Children's home run by Personal Security Service Limited in Enfield

Inspection report for children's home: 1228092 1 Registered provider: Personal Security Service Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties. It is one of three homes run by a private organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2023.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1228092 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/11/2019 Full Good 12/06/2018 Full Good 08/08/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1228092 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, two siblings were living at the home. Another child had recently moved out. The home had given immediate notice on this child’s placement. The staff were unable to meet the child’s needs following unforeseen changes to the child’s behaviour and needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home closed for several months last year for refurbishment and opened again in January 2023. It is decorated to a high standard and has a relaxed and comfortable feel. This gives children a home they can feel proud of.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have good relationships with children. Children say that the staff are one of the things they like most at the home. Creating positive relationships helps children to feel cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to share their views. They encourage and support children to access an advocate. Regular house meetings take place. The manager meets with children monthly to talk to them about how they are feeling and to gather feedback. Ensuring that children have a range of ways in which they can share their views helps children’s voices to be heard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide strong support to help children explore and understand their individual identity. One child receives specialist help to understand complex ideas around gender. Staff receive training to help them support children with their individual needs. They use this training in key-work sessions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend education. They helped one child to have a managed move from his previous school. This had a positive effect on the child. Staff drive a substantial distance each day with another child so that the child can maintain the school placement they had before moving in. As a result of the support provided, children’s school attendance has improved since moving to the home. Having a focus on education will increase opportunities for children in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage the children to participate in activities in the community. Consequently, the children experience lots of new things, such as boxing, gymnastics and trampolining. Children talked about how much they enjoyed these. The children also go on holiday to the home’s caravan, which they spoke fondly of. The rich variety of activities children take part in expands their potential for enjoyment and achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The garden is overgrown in places and would benefit from some upkeep and maintenance to ensure it is a welcoming area for children. Inspection report for children's home: 1228092 4

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

The children feel safe in the home. The support and availability of staff enable children to feel this way. No children have gone missing from care.

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

Staff consistently promote positive behaviour. The staff use a system of reward that recognises positive attributes and behaviour. The children are invested in this. For example, one child was praised for helping another child in the park who had hurt themselves. Another child was praised for staying calm in a difficult situation. Recognising and rewarding these behaviours encourage children to continue to develop.

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

There have been occasions when physical intervention has been necessary. Staff manage these situations well. The staff and children involved receive good debriefs that consider everyone’s well-being.

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

The staff work collaboratively with the police and police are positive about their working relationship with the staff. Having a positive relationship with police helps to increase the safety network around children.

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

Safe recruitment processes are efficiently managed. There is a structure in place to ensure that all required checks are completed and recorded. This reduces the potential for unsuitable people to work at the home.

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

Some staff were unaware of some specific risks relating to a child. Although these risks had been recorded and staff had read the relevant documents, this did not result in staff understanding the risks. This meant that staff lacked important awareness of the child’s needs.

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

Managers’ monitoring and oversight of bullying incidents is limited because of incidents not being clearly recorded. One child was bullied during their time at the home. Staff put strategies in place to try to keep this child safe. However, these actions were varied in their effectiveness.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff spoke highly of the manager and the support that she offers them. Supervisions are of good quality. This enables staff to be more effective in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The induction process for staff is suitable. Mandatory training is up to date. The manager sources specialist training related to children’s needs. Team meetings are well attended and offer the team the opportunity to discuss children and what is important to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a system for monthly monitoring that helps her review the service and identify areas that need improvement. This contributes to generally good management oversight. Inspection report for children's home: 1228092 5 The manager works well with other agencies and is not afraid to challenge when necessary. Appropriate action was taken to give notice when a child was not safe at the home. The manager communicated well with all the relevant professionals and advocated for the child’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the emotional impact the work can have on staff. Leaders and managers recognise that it has been a challenging time for the staff and have bought them all a token of appreciation. Supplementary supervisions are also offered when needed. Creating a culture where staff feel cared for will enable them to offer better care to children. Inspection report for children's home: 1228092 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, The 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff are familiar with any risks identified in the child’s plans. 3 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy for the prevention of bullying in the home, which must in particular set out the procedure for dealing with an allegation of bullying. (Regulation 34 (3))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that this policy is implemented and all incidents of bullying are logged. 3 July 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the garden is suitably maintained to create a more usable and welcoming space. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children's home: 1228092 7

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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: 1228092 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Personal Security Service Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Laser Quay, Culpeper Close, Kent ME2 4HU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Frederik Booysen

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Inspectors

Mary Costello, Social Care Inspector Eileen Bultitude, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1228092 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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

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