Children's Home run by Amelia’s House Limited in Brent

Inspection report for children’s home: SC448693 1 SC448693 Registered provider: Amelia’s House Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to four children with complex needs. The home’s statement of purpose specifies that it will look after children with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and/or social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in July 2012 and the manager registered at the same time.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one young person over the age of 18 and two children were living at the home.

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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: 17 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: SC448693 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/11/2021 Full Good 03/03/2020 Full Good 12/09/2018 Full Good 03/10/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC448693 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience warm, sensitive and consistent care from a committed staff team. Staff work well together in meeting children’s physical, emotional, health and social needs. One social worker reported that ‘although one child is non-verbal, when they have visited, the child appears to be happy and comfortable in their environment’. The social worker also reported that they have ‘observed other children and young people to appear to be happy in the home’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are clear and written by managers in the first person, which brings the child’s wishes, feelings and strengths to life. Managers and staff have reviewed and amended children’s care plans to make them more accessible to children who struggle with written formats. However, one child’s file does not contain a local authority care plan, which places staff and managers at a disadvantage in fully understanding the child’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make substantial progress from their starting points. Staff help children to improve their independence, social and personal care skills by working to achievable targets. Parents and social workers commented positively about the progress that children make. Staff praise children when they undertake tasks such as going to the local shop, putting their plates and cutlery in the sink after eating and using the toilet without assistance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in a wide range of activities with the support of staff. Children enjoy trips to museums and parks, bowling, cooking and trampolining in the garden. Managers and staff are determined to offer children activities they show an interest in, as well as activities that provide them with new experiences. One parent commented that they valued that staff sent photos of the different activities their child had enjoyed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children living at the home attend school, which is a great achievement. Managers and staff work well with schools to ensure that transitions between home and school are as stress-free as possible for children. Managers and staff understand the importance of children attending school as part of building a routine as well as for the social and educational benefits.

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

Staff protect children from harm by being proactive and attentive. Staff know children well and respond to changes in behaviour that may lead to them placing themselves or others at risk of harm. Incidents in the home where staff or children have been at risk of harm have reduced significantly.

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

Safety plans clearly outline known triggers for children and the required staffing ratios for individual children. One child has one-to-one staffing due to their Inspection report for children’s home: SC448693 4 vulnerability, and another child has two-to-one staffing due their additional vulnerabilities. Staff, schools, social workers and parents all contribute to positive behaviour support plans for children. This ensures that children receive the most effective responses to manage their behaviour and to reduce the risk of harm.

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

One parent stated that staff demonstrated incredible patience and resilience in dealing with challenging behaviour from their child. This made the parent feel particularly confident that their child was safe in the home.

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

Staff use appropriate strategies to calm or redirect children. Managers and staff use restraint as a last resort and, over the last year, this has not been a feature of the home. However, in one example where staff reported restricting a child’s movement, managers did not record their evaluation of the actions of staff or details of the debriefs undertaken with the child and staff involved.

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

Staff understand their responsibilities in keeping children safe and reporting child- protection concerns. There have been no allegations since the last inspection.

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good

The registered manager is a committed and child-focused individual who has a significant investment in the home, as they are also a director. The responsible individual, appointed in August 2022, has helped to strengthen the leadership and management team.

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good

Staff recruitment is a priority for leaders and managers. There is an over reliance on the dedication and good will of the current staff team and the availability of the registered manager. Two agency staff have been assigned to support one child due to lack of staff capacity. There is a need for the recruitment of more staff to offer flexibility in the care provided to children and to strengthen the leadership and management of the home.

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good

The current staff team consists of experienced and less experienced workers. Staff said that leaders and managers support them well. Staff work well together, and communication is effective.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision and annual appraisals. However, staff appraisals do not demonstrate how staff have contributed to the process, such as through self- evaluation. Feedback from colleagues and children is not a feature of appraisals and they do not include clear objectives or development action plans.

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good

Leaders and managers have joined a training hub that offers an extensive range of online training for staff. Leaders and managers are in the process of commissioning face-to-face training to strengthen the training offered to staff. However, not all staff hold a suitable childcare qualification. Consequently, the requirement raised at the last inspection relating to this is restated. Inspection report for children’s home: SC448693 5 Leaders and managers do not have effective monitoring and review systems to monitor all aspects of the day-to-day tasks required of staff. The quality of recording varies, and the manager does not have an effective system in place for confirming that staff have read and understood essential policies and procedures. However, leaders and managers have now invested in a new case management system that offers greater ability for management oversight.

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good

The home’s statement of purpose does not currently reflect the outcomes that the home seeks to achieve and its approach to achieving them and staffing qualifications and experience as required by regulation.

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good

The home has a welcoming and family feel. Leaders and managers have plans in place to repair damaged areas of the home, clear clutter from the garden area and make free-standing furniture secure. Inspection report for children’s home: SC448693 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

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— research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met;

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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)(f)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that effective monitoring and evaluation of day-to-day practice and procedures are in place and shortfalls are addressed. 1 May 2023

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or 1 May 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC448693 7 a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part- time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they provide a homely, domestic environment. In particular, repair and redecorate the damaged walls, floors and fittings and remove old items from the garden area. In addition, ensure that staff secure free-standing wardrobes appropriately. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff appraisals consider, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. Staff should contribute to the appraisal process and clear actions, or developmental plans, should be identified. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s statement of purpose is updated to accurately reflect the service provided and staff qualifications and

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Recommendations

experiences. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.23)  The registered manager should ensure that when incidents of control, discipline and restraint occur, there is appropriate management oversight and analysis, with recorded debriefs for staff and children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 11.5) Inspection report for children’s home: SC448693 8  The registered person should ensure that up-to-date local authority care plans are available on children’s files. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful and clear recording. In particular, the registered person should ensure that all record-keeping is consistent. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations,

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Recommendations

including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC448693 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Amelia’s House Limited

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christine Bakunga-Muyizzi

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Inspector

Colin Bent, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC448693 10 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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