Children's home run by Heartwood Residential Services Ltd in Barnet

Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 1 SC423959 Registered provider: Heartwood Residential Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home provides care for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted on 1 March 2011. The manager of the home registered with Ofsted on 7 October 2022.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There were four children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/08/2021 Full Good 16/09/2019 Full Good 13/08/2018 Full Good 07/11/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care in this home. Staff place children at the centre of their practice to ensure that their day-to-day needs are met. They are passionate about caring for children and help them to make good progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are respected. Children are supported to actively participate in their care, and they are given opportunities to share their views. Children participate in their weekly house meetings, and ‘you said it, we did it’ forms demonstrate that children are listened to.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop their independence skills. Staff help children to learn how to cook, budget for shopping and do their own laundry. This support helps children to learn and develop important life skills and plan for the future.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to manage their own health needs. Staff support children to attend health appointments. They talk to children about their health and how to look after themselves better through healthier diets, stopping substance misuse and using alternative ways to cope with negative feelings.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individual support plans are effective. They are clear about what each child’s needs are, what the goals are and how the care provided to them helps them to make good progress. Children’s plans also include their views, which make them more meaningful.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, no children were receiving education from their placing authority. The leaders and manager have been challenging this and supporting children to re-engage in education with the right support.

p.3

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

Staff and managers understand the risks to children and know what each individual child’s needs are. Risk assessments are kept up to date and include effective plans to mitigate risks. Staff and managers work closely with other agencies and family members to ensure that appropriate action is taken to keep children safe.

p.3

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

Key-work sessions focus on children’s individual needs and are in line with their plans. Frequent key-work sessions ensure that they are relevant to the child and what is happening in their lives. Staff use information about children and educational tools to plan effective key-work sessions. Positive relationships between staff and children allow key-work sessions to be meaningful and beneficial for children.

p.3

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

Children are able to talk to staff about the things that concern them. Children have made disclosures to staff when incidents have happened. This helps children receive support in a timely way. Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 4 Staff are proactive when children go missing from the home. They contact children and work with other agencies to ensure that children are safe. Records of missing- from-home incidents are thoroughly reviewed, and debriefs are completed with staff and children. This ensures that staff are continually reflecting on their practice and helps to reduce the risks to children. As a result, missing-from-care episodes have been reduced.

p.3

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

Staff have a good understanding of whistle-blowing procedures. Leaders and managers take allegations of harm seriously and act promptly when issues arise. This increases children’s safety in the home.

p.4

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

Behaviour management is inconsistent. Staff do not always challenge children’s poor behaviour. The current approach is not effective, and children lack routine and boundaries. Staff and managers need to be more consistent in their approach to encourage positive behaviour.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed effectively by a permanent and suitably experienced registered manager, who is supported by an effective deputy manager. Leaders and managers have a good understanding of children’s needs and the progress that they are making. They show compassion and warmth to the children in their care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers regularly review the quality of care provided to children. They use learning from practice and review placement endings. By reflecting on what has happened, they identify trends and put in place new practices and procedures. This has seen an improvement in placement stability and matching.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and managers receive regular and effective supervision. Supervision focuses on the children’s needs, experiences and plans. Group supervision and regular team meetings ensure that the staff come together to reflect on children’s needs and plans. This demonstrates effective management oversight of staff practice and the progress that children are making.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training helps staff to meet the needs of the children in their care. The registered manager regularly reviews what training is needed and requests additional training when required. This ensures that staff continuously learn and keep up to date with relevant practice issues.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is positive, and staff feel supported in their roles. A number of staff have been working in the organisation for some time. This provides consistency for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home environment is well maintained and safe for children. The home feels homely and comfortable. Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 5

p.4

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that expectations of standards of behaviour are high for all staff and children in the home. These standards should be clear and unambiguous. Children should be supported to develop understanding and empathy towards each other. Positive behaviour and relationships should be reinforced, praised and encouraged; poor behaviour should be challenged and discussed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11)

p.5

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: SC423959 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Heartwood Residential Services Ltd

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 416 Green Lane, Ilford, Essex IG3 9TH

p.6

Inspector

Leanne Grant, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 7 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.

p.6

Inspector

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 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 .

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7