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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC457780 1 SC457780 Registered provider: London Borough of Brent 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 short breaks for disabled children with autism spectrum disorders, physical and profound disabilities, learning disabilities and complex health needs. The home provides care for up to eight children at any one time.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in December 2012. The registered manager post has been vacant since October 2022. The current manager is in the process of applying for registration.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children were having a short break at the centre.

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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 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: 2 November 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC457780 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/11/2021 Full Outstanding 29/05/2019 Full Outstanding 10/05/2018 Full Good 09/05/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC457780 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have warm and nurturing relationships with children. Staff meet children’s physical, health and emotional needs and know the children well. Parents and social workers report that children with limited communication express excitement at attending for short breaks and are very settled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff collaborate well with parents, social workers and schools to identify children’s needs. Plans for children outline the purpose of the short-break arrangement. However, not all children’s files contain up-to-date children in need (CIN) plans or education, health and care (EHC) plans. This compromises the ability of staff to fully understand and develop robust plans for children who have short breaks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use a range of methods to communicate with children, including Makaton and the Picture Exchange Communication System. Staff consult with children regularly to gain their views and wishes. In one example, a menu change was made in collaboration with parents, children and the cook when one child wanted to have more fresh foods available.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to progress with their independence and social skills. All children have set targets based on their abilities. Staff sensitively prompt and guide children to clear away plates and cups after eating, put on items of clothing independently and use words like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Staff praise children for the progress they make, however small.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities, both in the centre and in the community with staff support. One social worker reported that their child ‘enjoys activities such as colouring, building blocks and playing with other children using an interaction board’. The child shared pictures of the museum they visited during a community outing, which they really enjoyed. Managers and staff are aspirational for children and determined to ensure that their experiences are as wide ranging as they would be for any child.

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

Staff ensure that children are safe and protected from harm in the centre. The purpose-built centre operates an electronic key-fob system. Children cannot pass through certain doors without staff supervision, when this would place them or others at risk. In the community, staff appropriately supervise children according to their safety plans.

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

Children’s positive behaviour support plans identify known triggers for children’s distress. Staff use strategies written in the plans for calming and reducing anxieties. Incidents in the centre have reduced due to staff responding quickly to signs of distress. All staff are trained in the use of restraint, which they use as a last resort. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457780 4 When incidents do occur, staff respond quickly to keep children safe. Staff record incidents and managers complete debriefs when possible, with children as well as staff. Managers and staff seek to learn from incidents to improve the quality of responses to children and reduce the need for physical intervention.

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

Managers and staff understand their responsibilities in safeguarding children. Recent emergency admissions meant that leaders and managers had to make challenging decisions to reduce or suspend the short-break service because of the risks to other children and staff.

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

Safeguarding vulnerable children is paramount for leaders and managers. The manager calls on the expertise of colleagues who have experience in safeguarding vulnerable children to provide training to staff.

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

One parent said, ‘It takes a lot of trust to leave your child with others,’ adding that they had confidence in the staff team to keep their child safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers know the service well and work hard to provide the best support possible to children and families. The manager is an experienced and pragmatic individual who has brought consistency and clarity of processes and procedures to the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are ambitious and have a vision to develop the service for children and families as a community resource. For example, plans are in place to develop a library on the site which all children can use, not just those having short breaks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers understand the importance of building trust and openness with families. The manager has re-established the centre newsletter and parents’ coffee mornings, which had been paused for some time. This contributes to ensuring that children have positive experiences on short breaks because parents know staff and have confidence in the care provided to their children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers support staff to develop confidence in their roles. Staff have specific responsibilities in the centre or act as champions for specific functions, for example in relation to management of medicines or the recruitment of agency staff. Leaders and managers have clear expectations for staff. The manager said, ‘No one can say that they do not know what to do or have to ask why they have to do it’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive supervision which considers their own welfare and development needs. Staff have their own personal development plans that cover essential training, but also areas they feel may be helpful for their own progress. However, not all staff have received regular supervision and not all supervision sessions are recorded. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457780 5 Children’s and families’ experiences of the short-break service have not all been positive. However, leaders and managers dealt sensitively with complaints raised regarding the closure and suspension of the short-break service. They worked hard to provide alternative arrangements for children and families, including day care. Leaders and managers have reviewed policies and procedures to reduce the need to make such challenging decisions in the future. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457780 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff receive supervision in line with the home’s policy. Managers should keep a record of supervision for staff and themselves. The record should provide evidence that the manager has delivered supervision. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.3)  The registered person should ensure that relevant plans for children written by the responsible authority, such as CIN plans and EHC plans, are up to date. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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 Home Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457780 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: London Borough of Brent

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Director of Children and Young People, London Borough of Brent, 4th Floor, Civic Centre, Engineers’ Way, Wembley, London HA9 0FJ

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Inspector

Colin Bent, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC457780 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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