Children's Home run by Stonelake London Limited in Brent

Inspection report for children's home: 1264048 1 Registered provider: Stonelake London 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. In its statement of purpose, the provider states that care is provided to children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted on 12 September 2017 and the manager registered on 12 December 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 1264048 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/04/2022 Full Good 02/02/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 11/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/12/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: 1264048 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are enabled to build positive relationships with staff. Staff show care, compassion and warmth towards the children. This helps children to settle into the home and talk to staff about their worries. The majority of parents say that they are happy with the care provided. Children make good progress; one child has recently returned to their family and has maintained good progress with their employment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s placement plans are comprehensive and detailed. These plans support the staff to understand children’s past traumas and guide them on how to meet their current needs. However, children’s case records do not always include important information, for example, details of children’s most recent education plans and looked after review minutes. This reduces the manager’s and staff’s understanding of the children’s assessed needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities both in the home and community. They benefit from having good routines and structure to their day. Children are given opportunities to have new experiences in the community. However, not all children engage in these activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff take effective action when children are not in school. They talk with education professionals and provide children with educational activities at home. One child who had not been attending school regularly before moving into the home is now attending and enjoying learning, has completed all their exams and their attendance has significantly improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop their independence skills. Staff help children to learn how to budget and cook their own meals. However, children are not always supported to keep their bedrooms clean and tidy. This was evident at the time of this inspection, as the condition of children’s bedrooms was a cause for concern. Furthermore, leaders and managers have not ensured that repairs and redecoration to children’s bedrooms and other areas of the home are completed promptly. This does not provide a warm and comfortable environment for children. The manager and staff do not consistently take action to address the poor and potentially unsafe condition of children’s bedrooms. However, this was addressed during and after the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they feel safe. They can identify a trusted person to talk to if they have any concerns. Allegations against staff members are managed appropriately and swiftly and appropriate agencies are informed. However, managers do not always record information about internal investigations. In addition, two members of Inspection report for children's home: 1264048 4 staff interviewed did not demonstrate a strong understanding of whistle-blowing policies and safeguarding procedures. This compromises safeguarding practice.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not verified gaps in two new staff’s employment histories, to ensure safer recruitment and employment practices. In addition, leaders and managers have not promptly checked the employment references of two new staff members and relied on character references. As a result, managers are unable to satisfy themselves that only suitable people work at the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand and manage children’s risks well. However, one child’s risk assessment does not include information about all known risks and the strategies in place to manage risks. This limits staff’s understanding of the child’s needs and how to keep the child safe.

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improvement to be good

Children are helped to understand risks through regular individual sessions. Key- work sessions focus on children’s individual needs and are in line with their plans. Frequent key-work sessions are relevant to the child and what is happening in their lives. This strengthens relationships and helps children learn how to keep themselves safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff are proactive in responding to and managing incidents of children going missing from the home. As a result, the number of missing-from-home incidents has reduced. Staff maintain contact with the relevant professionals and look for children in the local area when they are missing. Incidents are thoroughly reviewed, with appropriate debriefs, and risk assessments are updated. This ensures that staff understand what is happening for children and helps to reduce risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a committed registered manager. The manager and staff know the children well and have high aspirations for them. Feedback from children, professionals and parents about the leaders, managers and staff is overwhelmingly positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel well supported by leaders and managers. There are regular team meetings where staff are able to reflect on practice and the needs of children. Staff benefit from regular supervision, covering a broad agenda. Supervision sessions are reflective, offer staff support and guidance and consider the needs and progress of children. This provides opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice and consider their developmental needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff undertake a range of online and face-to-face training. They undertake more targeted training to meet the children’s needs. However, not all staff have completed the training offered and three new staff have not yet completed the restraint training course. In addition, staff’s annual appraisals do not include any feedback from children or other professionals, which is a missed opportunity for the manager to fully assess practice. Inspection report for children's home: 1264048 5 The actions from the independent person’s monthly reports are not always considered, for example, checks to ensure that children’s bedrooms are clean and repairs are completed promptly. This does not demonstrate that leaders and managers have effective systems in place to monitor children’s outcomes and ensure that continuous improvements are made. Inspection report for children's home: 1264048 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vii)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that children’s risk assessments include information about all known risks, and the home environment is maintained to a high and safe standard. 26 July 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1264048 7 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a) (b)(2)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that all staff fully understand their roles and responsibilities when protecting children from harm, are suitably trained, and that there are effective monitoring systems in place to review the quality of care provided to children and take action to address any shortfalls identified.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the home is led and managed in a way that is consistent with the home’s approach and ethos as outlined in the statement of purpose, including offering regular therapeutic support to children.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement has been partially restated. 30 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 30 August 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1264048 8 The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2;

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and

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Requirement Due date

the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must take reasonable steps to ensure that any individual who is working at the home and who 30 July 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1264048 9 does not fall within paragraph (2)(a) and (b) is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d) (7)(a)(b)(c)(d) (8))

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that all staff working with children are suitably vetted in line with safer recruitment and employment practices, by ensuring that employment references and gaps in employment history are promptly verified.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff performance appraisals consider the views of children and professionals who have worked with the staff member. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 60, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should ensure that, in order for the children’s home to be a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children, they continue to refurbish the home’s interior so that all areas of the home are of a similar suitable standard. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Information about this inspection

Inspector has 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: 1264048 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stonelake London Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sinckot House, 211b Station Road, Harrow HA1 2TP

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Inspector

Dorothy Thompstone, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1264048 11 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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