Children's Home run by London Borough of Hillingdon in Hillingdon

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC068789 1 SC068789 Registered provider: London Borough of Hillingdon

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home cares for up to nine children with physical and/or learning disabilities. The home is divided into two sections. One section offers short-break care for up to five children and the other provides longer-term care for up to four children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2017. She is suitably qualified.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection visit, three children were living at the home, two were attending for short breaks and one child was visiting the home.

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Information about this children’s home

During the visit, the inspectors were aware that a serious incident was under investigation by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate incidents of this kind, the inspectors considered the actions the setting has taken in response to the incident, alongside other relevant evidence available to them.

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This monitoring visit

Inspectors judged the home to be inadequate at the full inspection on 21 to 23 September 2022. Three compliance notices were issued under Regulation 7, the children’s views, wishes and feelings standard, Regulation 12, the protection of children standard and Regulation 13, the leadership and management standard of the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015.

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This monitoring visit

Following the inadequate inspection judgement, leaders and managers provided an improvement plan to Ofsted detailing the action that they would take to meet the compliance notices. The purpose of this monitoring visit was to monitor the progress made against the compliance notices. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC068789 2 Although there has been some improvement made, progress has been too slow and many of the shortfalls highlighted in the compliance notices have not been satisfactorily addressed. As a result, a further three compliance notices have been issued under Regulations 7, 12 and 13.

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This monitoring visit

The arrangements for consultation with children and the voice of the child remain weak. Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that children have a strong voice and are involved in the evaluation and development of the home.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have still not had any additional training to develop their understanding and skills to meaningfully communicate and consult with all children. They are not consistently supporting children to communicate their views, wishes and feelings. This shortfall in practice is particularly significant given the needs of the children who use the service.

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This monitoring visit

Staff try to explain and offer different choices to children, such as asking them to choose what clothes they want to wear in the morning. However, leaders and managers are not ensuring that staff confidently and consistently use visual tools that are available to help them communicate with children. Managers identified the need for children to have pictorial menus; however, this has not been implemented.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have reviewed and updated the children’s guide, but they did not consult children as part of the review. The updated version of the children’s guide has been shared with staff members and children’s parents, but it has not been shared with children. The guide is not tailored to children’s communication needs and is available only as a text document. No arrangements have been made to provide the information in other forms so that all children and families can access it.

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This monitoring visit

The complaints procedure for children has been amended and is now available in a pictorial form. However, neither this document nor the children’s guide include the contact details for the Children’s Commissioner for England.

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This monitoring visit

Partnership working with education and health professionals is improving. Children’s care plans are beginning to include information about their communication needs, which is being completed in consultation with teachers and other professionals.

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This monitoring visit

Shortfalls in the assessment and management of risk persist. Potential risks for children are still not being thoroughly assessed and reviewed. Leaders and managers have created a new risk assessment template to address this weakness. However, the new risk assessment format has only been implemented for one child. The new risk assessment template is also limited in the areas of risk that it considers. For example, it does not consider risks relating to children’s online safety, or the potential for harm from sexual abuse, exploitation and/or radicalisation. The continued shortfalls in risk assessments undermine children’s welfare and safety.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have taken some steps to improve staff awareness of the home’s safeguarding policies and procedures. They have reissued guidance to staff Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC068789 3 and discussed it with them at a recent team meeting. However, the child protection flow chart for reporting concerns is confusing to follow. This undermines safeguarding of children.

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This monitoring visit

Despite agency staff working at the home regularly, leaders are not ensuring that they receive supervision from the provider, complete safeguarding training or attend team meetings where safeguarding matters are discussed. The lack of a whole-team approach to safeguarding undermines the consistency and effectiveness of safeguarding practice and weakens efforts to promote children’s welfare.

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This monitoring visit

The supervision of permanent staff is irregular and staff have not completed some important aspects of safeguarding training, for example to help them identify and respond to signs of abuse or neglect, or to recognise risk of extra-familial harm. The poor arrangements for supervision and training undermine the consistency of practice, and weaken opportunities for all staff to use professional reflection to develop their knowledge and practice.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and staff have strengthened arrangements for the safe administration of medication. These are now safer for children.

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This monitoring visit

The leadership and management of the home have remained ineffective and are not driving forward the development and improvement of the home with enough urgency. The improvement plan has not been fully implemented. Limited management oversight and a lack of robust monitoring and review systems undermine children’s safety and welfare and the development of the service. Records and daily logs do not demonstrate effective management oversight. A newly appointed quality assurance officer has visited the home; however, the purpose and outcome of this visit were not evident at the time of the inspection visit.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers do not demonstrate the up-to-date knowledge of legislation they need to ensure that staff practice is in line with required standards. A staff meeting that focused on the improvement of the service referred to national minimum standards that were revoked on 31 March 2015. The meeting notes do not refer to the current quality standards that came into force on 1 April 2015.

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This monitoring visit

The requirement regarding the home’s statement of purpose and the recommendations from the full inspection were not reviewed during this visit and have been restated. All requirements and recommendations will be reviewed at the next full inspection. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC068789 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/09/2022 Full Inadequate 22/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/12/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/12/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC068789 5 G

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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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care;

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Requirement Due date

has access to the home’s children’s guide, and the home’s complaints procedure when the child’s placement in the home is agreed and throughout the child’s stay in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is given appropriate advocacy support. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iv)(b)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that all staff use the appropriate communication aids to enable children to express their 12 December 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC068789 6 views, wishes and feelings. Children should be helped to make choices and be involved in decisions about their care. The children’s guide must be accessible and explained to all children.

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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 effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that risk assessments identify all risk and strategies for managing risk. That the monitoring of safeguarding procedures and practices are thorough and effective, and that all staff, including the agency staff, receive consistent support and guidance on how to deal with any concerns. 12 December 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC068789 7 *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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to promoting an open working culture, with strong and effective team working. It also relates to ensuring that there are clear and consistent policies and procedures in place that support and guide staff to provide safe and consistent care, and that all staff who work at the home, including the agency staff, receive reflective supervision and relevant training. 12 December 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. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to keeping the statement of purpose updated and ensuring that the information provided is current. 12 December 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which— 12 December 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC068789 8 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. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that children’s records are accurate; sufficiently detailed; reflect children’s wishes, feelings and choices; and evidence management oversight.

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff are confident in the use of restraint techniques and can use their professional judgement to respond appropriately. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 48, paragraph 9.53)  The registered person should ensure that the staff team have access to specialist consultation to reflect on their practice with children and address specific needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that the workforce development plan is updated to include training on closed cultures as part of staff’s continuing professional development. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC068789 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: London Borough of Hillingdon

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: London Borough of Hillingdon, Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 1UW

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Inspectors

Seka Graovac, Social Care Inspector Leanne Grant, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC068789 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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