Children's home run by London Borough of Waltham Forest

Inspection report for children’s home: 2563530 1 Registered provider: London Borough of Waltham Forest Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by the local authority. It provides short breaks or long- term care for up to eight disabled children.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in January 2020. The registered manager left in August 2022. The current manager has applied to register with Ofsted and their application is progressing.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home and three children were on a short break. None of them were able to communicate verbally with the inspector. They contributed to the inspection process in differing ways.

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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

Date of last inspection: 3 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: 2563530 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2563530 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are in tune with children and understand them well. Children receive individualised care that meets their needs and helps them to make progress. Care planning has a strong emphasis on the voice of the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s physical environment is maintained to a high standard and is exceptionally well resourced. Children enjoy using various facilities, such as a soft- play room, sensory room and music room. In good weather, they have fun in the garden, running around, playing on swings and a ground-level trampoline. Children have enjoyable times and experiences that enhance their development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have excellent opportunities to enjoy activities in the community. This helps them to broaden their experiences and develop their social skills. Children are introduced to new experiences, such as visits to the cinema and museum, and learn how to ride a bicycle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All three family members and four external professionals spoken to had only very positive things to say about the impact of the home on children’s safety, experiences and progress. They were particularly pleased with how staff supported children’s positive behaviours and life skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Well-planned admission procedures help children to settle when they are new to the home. However, on one occasion, a staff member was not aware of the child’s preference in respect of their personal care when they stayed overnight for the first time. This was an isolated incident, and the staff have learned from the incident that occurred.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make sure that relevant information is shared with health professionals on a need-to-know basis. Despite a thorough procedure for dealing with children’s medication, the inspector identified two errors. In one case, records suggested that the child was given the same medication twice by two different sets of staff. No negative impact on the child has been reported, and staff were not aware of this error before the inspection.

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

Staff are aware of children’s vulnerabilities and know how to keep them safe. Thorough written risk assessments and safety plans support good safeguarding of children.

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

Staff reflect on and learn from safeguarding incidents. As a result, staff’s vigilance and knowledge of missing-from-home procedures have improved. All children now have up-to-date risk assessments that include strategies for managing missing-from- Inspection report for children’s home: 2563530 4 home incidents, which includes ensuring that information is readily available to share with the police if needed.

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

Behaviour management practices are effective in helping children to develop safer behaviours. Children respond well to routines and boundaries. Children’s challenging and self-injurious behaviours reduce in intensity and frequency over time.

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

The positive approach to behaviour management minimises the need for staff to use physical interventions. There have been five physical interventions since the last inspection. However, the records of these interventions provide contradictory and confusing information. The lack of clarity and detail means that it is not possible to evaluate staff practices in relation to the use of physical interventions at the home.

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

Staff have good links with the local authority designated officer, which is important when dealing with allegations against professionals. Managers ensure that any concerns relating to staff practices are thoroughly investigated.

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good

The quality assurance of records by leaders and managers is an area that requires improvement. The manager has countersigned records of physical interventions without making sure that they provide full and clear information about the incident. A senior member of staff failed to identify errors when carrying out the weekly audits of medication records.

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good

The manager’s quality of care reviews have not been carried out as required. Additionally, the quality of care review reports lack analysis and evaluation. These shortfalls undermine Ofsted’s monitoring of the home.

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good

The use of regular agency staff helps to resolve staffing shortfalls. However, agency staff do not have practice-related supervision. During the inspection, the manager was unable to locate a permanent member of staff’s supervision records.

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good

The staff work well as a team. Leaders, managers and staff share the same vision. They are committed to enabling disabled children and supporting their families. The weaknesses identified during the inspection have not had a negative impact on children’s safety, experiences and progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2563530 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 registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23 (1)) 22 March 2023

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure.

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)— 22 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2563530 6 has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 19 April 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

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality-of- 19 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2563530 7 care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality-of-care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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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) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that at the time of a child’s arrival to the home, staff have all the information they need to help staff provide personalised care to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.7)  The registered person should ensure that all staff working at the home, including agency staff, receive regular supervision, and notes of the supervision meetings are available. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2563530 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sycamore House, Forest Road, Walthamstow E17 4JF

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Children’s home details

Manager: Raul Jaque (application progressing)

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Inspector

Seka Graovac, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2563530 9 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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