staff keep me safe here. I’m happy and I have learned a lot. I think that the home is outstanding.’

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

Staff have undertaken safeguarding training and demonstrate good knowledge of the policies and procedures to follow. They understand the importance of reporting Inspection report for children's home: SC466786 4 and following up concerns. Professionals and parents said that staff safeguard the children well.

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

The manager has reviewed the local area risk assessment, which is comprehensive and detailed. It provides good guidance to staff of the local risks, which they share with the children to raise their awareness.

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

Physical intervention is only used as a last resort to prevent injury to the child or others. These incidents are recorded, the views of the child are gathered and staff receive debriefs. However, on several of the records, the views of the child and the debriefs are recorded separately. This compromises the manager’s oversight and has the potential to limit the capacity to further improve practice in this area.

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

The children have good-quality individual risk assessments. Staff understand the vulnerabilities of each child and follow the guidance well. One of the children has failed to return on time from appropriately risk assessed free time. On each occasion, staff have followed procedure to locate and return the child safely. However, the records for these incidents do not consistently contain the actions taken, as the actions are recorded elsewhere.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in post since October 2021 and registered with Ofsted in July 2022. Staff speak highly of her management skills and say that they feel valued and well supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has built good relationships with external professionals. A teacher said, ‘The staff work in partnership with us. Communication is very good. Staff are responsive to any request and always help by providing extra support when it is needed.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The provider has made improvements to staff training. All the staff are now suitably trained to work with children with autism spectrum conditions and complex communication needs. There is a clear development programme for the home. This includes research-informed practice being introduced to further enhance practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff receive a comprehensive induction to help develop their skills. Staff receive regular and effective supervision which prioritises the children’s needs. However, not all staff have received their yearly appraisal. This reduces opportunities for staff to discuss their professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent person visits monthly and provides well-considered reports that recommend actions for improvement. The reports contain consultation with professionals and parents. However, the children’s views are rarely included, due to the visits taking place when the children are at school. This reduces the effectiveness of the report as a quality monitoring tool and does not provide the intended safeguards for children. Inspection report for children's home: SC466786 5 The manager has met three requirements from the last inspection and one has been restated. Inspection report for children's home: SC466786 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 registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(c)) 9 September 2022

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the visits are undertaken when the children can be seen.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 9 September 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. In particular, ensure that records are completed fully, with attention to detail and accuracy, and are overseen by the registered manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Staff should understand their important role in encouraging the child to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and understanding. Staff should keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of their time spent living at the home and help them to record significant events. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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Recommendations

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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: SC466786 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Beeches UK Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 212 Ballards Lane, London N3 2LX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rebecca Ouellani

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Inspectors

Lynne Drage, Social Care Inspector Aneta Wasilewska, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC466786 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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