Children's Home run by Clearwater Care (Hackney) Ltd in Essex

Inspection report for children's home: 2614508 1 Registered provider: Clearwater Care (Hackney) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to two children aged between seven and 18 with social, emotional, behavioural and mental health difficulties. This is one of several children’s homes operated by this private provider.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since August 2022.

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 requires improvement to be 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: 2614508 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2614508 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care is provided in two houses, which can accommodate one child in each. One child was living at the home at the time of this inspection. Since the last inspection, two children have moved out and two children have moved in. For over eight months, just one child lived at the home. They left recently.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive consistent help and care from a dedicated and patient staff team. A minimum ratio of one-to-one staff support ensures that children’s needs are met. This level of support helps to reduce the pressures on children living in shared space with other children. This helps children to relax and feel comfortable and safe.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build positive relationships with the staff and say that they feel well cared for. One social worker said that the team worked ‘above and beyond’ expectations to help and understand their child. Staff encourage children to have their say about the plans for their day and this helps to build their confidence. Children are actively encouraged to personalise their home and to express their uniqueness. Children celebrate birthdays and special occasions. Personal achievements receive recognition and reward. Staff encourage individuality. One child, who has since left the home, told the staff team, ‘I cannot stress how much you have helped me.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children make strong progress in education because of the help that they receive. Tutors visit the home. Staff often help children to complete schoolwork and to prepare for exams. This helps those children to take steps towards building their future. However, staff are not successful in addressing the barriers to learning for every child. This is because not all children are enrolled in education.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The ending for one young person who had reached 18 was abrupt and did not allow for a planned move to new accommodation. Skills for life such as cooking, meal planning, budgeting and seeking employment are supported to a certain extent. However, planning for independence lacks coordination and effective oversight.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s mental health improves as staff pay attention to children’s well-being and support good self-care. This ensures that children attend routine, specialist and emergency health appointments.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to develop their personal interests, such as playing instruments and caring for animals. Children have pets and enjoy days out in the local community. Family time is actively encouraged. This means that those people who are important to the child are welcome to visit.

p.3

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

To keep children safe, staff quickly seek help, advice and guidance from managers and other professionals. The managers and staff regularly attend planning Inspection report for children's home: 2614508 4 discussions with other professionals. Communication with the network of support around each child is often effective in ensuring that up-to-date information is shared. This ensures a transparent approach to keeping children safe and helps to reduce life-threatening risk.

p.3

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

Day, evening and waking night staff are responsive when children are upset and need additional help. Children do not go missing from the home. There is meaningful progress in personal safety for every child. Staff invest a great deal of time in talking to children. This means that staff get to know individual children well, and understand how they are feeling and how they are likely to behave when faced with difficult emotions. Staff understand individual risk and the extent of children’s trauma from their previous experiences.

p.4

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

Physical intervention is rare and used appropriately to prevent children from coming to harm. Debriefs help those involved to reflect on what works to keep individual children safe. Staff understand the risks to children who self-harm, which helps to reduce the likelihood of children coming to significant or lasting harm.

p.4

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

Allegations of concern are appropriately shared with other agencies. Internal investigations are thorough and identify actions to improve practice.

p.4

good

The registered manager left in August 2022. The provider is considering the options for recruiting a new manager. The deputy manager has temporarily stepped into the role as an interim manager and is providing effective oversight.

p.4

good

Staff work over their hours. They feel proud of the care that they provide and say that they receive good support from their immediate managers. Regular supervision for permanent and bank staff ensures a focus on children’s individual experiences and needs. The additional opportunity for coaching from the deputy manager helps some staff to link practice to quality standards.

p.4

good

Eligible staff hold a relevant qualification. Some staff have worked for the provider in the provider’s other services for several years. Some staff receive an annual appraisal, but this has not happened for all staff. This does not provide consistent opportunity for children and others to feed back to managers on the quality of individual staff.

p.4

good

Staff have access to training, the majority of which is online. Staff undertake the organisation’s mandatory training, such as in first aid, safeguarding and fire safety. Nonetheless, the opportunity for training and professional development relevant to the complex social and mental health needs of individual children lacks strategic oversight. This does not help new staff to develop the range of skills necessary to sustain the intense arrangement of providing one-to-one care and support. Inspection report for children's home: 2614508 5 Senior managers audit the records and identify actions to improve practice. However, actions are not completed within the identified time frame. Some written records are out of date. This does not ensure that the staff are working to the home’s statement of purpose. Inspection report for children's home: 2614508 6

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.6

Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(ix))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children are enrolled in and receive help to attend their further education placement. 21 October 2022

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; 18 November Inspection report for children's home: 2614508 7 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(a)(g)(i)(h))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, implement actions identified from audits, ensure staff access meaningful training reflecting the complex needs of the children in their care, and demonstrate that messages from research influence the approach to practice.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

p.7

Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

p.7

Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 18 November

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff actively seek to make the fullest contribution to the pathway planning process, working with other relevant persons. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.28)  The registered person should work with the placing authority to ensure that each child’s move from the home is planned and help each child to prepare for leaving the home, both practically and emotionally. In particular, ensure that following an abrupt ending, there is meaningful support for the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.9)  The registered person should ensure that all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should consider, when reasonable and practical, the views of other

p.7

Recommendations

professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5) Inspection report for children's home: 2614508 8

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: 2614508 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Clearwater Care (Hackney) Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Minton Place, Victoria Street, Windsor SL4 1EG

p.9

Inspector

Rosie Davie, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2614508 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.

p.9

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.10

Inspector

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

p.10

Inspector

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

p.10