Children's Home run by Area Camden Limited in Camden

Inspection report for children's home: 2535376 1 Registered provider: Area Camden 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 three children aged between 11 and 18 years who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in August 2019. The manager was registered in April 2021.

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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

Date of last inspection: 2 November 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2535376 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/11/2021 Full Good 24/02/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2535376 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care that makes them feel valued and secure. They develop meaningful relationships with staff, who they feel they can talk to about important things in their lives. As a result, children are settled and enjoy positive experiences with those caring for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their individual starting points. Specialist support is provided for children when there is an identified need. For example, when children require a higher level of support, staff from other homes within the organisation cover shifts at this home to enable children to have one-to-one support. This enhances their well-being and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain positive relationships with the people who are important to them. Staff are proactive and work closely with children and their families to improve the quality of the time they spend together. As a result, relationships are strengthened.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and wishes are listened to, and they are actively encouraged to be part of their own care planning. This supports children to develop a sense of ownership of their lives and helps them to make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend school and work closely with education professionals to provide additional support when needed. Children who are not in school receive a range of educational activities in the home and staff advocate for a prompt return to full-time education. One child who has not been in education for some time is now beginning to engage in one-to-one tuition. However, more could be done to help children to understand the need for them to attend education, through hearing their wishes and feelings to explore what is behind them not attending.

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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. This helps children to learn important life skills and prepare for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is generally well maintained and is checked regularly for hazards. Repairs are completed in a timely manner. The home is calm, clean and suitable for children to relax and unwind in and feel safe and protected. Children’s bedrooms are comfortable and spacious and children are able to personalise their bedrooms. However, the carpet in the hallway and stairs area needs replacing. Inspection report for children's home: 2535376 4

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

Children are safeguarded well. They say that they feel safe and that staff help them. This demonstrates that children receive appropriate care and support to meet their needs and keep them safe.

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

Children’s individual behaviour support plans are effective and realistic. Staff set consistent boundaries and routines for children. These promote and encourage positive behaviour. Consequently, this has reduced the number of incidents in the home.

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

Children’s known and potential risks are well understood by staff. Staff are proactive and curious about children’s changing behaviours. Room searches are carried out sensitively when there is cause for concern. There is well-coordinated communication with other agencies when concerns are raised about children’s welfare. This helps to keep children safe.

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

Incidents of children going missing from the home have reduced. Staff maintain contact with the relevant professionals and look for children in the local area. The manager and staff work closely with the missing-from-home co-ordinator to help to reduce the number of incidents in which children are missing from home. Incidents are thoroughly reviewed through appropriate debriefs, and risk assessments are updated. This ensures that staff understand what is happening for children and helps to reduce risk.

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

Feedback from social workers and family members is positive. They speak highly about the level of communication they have with staff and their prompt responses when issues arise. A family member said, ‘The staff are really good with [name of child] and want the best for him.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leadership and management of the home are strong. Leaders and managers know the home’s strengths and areas for development. They use external feedback and monitoring systems to develop staff practice and improve the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have high aspirations for the children in their care and are clearly committed to them. They make child-centred decisions and advocate for children to ensure that they receive the most appropriate care and support to meet their individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is very positive. Staff say that they feel well supported by leaders and managers. Staff receive regular and effective supervision. This provides them with the opportunity to reflect on their practice and supports good management oversight. Inspection report for children's home: 2535376 5 Staff training is effective. In addition to mandatory training, staff receive additional training, such as in LGBT issues and drug awareness, to help them care for children with specific needs. Staff say that this training is beneficial and has positively impacted on how they care for children. This helps staff to provide care and compassion when children are struggling.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s records are detailed and demonstrate their progress and experiences. Staff regularly gather children’s views about the care they receive and include these in their records. However, when children decide not to share their views, this is not recorded. The children’s guide does not demonstrate that the manager and staff creatively capture the voice of children to ensure that the guide is child-friendly. Inspection report for children's home: 2535376 6

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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

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

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager and staff should ensure that they consult with children to hear their wishes and feelings, to explore what is behind them not attending education and to help them to understand the need for them to attend. 31 January 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, in order for the children’s home to be a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of children, they should replace the carpet in the hallway and stairs area. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children's home: 2535376 7  The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide creatively captures the voice of children, to ensure that the guide is child-friendly. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.21)  The registered person should ensure that when children do not wish to share their views about the care they receive, that this is stated in their records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2535376 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Area Camden Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Malvern View, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove B60 4AD

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Inspector

Zara Salim, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2535376 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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