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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC062128 1 SC062128 Registered provider: London Borough of Hounslow Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The London Borough of Hounslow operates this home. The home’s statement of purpose states that it aims to meet the needs of young people with a range of challenging behaviours, which make it difficult for them to live with their families.

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to six children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, five children were living in 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 good

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good

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

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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: SC062128 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/08/2022 Full Good 21/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/07/2021 Full Inadequate 18/02/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC062128 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s overall progress and experiences at this home are good. Staff work hard to develop positive and meaningful relationships with children, providing clear boundaries, positive praise and spending quality time together. Managers and staff strive to ensure positive outcomes for children’s health, social and emotional development. Despite the challenges that have staff have in caring for some children, when discussing premature endings the responsible individual told the inspector, ‘We are always reluctant to let children go.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to settle well into the home. One child explained how staff took the time to go through the children’s guide and explain the routines and expectations. The social worker complimented managers and staff for the thoughtful planning that had taken place to make the child feel welcome.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to engage in a range of social and leisure activities. They offer children choice and encourage them to make suggestions. The inspector observed a children’s home meeting where children took the initiative in planning the home’s summer holiday.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to engage children in formal education or vocational training. The use of consequences for not attending a school is effective for some children. However, not enough consideration is given to obstacles to children’s engagement in education, and an appropriate structured programme of activities is lacking when children are not attending school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff support children to develop their independence skills, confidence and self-esteem. Staff celebrate children’s activities and achievements, help them with shopping and cooking, and support them in social activities. They have supported children to give presentations to their local authority’s Children in Care Council. Staff took children to the Houses of Parliament and a place has been offered for one child to attend a political summer school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children well in the transition to semi-independence. They help children to develop budgeting and other life skills, and provide outreach support to young people once they leave the home. Young people who had lived at the home previously have talked about the positive impact this had had on their lives.

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

Staff safeguard children in the home. They ensure that the home is secure and undertake regular health and safety checks. Managers have made the office more secure in response to recent incidents. This ensures the safety of children and staff. Staff understand the risks for children and adhere to agreed safety plans. They talk regularly to children about risks, for example from alcohol and drug misuse, and Inspection report for children’s home: SC062128 4 they enlist external specialist services to advise children where necessary. One parent commented that the things they were concerned about for their child, such as going missing, were no longer concerns since they have been at the home.

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

Staff have good relationships with children, including keeping in touch when they are away from the home. Children are going missing less frequently as a result. When children do go missing, effective liaison between staff, family, social care and police ensures that they return to the home safely.

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

Staff help children to manage their behaviours and express their emotions appropriately. Managers have reviewed their use of consequences and understand that rewarding children’s positive behaviour whenever it occurs has been more effective in changing children’s conduct. Call-outs to the police have not occurred in the last four months, which is a notable change for this home.

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

Staff know how to report concerns for children. Team meetings regularly discuss safeguarding matters and staff reflect on incidents within the home to improve their practice. However, in one case, concerns were not brought quickly enough to the attention of the manager, and a delay in informing the local authority designated officer compromised the local authority’s ability to respond effectively. However, the child did not suffer harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have worked hard to address requirements and recommendations from the previous inspection. Additional senior-level capacity has strengthened oversight and practice in the home. Leaders and managers have a clear focus on ensuring positive outcomes for children. Managers attend the local admissions and discharge panel, and are proactive in considering referrals for the home. A robust impact assessment has meant that managers are better at matching children, so that staff can meet their needs without compromising the progress of children already living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers support staff well. They provide regular supervision, support and training to help them carry out their roles effectively. Staff have shown resilience in the face of challenging behaviours from children. Leaders and managers provide regular therapeutic sessions for staff to reflect on the impact of working with trauma.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are making progress in evaluating the quality of care provided to children. Staff have recently received training on the local authority children’s case management system. However, managers could make greater use of the views of parents, social workers and staff, to help them monitor the effectiveness of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC062128 5

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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 registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the opinions of parents, placing authorities and staff are ascertained by managers and considered when reviewing the quality of care. 1 August 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that safeguarding notifications to Ofsted are submitted in a timely manner. In addition, the registered person should ensure that arrangements are in place for notifications to be submitted in their absence. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)  The registered person should ensure that where there are concerns regarding a child’s welfare, placing authorities and the local authority designated officer are Inspection report for children’s home: SC062128 6 informed in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.4)  The registered person should ensure that the barriers to children engaging in education are understood by staff and plans to support children with their education consider the impact of these barriers and how staff can reduce them.

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Recommendations

(‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 26, paragraph 5.3)  The registered person should ensure that where children are not in full-time education, or do not attend school during the week for whatever reason, they are supported by staff and encouraged to engage in appropriate structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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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: SC062128 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: London Borough of Hounslow

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB

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Inspector

Colin Bent, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC062128 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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