Children's home run by Action for Children in Watford

Inspection report for children’s home: SC020675 1 SC020675 Registered provider: Action for Children Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered in 1998 and is run by a charitable organisation. It offers care for up to four children with physical or learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 12 January 2023. She holds her level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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: 16 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: SC020675 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/11/2021 Full Good 05/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 21/05/2019 Full Good 03/12/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC020675 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children live at the home. Another child regularly stays at the home to enjoy a short-break stay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved in since the last inspection. A carefully planned transition took place. This closely considered the child’s views as well as her father’s wishes and feelings about what was best for his daughter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make excellent progress. For example, a social worker told the inspector, ‘[The child] has made huge progress since being placed at [the home]; eating has improved, sleeping has improved and there has been a reduction in self-harm.’ Another child’s health, mobility and self-care skills have also improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individual hobbies and interests are embraced. For example, one child has a love for a boy band. His room is decorated and furnished to reflect this. The child was excited to show the inspector a photo of when staff took him to meet the members of the band. Experiences like this create unforgettable childhood memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend school. Teachers told the inspector that communication with the staff at the home is ‘excellent’. Good use of home-to-school communication books ensures that information is quickly passed on. This means that seamless care from home to school can take place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a range of activities. These include attending a dance class, going on holiday and going to a themed café. Children are looking forward to another holiday soon and are counting down the days with great excitement with the support of a visual aid.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is benefitting from ongoing refurbishment work. The environment is homely and welcoming. Children’s artwork, pictures and achievements fill every room. There is excellent outside equipment for children of all abilities to enjoy. This includes a sand table, wheelchair swing and bucket swing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy celebrating different events and festivities. For example, children celebrated Valentine’s Day. The home was decorated to reflect this. Children enjoyed making heart-shaped pizzas, and staff wrote messages to children to celebrate the things they love about them. As a result, children have a better understanding of the world around them and what makes them special. ‘However, although individualism is celebrated, not enough thought has been given to helping a child understand all aspects of their heritage. Inspection report for children’s home: SC020675 4

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

Staff are attuned to children’s subtle changes in behaviour. This has enabled them to quickly identify a child’s health concern and seek prompt medical advice. Staff work closely with children’s doctors and parents to ensure that the children’s health needs are regularly reviewed and recommendations are implemented.

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

Children do not go missing from the home, even when this has been a concern previously. Staff understand children’s needs and how to help them calm down. As a result, it is extremely rare that children need to be held to ensure their safety.

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

Regular checks are carried out to ensure that the environment is safe. Equipment that is required to support children’s physical well-being is regularly serviced and maintained. All children have personalised plans to ensure their safety should there be an emergency.

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

Staff have used children’s preferred communication aids to help them understand unplanned events, such as the death of a loved one. Staff have worked carefully with children to help them understand what has happened and to plan further support for the child. As a result, children’s emotional well-being has been supported.

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

On one occasion, staff failed to follow company procedure and delayed in sharing a safeguarding concern. This was appropriately dealt with, and wider learning has taken place.

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

Safe recruitment checks are completed. However, on one occasion, managers did not ensure that the reason for a member of agency staff leaving previous employment of working with vulnerable adults was checked.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is new in post but has a wealth of experience. She is aspirational for what children and staff can achieve. She is striving to consistently improve the service. She has a clear overview of the service and where she wants to take it.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision sessions. Team meetings are used as a forum to discuss children’s progress and listen to children’s views.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff ensure that children have their voices heard at every possible opportunity. Excellent partnership working takes place with school, social workers and other health services. This ensures that children get the right support at the right time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Hard-working staff have ensured that there is a good continuity of care. Staff morale is good. Staff told the inspector that they enjoy working in the home and feel very well supported. Many of the staff have worked at the service for many years. Inspection report for children’s home: SC020675 5 A social worker told the inspector that staff are ‘very good and have nurturing relationships’ with children. However, during the inspection, the inspector observed that staff had not thought through the evening routine, which meant that a child was not given the correct level of supervision for a short amount of time. Quick action was taken to put this right.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from a range of training courses to help them understand their responsibilities. However, staff have not had training in caring for children with learning disabilities. The impact of this is minimised due to the staff’s good knowledge of the children and their past experiences. A requirement has been made to ensure that current practice remains up to date. Inspection report for children’s home: SC020675 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 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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff have the training to support the children’s needs. This is in regards to training on global developmental delay and learning disabilities. 7 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that work is completed with children to ensure that their heritage is celebrated and 7 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC020675 7 understood. It also relates to ensuring that children receive the agreed level of supervision at all times.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that references are obtained and staff’s reasons for leaving previous employment when working with children and vulnerable adults are verified. 7 April 2023

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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: SC020675 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Action for Children

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford WD18 8AG

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Inspector

Louise Battersby, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC020675 9 regulates and 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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