Children's Home run by Curam Domi Solutions Ltd in Barnet

Inspection report for children’s home: 1257182 1 Registered provider: Curam Domi Solutions Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to two children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted on 24 August 2017. The home recently reopened in April 2022 after being closed for six months.

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Information about this children’s home

The post for a registered manager has been vacant since March 2021. The current manager’s application for registration is in progress.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living at the home at the time of this inspection. The child chose not to speak to the inspector and instead completed a brief questionnaire.

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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: declined in effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1257182 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/03/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 11/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/02/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/02/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1257182 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

In the short period the child has been living at the home, staff have worked hard to get to know and understand the individual needs of the child, including how the child communicates. Staff are particularly sensitive to changes in the child’s routine and how these might cause the child to become anxious and unsettled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff support the child’s education well. The child has recently received a merit from school for achieving 100% attendance. Managers and staff have secured extra help for the child by bringing in a tutor to enable the child to prepare for their GCSE exams.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers work hard to maintain the child’s health and developmental needs. Managers and staff communicate with the child’s doctor and looked after children’s nurse effectively. Managers and staff have quickly picked up on the child’s anxiety around attending a dental appointment and are considering a referral to a specialist dental service.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has regular time to see their parent and siblings away from the home, where they engage in leisure activities and socialise. The child’s social worker reports that managers and staff have been instrumental in advocating for, supporting and monitoring telephone communication between the child and their parent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Records of key-work sessions and informal conversations show that the child is consulted and communicated with regularly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with the child on weekly targets to help to develop their independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child used a questionnaire to provide feedback to the inspector and stated that being able to cook their own food was the best thing about being at the home.

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

The child communicated that they feel safe and that staff listen to them when they are feeling upset or worried. The child’s social worker told the inspector that it has been beneficial for the child to be able to have the same staff as this has enabled the child to build trust and to have a sense of security.

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

Although the child does not go missing from the home, staff do have a safety plan that gives clear guidance on the actions to be taken if this was to occur.

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

Leaders and managers have advocated for the child to have a taxi to take them to school after recognising that the child was initially anxious and was at risk. Leaders Inspection report for children’s home: 1257182 4 and managers recognise that, in the long term, this does not help the child to develop a sense of independence and are regularly reviewing this arrangement.

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

Staff and managers have introduced a simple reward and consequence system that has helped to provide appropriate boundaries to promote positive behaviour for the child.

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

Managers’ and staff’s practice of lone working does not provide sufficient safeguarding measures for children or staff.

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

Leaders and managers have not monitored the physical presentation of the home effectively. For example, some internal repairs are outstanding, and the garden area needs to be cleared.

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

Safer recruitment recording is not yet robust. Leaders and managers have not ensured that a required risk assessment for a staff member was present in their recruitment file. Therefore, it is unclear how management oversight was provided in deciding that the staff member was an appropriate person to work with vulnerable children.

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good

The home has had four managers since 2019. None of the managers have registered with Ofsted. Leaders and managers are aware of the instability this situation has created.

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good

Staff say that they are supported by managers who are accessible and listen to them. Staff receive regular supervision, and they say that these sessions help them to explore how the plan for the child is progressing and their own professional development. The manager is looking to recruit more experienced and skilled staff as well as ‘upskill’ the current staff team to provide a level of care that is ‘more than your regular children’s home’.

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good

Leaders and managers provide staff with appropriate learning and development opportunities. Leaders and managers recognise when staff show potential to take on more responsibilities and support them through mentoring. However, not all staff have received key training, such as training in first aid and autism spectrum disorder awareness. This means that some staff lack the skills to meet the child’s needs.

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good

The manager has recently completed a review of the quality of care provided in the home. The review provides a clear description of the care provided, but does not include the views of the child, staff or other relevant agencies and individuals. This means that the review does not provide the level of evaluation needed to consider what may need to change. Inspection report for children’s home: 1257182 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(c)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff are suitably experienced and receive appropriate training. In 28 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1257182 6 addition, the registered person must develop monitoring systems that enable information gathered to inform the care provided to children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the employment of any person on a temporary basis at the children’s home does not prevent children from receiving such continuity of care as is reasonable to meet their needs.

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Requirement Due date

at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification. (Regulation 31 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff have completed first-aid training. 28 February 2023

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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

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the quality of care reviews consider and reflect the opinions of children, their parents, staff and placing authorities. 31 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1257182 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff take reasonable precautions and make informed professional judgements based on the individual child’s needs and developmental stage about when to allow a child to take a particular risk or follow a particular course of action. Staff should discuss the decision with the child’s placing authority where appropriate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.7)  The registered person should ensure that there is a review of the lone working policy to fully consider the implications for children’s care, including any likely risks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.18)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets all health and safety requirements and that repairs are completed in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations,

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Recommendations

including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that, where Disclosure and Barring Service checks reveal previous convictions, appropriate risk assessments are carried out and placed on staff files. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 1257182 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Curam Domi Solutions Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 86 to 90 Paul Street, London, Greater London EC2A 4NE

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Inspector

Colin Bent, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1257182 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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