Children's Home run by Woodford Children's Services Ltd in Havering

Inspection report for children’s home: 2647767 1 Registered provider: Woodford Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The provider is part of a commissioning partnership contract with eight local authorities.

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties. There were three children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

This home and the manager were registered with Ofsted on 26 October 2021. This is the home’s first inspection.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2647767 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children settle well into the home and make good progress from their starting points. They make and sustain meaningful relationships with a consistent staff team. These relationships are warm and nurturing. As a result, children feel safe and well cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the value of children maintaining family relationships. Children are sensitively supported to spend time with their family and others who are important to them. The manager and staff support children and families to overcome any difficulties in relationships. As a result, children spend more quality time with their families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive child-centred care. They are helped and supported to build positive relationships with each other. Children are supported to manage difficult life experiences and this helps them to develop coping strategies and build resilience, which enhances their growth and development. However, children’s care plans do not demonstrate that the manager and staff consider children’s cultural and identity needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff take effective action when children are not in school. They talk with education professionals and provide children with educational activities at home. One child who had not been in school prior to moving into the home is now attending and is enjoying learning, and their attendance has significantly improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met well. Children attend all their routine health appointments. Specialists’ help and support are sought when necessary. Staff work closely with health professionals to ensure that children receive the appropriate support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop their independence skills. Staff help children to learn how to budget and cook their own meals. However, children are not always supported to keep their bedrooms clean and tidy. This was evident at the time of this inspection, as the condition of children’s bedrooms was a cause for concern. The manager and staff do not consistently take action to address the poor and potentially unsafe condition of children’s bedrooms.

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

Children said that they feel safe. They can identify a trusted person to talk to if they have concerns. The stable and consistent home environment, together with the warmth and confidence of the staff, helps children to feel safe and secure.

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

Children receive a well-coordinated response when they are missing from home. Staff understand the risks when children are missing and have a good understanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2647767 3 of the missing-from-home protocol. The manager and staff work effectively with other professionals when children are missing from home. However, independent return home interviews are not always carried out. This is a missed opportunity to gather important information to manage and reduce risks.

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

Children receive appropriate help and support to manage their behaviour and feelings. Positive behaviour is encouraged with positive reinforcement and praise, which children respond to appropriately. This has resulted in a reduction in incidents and provides children with positive experiences of care.

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

Children are supported to understand the risks posed to them when accessing the internet. Staff use individual sessions with children to help them to develop their knowledge and understanding of the risks. There are effective strategies and monitoring systems in place to address any concerns raised. As a result, children are kept safe when playing and working online.

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

Staff understand and manage children’s risks well. However, potential fire safety risks identified in children’s bedrooms by inspectors have not been considered by the manager and staff. Furthermore, children’s risk assessments do not include information about all known risks and the strategies in place to manage these.

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

Safer recruitment and employment practices ensure that staff are suitably vetted. This prevents unsuitable people from working at the home and helps to promote the children’s safety. However, recruitment practice could be further strengthened by leaders and managers ensuring that all references from previous employers are on headed paper or include a company stamp.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led and managed by a committed and experienced registered manager. The manager and staff know the children well and hold high aspirations for them. Feedback from children, professionals and parents about the leaders, managers and staff is overwhelmingly positive .

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The culture of the home is characterised by high expectations. Leaders and managers work proactively with other professionals and build positive relationships with parents. Professionals and parents receive regular updates on the progress and experiences of children. This results in a shared approach to providing children with good-quality care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers make child-centred decisions about children coming to live at the home and the arrangements for their future. For example, leaders and managers changed their statement of purpose, from providing emergency assessments to long-term care, to enable a sibling group to live at the home long term. This has provided stability and consistency for the children and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff said that they feel well supported by leaders and managers. They are suitably qualified and receive regular training and development opportunities. However, there Inspection report for children’s home: 2647767 4 have been occasions when children have been cared for by staff who were not suitably trained in restraint practice. This potentially placed children and staff at risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff understand their roles and responsibilities. Team meetings demonstrate that staff are able to reflect on practice and the needs of children. Staff benefit from regular supervision, covering a broad agenda. Supervision sessions are reflective, offer staff support and guidance, and consider the needs and progress of children. However, some supervision records do not demonstrate this well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers do not have effective monitoring systems in place to review the quality of care provided to children and identify key themes. Therefore, management oversight is compromised. Inspection report for children’s home: 2647767 5

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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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that children’s risk assessments include information about all known risks; children are helped to learn how to keep themselves safe; and the home environment is maintained to a high and safe standard. 14 November

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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 14 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2647767 6 promotes their welfare.

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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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff are suitably trained, and that there are effective monitoring systems in place to review the quality of care provided to children and take action to address any shortfalls identified.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing or away from home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. The registered person should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that they maintain good employment practice as set out in regulations 31-33. In particular, this relates to ensuring that all references from previous employers are on headed paper or include a company stamp. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that staff receive supervision of their

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Recommendations

practice from a suitable professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff supervision records reflect the needs and progress of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  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, the registered manager should ensure that children’s records demonstrate that they take into consideration children’s identity and cultural needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children’s home: 2647767 7

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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: 2647767 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Woodford Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Abacus House, 14-18 Forest Road, Loughton IG10 1DX

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Inspectors

Dorothy Thompstone, Social Care Inspector Lisa Mulcahy, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home: 2647767 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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