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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC033805 1 SC033805 Registered provider: London Borough of Barnet Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides medium- to long-term care for up to six children with emotional difficulties and/or mild learning difficulties. The home also provides emergency provision for children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2020 and is also the registered manager for another home in the local authority.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children were living at the home. Children were not spoken to during this inspection.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC033805 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/03/2022 Full Good 14/01/2020 Full Good 18/02/2019 Full Good 06/11/2018 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: SC033805 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, 12 children have lived at the home. This includes children being placed on an emergency basis, as well as children needing short-term care before returning to live with their family or to semi-independence.

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improvement to be good

Outcomes for children are mixed. For some children, progress and experiences are good. A child who arrived at the home as an unaccompanied minor and could not speak English lived at the home for three years and successfully completed his GCSEs before moving on to semi-independent living. A younger child, who was admitted in an emergency, has settled well in the home and is engaging in education.

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improvement to be good

Currently, two children living at the home are staying with their families and are recorded as absent without authority. Staff’s continued efforts to encourage the children to return to the home are being undermined by the children’s wishes and determination to live with their family. Although staff keep in regular phone contact with these children, they do not carry out welfare visits to seek assurances that the children are well cared for and safe.

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improvement to be good

Weaknesses in care planning and placement decisions resulted in three children being placed in the home in an emergency, and staff were unable to meet their needs and keep them safe. These children have left the home, and the manager acknowledges that the decision-making in respect of these children was unsatisfactory. During this time, the frequent changes in children were disruptive and unsettling for the children and staff.

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improvement to be good

Children have access to counselling support to improve their emotional health. Additionally, support from local substance misuse services is sought for children when necessary. Staff are not always successful at getting children to attend these appointments.

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improvement to be good

Children’s religious and cultural needs are met. One child attended a holy communion. It was a positive experience for the child to revisit the church with family members.

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improvement to be good

Although the children currently living at the home are adequately safeguarded, how staff help and protect the children needs to improve. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033805 4 Risk assessments are brief and do not contain clear strategies to help staff manage all potential risks, such as children smoking in the bedroom and potentially starting a fire. Staff do not carry out regular fire safety checks to minimise these risks.

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improvement to be good

In some instances, staff have not been successful at de-escalating challenging situations or behaviour. Some staff reported that they felt scared and worried when incidents escalated. On several occasions, staff felt it was necessary to call the police to help manage incidents in the home. These incidents relate to the time when the home was unsettled, and staff could not meet each child’s needs. At the time of the inspection, the home was more settled and incidents in the home had lessened.

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improvement to be good

Shortfalls were found in the physical intervention records, for example, there were discrepancies in the information provided in a restraint record and the incident log.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of bullying in the home are not always managed effectively. In the absence of a clear plan to address bullying, some children, who no longer live at the home, experienced bullying.

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improvement to be good

The local area risk assessment lacks sufficient information about concerns in the local community. The manager has not considered local tube or train stations, a neighbouring hostel and a restaurant that has concerns in relation to child exploitation.

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good

The experienced registered manager, who also manages a sister home, divides her time between both homes. The deputy manager works from their own home on most days. The current daily management arrangements are not effective because managers are not sufficiently present. This weakens the leadership and management oversight at this home.

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good

Before children move into the home, the manager carries out an assessment to determine if the staff can meet the child’s needs and keep all children safe. Although the manager has refused referrals after her initial assessment, senior leaders have overruled them and thus undermined the registered manager’s decision-making. Consequently, some children with complex and high-risk behaviours have been inappropriately placed at this home.

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good

The home’s statement of purpose is not updated in a timely manner, and revised versions are not sent to Ofsted within the required timescale. Additionally, Ofsted had not been informed of all police call-outs to the home as required.

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good

Professionals reported effective communication and said that staff were committed to supporting children. Staff were professional and attended all significant meetings for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033805 5 The staff team is stable, committed and highly resilient. Staff benefit from having regular individual supervision as well as monthly reflective supervision sessions with a therapeutic practitioner. The manager invites guest speakers to team meetings to help support the work of her team. Although the care staff work well as a team, leaders and managers do not. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033805 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 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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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)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e)) 31 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC033805 7 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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received;

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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)(b)(c)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h)) 31 March 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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 31 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC033805 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement has been restated. 31 March 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s views, wishes and feelings are taken into account when planning and reviewing their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 21, paragraph 4.5)  The registered person should ensure that records of restraint enable the registered person to review the use of control, discipline and restraint and identify any issues, trends or concerns that emerge. The registered person and staff should use these reviews for future learning and staff development. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should ensure that the behaviour management strategy is understood and always applied by staff, and it must be kept under review and revised where appropriate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that debriefs with children following a restraint consistently happen. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)  The registered person should notify Ofsted when the police are called out to the home to attend to serious incidents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10) Inspection report for children’s home: SC033805 9

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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: SC033805 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: London Borough of Barnet

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale NW9 4EW

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nichola Gallagher

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Inspector

Kamal Bhamra, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC033805 11 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 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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