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

Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 1 SC068789 Registered provider: London Borough of Hillingdon Full inspection 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, three children were living at the home and five children were attending for short breaks.

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Information about this children’s home

During this inspection, the inspectors were aware that a serious incident had occurred at the setting since the last inspection. This incident is under investigation by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate incidents of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the incident were considered (where appropriate) alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform the inspectors’ judgements.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 21 September 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 2 Overall judgement at last inspection: Inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

This children’s home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 23 September 2022.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Three compliance notices were issued on 4 October 2022 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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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit took place on 9 November 2022 to monitor compliance with the three notices. At the time of the visit, the compliance notices had not been met and were reissued. These were reviewed at the full inspection on 13 and 14 December 2022 and were met. Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 3

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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: SC068789 4

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improvement to be good

Children’s overall experience and progress are continuing to improve. Leaders and managers have taken steps to address the shortfalls identified at the last inspection, which is having a positive impact on children. Although good progress is being made, some things are planned and are yet to happen. For example, there are plans for staff to receive specialist support to address children’s specific needs, but this will not take place until January 2023.

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improvement to be good

Children receive individualised care from staff who know them well. Children’s care plans are trauma informed and specific about each child’s communication style. Positive behaviour support plans are in the process of being developed. These tools help staff to provide better care to children.

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improvement to be good

Child consultation and participation have improved significantly. Children are given more choices, and regular children’s meetings ensure that children have the opportunity to share their views. Staff are creative and use different communication tools in the meetings so that all children can participate. Children make choices about their weekly food menu and the activities they would like to do. Children engage well in the meetings, and staff have taken action to fulfil the children’s wishes. A good example of this is that the home is currently decorated with Christmas decorations that the children chose themselves.

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improvement to be good

The children’s guide has been updated and is now accessible for children. Children were consulted with, they made suggestions and the guide has been updated. While the complaints guide for children is now accessible for all children, one child said that she did not know how to make a complaint.

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improvement to be good

Feedback from parents, social workers and independent reviewing officers is positive. All report that they feel children are making good progress in the home. Additionally, staff support children to spend meaningful time with their families and are helping to progress some reunification plans.

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improvement to be good

Importantly, feedback from children is positive. An independent reviewing officer shared that one child said that they feel valued and respected by their carers, who have given them a sense of worth.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding practice has strengthened since the last inspection. All staff, including agency workers, have attended additional safeguarding training. Regular discussions about safeguarding children take place in team meetings and in individual Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 5 supervision sessions. Staff are clear about their responsibilities when it comes to safeguarding children. This helps to improve their confidence in reporting concerns in the future.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have started to implement better monitoring systems to review all incidents and safeguarding concerns. While this process has started, it is not yet embedded, and the impact is yet to be seen.

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improvement to be good

Staff’s understanding and assessment of risk are improving. Children’s risk assessments are now much more detailed and specific to the child. There are clear plans in place to support children to mitigate any identified risks. Despite this, risk assessments still do not consider the wider safeguarding risks to children. Currently, there are generic risk assessment templates in use that are incorrect and misleading. These need to be improved to ensure that staff are aware of all of the risks posed to children and how to keep them safe.

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improvement to be good

There is a proactive response when incidents occur. Staff follow children’s safety plans and work with the wider professional network. Information is shared in a timely way to ensure that plans are put into place to protect children.

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improvement to be good

Children now have individual key-work sessions. Some of the key-work sessions focus on personal safety and stranger awareness. Others have been more activity based. Key-work sessions could be further developed to ensure that children receive more individualised support to help them to keep themselves safe.

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good

The registered manager has been in day-to-day charge of the home since the last inspection. This has improved her understanding and oversight of staff practice. There has been a much more cohesive response from the leadership team members, who recognise that there is still work to be done.

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good

Policies and procedures have been reviewed and are now clearer for staff around lone working. However, the child protection flow chart is confusing and needs to be amended. Despite this, all staff know how to report a concern and how to escalate if they feel action is not taken.

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good

Staff training is currently under review. Safeguarding training has been prioritised. However, it is unclear what other training is being offered and when it will take place. Leaders and managers have not provided staff with training specifically relating to closed cultures, and no further work has been done with staff to improve their confidence around restraint.

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good

Staff supervision is inconsistent. Although most staff have received supervision since the last inspection, this has not been monthly. The registered manager provided reasons for this and has plans to ensure that staff have regular supervision going forward. Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 6 Staff appraisals are yet to be completed. The registered manager is aware that these are required.

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good

Management oversight of children’s records has improved, but there are still some gaps. For example, one record of restraint was not sufficiently detailed, but another record met requirements. Some of the children’s records do not include details of all information required, such as names of healthcare professionals or education plans.

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good

Regulation 44 reports are not produced in a timely way. The last regulation 44 report received by Ofsted was in November 2022 for the month of August 2022. Additionally, the registered manager does not receive the reports for several months. This limits external oversight and monitoring of the home, and it is not helpful to leaders and managers in making or sustaining changes swiftly. Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 7

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, risk assessments should identify all risks to children and strategies for managing risk. The monitoring of safeguarding procedures and practices should be thorough and effective, and all staff, including the agency staff, should continue to receive consistent support and guidance on how to deal with any concerns. Furthermore, children should receive individualised key-work sessions in line with their known risks and vulnerabilities. 6 January 2023

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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

promotes their welfare. 6 January 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 8 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

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

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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)(a)(c)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff supervision, training and appraisal need to be consistently reviewed and delivered. Monitoring systems need to be utilised and embedded.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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)) 6 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to— 6 January 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 9 HMCI;

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Requirement Due date

upon request, the local authority for the area in which the home is located;

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Requirement Due date

the registered provider and, if applicable, the registered manager; and

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Requirement Due date

the responsible individual (if one is nominated). (Regulation 44 (1) (7)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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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 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

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: SC068789 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: London Borough of Hillingdon

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Inspectors

Leanne Grant, Social Care Inspector Claire Beckingham, His Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 11 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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