Children's Home run by Solace Care ClayHall Ltd in Redbridge

Inspection report children’s home: 2645038 1 Registered provider: Solace Care ClayHall Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to five children aged between eight and 17 years who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted on 18 October 2021. This is the home’s first inspection. The registered manager post is currently vacant.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in the home at the time of this inspection. The inspector spoke to one child.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: none Inspection report children’s home: 2645038 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and are proud of the progress they make. Children are supported to form close and trusting relationships with staff. One child told the inspector, ‘They’re nice, they talk to you, they don’t chuck you to the side when you do something wrong.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s feelings, views and wishes are sought through consultation forms, key- work sessions and house meetings. Children can express their views about their day- to-day care and the home. For example, one child has chosen new flooring for the living room area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff ensure that the children who are not in school engage in educational activities while waiting for a school placement. One child is completing online schoolwork in preparation for their GCSE exams. The other child receives home tuition. The tutor spoke very positively about the encouragement that staff offer to the child to support their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to lead healthy lifestyles. Staff support children in arranging and attending medical appointments. Staff ensure that children have access to specialist advice and support, including child and adolescent mental health services or substance misuse support. However, at times, one child has refused to take their medication. The manager is liaising with the relevant agencies to address this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff work hard to help children overcome any relationship difficulties between them. If any concerns are raised around inappropriate behaviour between the children, staff act promptly and appropriately.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to participate in activities in the home and the community. However, one child tends to spend significant lengths of time gaming, which staff find difficult to address.

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

The manager and staff work hard to ensure that children are protected from harm. For example, on one occasion, an unknown child was found in the home and so staff contacted the police. The full extent of any risk posed to the children and staff were fully explored.

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

The manager and staff demonstrate a good understanding of children’s needs and vulnerabilities. Children’s risk assessments are reviewed regularly. They include all known risks and set out specific actions regarding how staff should respond to and manage these risks. Staff support children to take age-appropriate risks, for example through enabling them to spend time out of the home alone. Inspection report children’s home: 2645038 3 The manager and staff generally respond promptly when children go missing from home. They maintain regular contact with children and encourage their prompt and safe return home. Staff work collaboratively with key professionals. This has led to the reduction of missing-from-home incidents for one child. However, on one occasion, a child’s missing-from-home protocol was not followed and there were delays in reporting the child as missing from care.

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

Children benefit from the consistent boundaries that the manager and staff provide. Incidents of challenging behaviour are infrequent. Incident records are detailed and provide a clear description of what happened, the action taken by staff to manage the incident and the debrief with children. Furthermore, positive behaviour is encouraged through the use of reward charts.

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

Staff have received safeguarding training and demonstrate a good understanding of the policies and procedures to follow if allegations are made against staff. This means that staff are able to respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns within the organisation. All allegations are reported to the relevant safeguarding professionals and are investigated appropriately.

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

Staff carry out room searches when necessary. The searches are recorded appropriately, and the child’s consent is sought. Room searches have helped to reduce risks such as substance misuse and the possession of harmful objects to children.

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

The records of incidents of restraint need to improve. Debriefs with children take place after each incident. However, records of staff debriefs do not include the views of every member of staff who applied the measure. Furthermore, management oversight of restraint incidents is not always recorded, and the reason for restraint is recorded in a different document. This does not enable leaders and managers to monitor the use of restraint effectively and identify any emerging themes and patterns.

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

The recruitment processes needs to improve to ensure that all relevant checks are carried out. For example, one candidate did not provide the precise dates of their previous employment and the provider did not explore any potential gaps in their employment history. Furthermore, the discrepancy between the employment history and references was not explored for this staff member. This does not demonstrate that recruitment processes are consistently safe.

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

Action is required to improve fire safety and recording of fire drills at the home. Currently, records do not include information about who took part in the evacuation. Furthermore, the drills are usually carried out during the day. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that children and staff understand and practise the home’s emergency evacuation procedures. Inspection report children’s home: 2645038 4

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good

There have been recent changes in the management team. A new manager was appointed in September 2022, who is in process of submitting her application to register with Ofsted. The manager has been working on new processes to improve the monitoring of the quality of care provided in the home. However, as these processes have not yet been embedded in day-to-day practice, their effectiveness cannot be measured.

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good

Staff report that they feel well supported by leaders and managers, who are available and approachable. However, the frequency of one-to-one supervision sessions provided to staff, including new staff, is not in line with the home’s statement of purpose. This compromises management oversight of staff practice and development.

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good

There have been no complaints made by children. Complaints made by others have been investigated appropriately. However, the records of complaints need to improve as they do not include all relevant information.

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good

Leaders and managers have failed to complete their quality of care review report. Furthermore, the last review completed did not include the views of children or staff. This is a breach of regulations and compromises the regulator’s external oversight of the home. The manager is currently completing the review.

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good

The review of premises contains out-of-date information; some of which has not been updated since the home registered with Ofsted. This does not equip staff with the information they need to respond effectively to risks related to the location of the home.

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good

It has been a challenge for leaders and managers to recruit and retain staff. Recruitment of permanent staff is one of the areas that the registered manager is progressing to improve the quality and consistency of practice and to provide stability for children.

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good

Leaders and managers need to ensure that placement matching and pre-admission risk assessment are strengthened to prevent them accepting children whose needs cannot be met in the home. One child moved into the home despite the placement not being suitable. This has had a negative impact on the experience of the child and a more appropriate home is being sought. The manager is liaising with the placing authority to ensure that the move is well planned and provides the child with a positive ending.

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good

The manager challenges placing authorities effectively when she is concerned that they are not making decisions that are in children’s best interests or when they do not meet children’s needs. Inspection report children’s home: 2645038 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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 16 November Inspection report children’s home: 2645038 6 within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 30 November

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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

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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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. 30 November Inspection report children’s home: 2645038 7 (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2)) 30 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

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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

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;

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this refers to the registered person ensuring that the monitoring and review systems lead to consistent improvement in the quality and consistency of recorded documents. 30 December

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they maintain good employment practice, as set out in regulations 31 to 33. In particular, this relates to ensuring that all discrepancies in employment history and references are explored. Furthermore, the registered person should ensure that details provided by Inspection report children’s home: 2645038 8 candidates allow for any gaps in employment history to be explored. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing from care or away from the home without permission. In particular, this refers to ensuring that staff report children missing in line with the child’s individual plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are helped to understand how to protect themselves. In particular, this refers to ensuring that fire drills are carried out when children are present in the home so that staff and children have a shared understanding of the procedures to be followed in the event of a fire. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)  The registered person should ensure that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs before the placement is agreed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.6)

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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 children’s home: 2645038 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Solace Care ClayHall Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Solace Care Morden Limited, Unit 2a, 420 Eastern Avenue, Ilford, Essex IG2 6NQ

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Inspector

Aneta Wasilewska, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2645038 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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