Children's Home run by Norwood Ravenswood in Barnet

Inspection report for children’s home: SC010415 1 SC010415 Registered provider: Norwood Ravenswood Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a registered charity and not-for-profit organisation. The home provides short breaks for up to nine children with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and sensory impairment.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in April 1994. The manager of the home is suitably qualified and registered with Ofsted on 12 December 2022.

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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

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 in August 2022.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Three compliance notices were issued on 30 August 2022 under regulation 12 (the protection of children standard), regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard) and regulation 34 (policies for the protection of children standard). Following a positive monitoring visit on 18 October 2022, the compliance notices were deemed to be met. Inspection report for children’s home: SC010415 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/08/2022 Full Inadequate 18/01/2022 Full Good 29/07/2019 Full Good 21/05/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC010415 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s overall experience in the home has significantly improved since the last inspection. The home reopened on 5 December 2022 after a complete refurbishment. All living areas of the home have been redecorated and refurnished. The children’s bedrooms are now clean, tidy and personalised. The main room for activities, eating and relaxing is welcoming and homely. However, while the door- alarm monitoring system is not in use, it is still in place and gives the home an institutional look.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who access short breaks have fun by engaging in a range of activities and opportunities. They enjoy activities in the local community and trips into central London. A range of activities takes place in the home, including baking and messy play. These give children positive and stimulating experiences during their stay. Additionally, the registered manager has introduced memory books for each child, which capture the time they spend in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are thoughtful and considerate. Leaders and managers have taken time to update children’s individual care plans with their families. Therefore, the information about children is current and reflects their needs. This helps staff to provide good-quality, individualised care and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in meaningful key-work sessions with staff. Realistic targets are set based on children’s individual starting points to help them learn and develop new skills. So far, this has included sessions on preparing and cooking meals and tidying up after dinner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s communication methods are understood well. They are given the opportunity to share their wishes and feelings in key-work sessions. They are also given choices about what activities they would like to do or what they would like to eat. However, the children’s guide is only available in written format and is not accessible to all children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is currently operating short breaks for children under 18 years old only. This makes the home more suitable for children.

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

The safeguarding culture in the home is continuing to improve. Leaders and managers are creating ways for staff to be more open and discuss their concerns in team meetings and supervision sessions. Staff safeguarding training is up to date, and staff are clear about their role and responsibilities in protecting children.

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

Children’s risks and needs are understood well. Dynamic risk assessments ensure that staff can easily review and update them when necessary. Leaders and Inspection report for children’s home: SC010415 4 managers have completed a group-living risk assessment, as well as individual matching assessments of the children. This ensures that there are clear plans in place to protect children and mitigate known risks.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted, and there are clear behaviour strategies in place. Staff are able to de-escalate situations, and the use of physical intervention is not required. However, staff have not completed training to help them to restrain children safely should they need to intervene to keep children safe. While the current strategies are working, this gap in training potentially places children and staff at risk.

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

Leaders and managers are improving relationships with children’s professional networks. The local authority designated officer shared positive feedback about the progress made since the last inspection.

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

Staffing levels are safe. Since the home reopened, the number of children accessing the service has temporarily been reduced to ensure that there are enough staff who are trained and able to meet the children’s needs.

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

The physical environment is now safe for children. Leaders and managers have met the recommendations from the fire risk assessment. The sensory room door is now safe. The location risk assessment is up to date and reflects the known risks in the local area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have worked hard since the last inspection to make the necessary improvements for children. The organisation’s commitment is evident, and the culture of the home is characterised by high expectations and aspirations for all children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is now managed efficiently by a permanent registered manager who is suitably qualified and highly skilled. The registered manager brings warmth, energy and ambition for children and what they can achieve. An experienced deputy manager supports the registered manager, which has strengthened the leadership of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The senior management team has gone through a number of changes. The responsible individual has remained as a named person. However, another manager is overseeing the home with the registered manager. During the inspection, a decision was made to replace the named responsible individual. Ofsted has been formally notified of these changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular and effective supervision. Supervision records show that safeguarding is always on the agenda. This demonstrates that there is good oversight of staff knowledge and practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC010415 5 Staff appraisals are up to date. Each member of staff has their own personal development plan. This helps staff to grow and develop their skills. It also ensures good management oversight of staff development needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training helps staff to meet the needs of the children in their care. All staff mandatory training is up to date, including first aid, medication, epilepsy awareness, learning difficulties and autism spectrum disorder. Staff also complete additional training to strengthen their knowledge and skills in caring for children with complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have better monitoring systems in place. This includes monitoring the number of days that children access the home to prevent them from going over their short-break allowance. The independent visitor’s reports are submitted on time and give better external oversight of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Parent feedback is positive. Parents report that the registered manager has taken time to get to know them, and they feel safe leaving their children at the home. Parents also report that the communication with the home has significantly improved. They now receive communication in a book that tells them exactly how their child has been during their stay. Inspection report for children’s home: SC010415 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide is age-appropriate and provided in an accessible format and explained to each child to make sure they understand it. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.21)  The registered person should ensure that the home is homely and should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that all their staff have been adequately trained in the principles of restraint and any restraint techniques appropriate to the needs of the children the home is set up to care for, as defined in the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.57)

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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: SC010415 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Broadway House, 80-82 The Broadway, Stanmore, Middlesex HA7 4HB

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Inspector

Leanne Grant, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC010415 8 inspects 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit

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Inspector

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspector

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Inspector

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