Children's home run by Holibrook House Limited in Waltham Forest

Inspection report for children’s home: SC037248 1 SC037248 Registered provider: Holibrook House Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to six children. The provider’s statement of purpose states that the staff use a therapeutic approach to care for children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in November 2003, and the manager registered in April 2011.

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 outstanding

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 17 November 2021

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC037248 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/11/2021 Full Outstanding 09/10/2019 Full Good 06/12/2018 Full Good 28/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC037248 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

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

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Five young children previously moved out of the home, despite considered matching and planning, because the manager recognised that the home was not suitable to meet their needs.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The current children have lived at the home for nearly two years and are getting ready to leave. The children benefit significantly from the ongoing and continuous support from the close-knit staff team. They have made considerable and meaningful progress from their individual starting points.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One key strength is the staff’s ability to spend time and form relationships with the children. The strength of the relationships and the level of acceptance from the team help children to develop self-confidence and self-belief. This furthers the children’s skill and ability to express their views, wishes and feelings and encourages the children to practice being true to themselves. The result is that the children feel loved and genuinely cared for. This has enabled more than one of the children to ‘turn their life around’.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The waking night staff play a pivotal role in helping the day staff to maintain a safe, welcoming and homely environment. This and the pet cat help the children to experience the house as their home and to accept nurture and comfort.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Another key strength is the staff team’s ability to ensure that the home is run in a manner as close to family living as possible. Wholesome and nutritiously diverse meals enjoyed together while having conversations around the dining table help children learn how to compromise and develop respect and empathy.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some of the children can take part in music therapy. One child attends college, and the staff’s successful approach to partnership working helps the child to sustain and succeed in education and learning. The staff help the older children to prepare CVs and apply for employment. This encourages the children to practise and gain some experience of being in employment. This helps to promote reliability and may increase the opportunity to sustain a steady income in adult life.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work proactively to help the children think about moving on to independence. Regular conversations and practical tasks focused on budgeting, money management, food preparation, self-care and talking about the future help to prepare the children for their next steps as care leavers. Inspection report for children’s home: SC037248 4

p.3

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

The children trust the staff. They have confidence in the whole team and often approach their key workers and the deputy manager for advice, guidance and support.

p.4

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

Written information in children’s individual risk assessments, behaviour support plans and core assessments is particularly comprehensive. This demonstrates the depth of information available for staff to help them to understand each child’s personality, character and likely response in risky situations. This and the quality of the relationships frequently help to keep the children safe.

p.4

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

The frequency of missing-from-home incidents has distinctly reduced for most children. The potential for the children to be exposed to criminal and/or sexual exploitation has noticeably reduced. Staff follow the required procedures to report children who go missing from home to the police. Staff maintain substantial levels of communication with children when they are out or not where they are expected to be. This helps to consolidate the relationships between the staff and children. Staff work consistently and collaboratively with the agencies in each child’s network and use feedback from return home interviews to build a picture of children’s experiences when they are away. This provides reassurance to the professional network about children’s overall safety, relevant to their individual circumstances.

p.4

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

The independent person completes regular monthly visits to the home. However, reports do not sufficiently evidence enough feedback from stakeholders or children. This may result in a complacent approach to safeguarding.

p.4

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

Staff do not use physical intervention. There are very few incidents because staff confidently know how to de-escalate behaviour that may appear challenging. When an incident does occur, the managers are enormously responsive and quick to take the necessary action to keep children and staff safe.

p.4

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

There have been no complaints. Allegations against staff are infrequent. Nonetheless, allegations are managed transparently with a strong focus on the child.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The suitably qualified registered manager is long standing and ever present. They are considerably experienced and avid in their belief that children in care should not be disadvantaged by circumstance.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager holds firm boundaries with each child and adopts the role of parent. The manager achieves this with an instinctive ability to include children’s family members in their child’s experience of care. The registered manager offers each child and their family an abundance of time, patience and understanding. This helps the children to maintain family relationships and to prepare for recovering from previous trauma. Inspection report for children’s home: SC037248 5 The registered manager has worked tirelessly with the deputy manager and staff to maintain a relaxed and happy environment for the children to call home. The staff are exceedingly well supported. Individual supervision and annual appraisals help the staff to identify their strengths and to work on their areas for professional development. Debriefs and conversations with staff following incidents help to encourage reflection and promote best practice.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff training is available online and is complemented with opportunities for regular discussion and in-house workshops. This helps the staff to work cohesively and enhances their ability to help the children to grow and mature. Staff feel valued and have considerable respect for the manager. The use of agency staff has decreased, and staff retention is high.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The six-monthly quality reviews demonstrate that the registered manager has effective oversight of the home and the systems used by the staff to monitor children’s progress. The managers welcome feedback and a collective multi-agency approach to raising children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC037248 6

p.5

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. In particular, ensure a more consistent approach to seeking feedback from stakeholders and children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15)

p.6

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: SC037248 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Holibrook House Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: First Floor, 172 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, London E17 4QH

p.7

Inspector

Rosie Davie, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC037248 8 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.7

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.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8