Children's Home run by Solace Care Partners Limited in Enfield

Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 1 Registered provider: Solace Care Partners Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home provides care for up to four children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted on 10 April 2019. The registered manager left their post on 30 April 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child 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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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 13 September 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/09/2022 Full Good 27/04/2021 Full Good 13/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/07/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 3

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improvement to be good

Staff build positive relationships with the children in their care. One child, who previously lived at the home, sent a letter to the staff team expressing his wishes to come back ‘home’. Another child, who lives in the home, spoke about ‘staff’ being their favourite thing about the home.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff strive to help children achieve success in their lives. One child has been encouraged to apply for a college place after a period of time out of education. Furthermore, staff have supported this child to apply for a part-time job and to improve their independent living skills.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to attend medical appointments and ensure that they have access to specialist advice, including child and adolescent mental health services and substance misuse support when necessary. Staff support children to take their prescribed medication. However, medication records do not include sufficient information to demonstrate the suitable arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medication. Medication audits have not picked up on this shortfall. Furthermore, on one occasion, staff did not order a child’s prescribed medication on time. This was also identified as a shortfall at the previous inspection.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to participate in activities in the home and the community. They are supported to follow their interests, such as sports and cooking.

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improvement to be good

Feedback from key professionals is positive. They praise staff for their commitment to children and for trying different strategies to meet their needs. They also say that staff provide them with verbal and written updates and communicate concerns promptly.

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improvement to be good

The manager informed the inspector that consequences are not used in the home. However, some children’s records indicate that they are. This presents a confusing picture of how children’s behaviour is managed.

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improvement to be good

The home’s safeguarding practices require improvement to be consistently good.

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improvement to be good

Shortly after the last inspection, one child did not receive a well-coordinated response when missing from the home. However, improvement has been made, and staff respond appropriately and promptly when children are missing from home. They maintain regular contact with children and work collaboratively with children’s families, professionals and agencies. The police missing person liaison officer has Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 4 been to the home to speak to the children, and the number of missing-from-home episodes has decreased.

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improvement to be good

Not all staff had received training on how to safely restrain children. One staff member, who is not suitably trained in the use of restraint, was involved in at least one instance of restraining a child. Although the views of the children are sought following restraint incidents, at times, debriefs are carried out by the staff member who applied the measure. This compromises safeguarding practice and oversight.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment processes are not consistently safe. For example, on more than one occasion, the references for new staff were requested after the staff commenced their employment. This does not demonstrate that staff are safely recruited and does not meet the Children’s Homes Regulations.

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improvement to be good

Staff carry out room searches when necessary to safeguard children. However, room search records do not state the reason for the search or whether the child’s consent was obtained.

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improvement to be good

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the policies and procedures to follow if allegations are made against staff. However, Ofsted was not notified of two incidents when allegations were made by children against staff. Furthermore, there is no clear record of the internal investigation carried out into one of these allegations. This compromises the regulator’s external oversight of the home.

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good

There have been recent changes in the management team. An interim manager was appointed in April 2023, who has still not submitted her application to register with Ofsted. This has prevented the regulator from assessing the manager’s suitability to lead and manage this home.

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good

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for improvement. The manager wants to focus on upskilling staff through training and improving the quality of records. However, as these changes have not yet been embedded, their effectiveness in day-to-day practice cannot be measured.

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good

Not all staff have completed training to help them meet the needs of the children in their care. This includes mandatory training, such as medication administration, child criminal exploitation, child sexual exploitation and self-harm. Furthermore, the new manager was not aware of the training needs of staff until it was explored during this inspection.

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good

Staff report that they feel well supported by leaders and managers. However, the frequency of supervision provided to the home manager is not in line with the home’s statement of purpose. This compromises the oversight of the manager’s practice and development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 5 The home’s statement of purpose has not been updated to include the details of the new manager.

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good

Improvement has been made to the decoration of the home. However, there is damage to the doorframe of one child’s bedroom; sharp splinters and small nails were clearly visible and could be easily removed. This poses a risk of harm. However, the manager assured the inspector that this would be repaired the day after this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 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

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that debriefs with children are carried out by an independent person who was not involved in the incident of restraint. 30 September

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this refers to the registered person ensuring that any medication required for children is refilled before it runs out.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 30 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)) 30 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 7 In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff complete training necessary to meet the needs of the children in their care, such as on child criminal exploitation, child sexual exploitation, self-harm and medication administration.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff involved in the use of restraint are appropriately trained. 30 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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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. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that references for staff are obtained before they commence their employment. 31 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

A person may only manage a children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

the person is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

having regard to the size of the home, its statement of purpose, and the number and needs (including any needs arising from any disability) of the children— 31 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 8 the person has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills to manage the home effectively and lead the care of children; and

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Requirement Due date

the person is physically and mentally fit to manage the home; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b)(i), a person has the appropriate experience and qualification if the person has—

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Requirement Due date

within the last 5 years, worked for at least 2 years in a position relevant to the residential care of children;

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Requirement Due date

worked for at least one year in a role requiring the supervision and management of staff working in a care role; and

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Requirement Due date

the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 5 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered provider considers to be equivalent to the Level 5 Diploma. (Regulation 28 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(c) (2)(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must submit an application to register with Ofsted so her fitness to manage the home can be assessed.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 30 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 30 September

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and 31 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 9 notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of room searches demonstrate clearly whether the child has been asked for their permission and the grounds for the search. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. In particular, consequences, if used, should be clearly recorded. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, 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: 2503142 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Solace Care Partners Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2A, 420 Eastern Avenue, Ilford IG2 6NQ

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Inspector

Aneta Wasilewska, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 11 regulates and inspects 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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