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

Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 1 SC068789 Registered provider: London Borough of Hillingdon Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home cares for up to nine children with physical and/or learning disabilities. The home is divided into two sections. One section offers short-break care for up to five children and the other provides longer-term care for up to four children.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspectors were aware during this inspection that a serious incident that occurred at the setting at the time of the inspection in September 2022 is still under investigation by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate incidents of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the incident were considered (where appropriate) alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ judgements.

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Information about this children’s home

Ofsted confirmed the manager’s registration on 23 October 2023. She is suitably qualified.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, four children were living at the home and a total of five children were attending for short breaks.

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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. Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 2 Date of last inspection: 13 December 2022

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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: SC068789 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/12/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 21/09/2022 Full Inadequate 22/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/12/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and staff have positive, nurturing relationships. Staff know the children well. Children’s care plans are up to date and outline their needs clearly. Consequently, children receive a high level of individualised care. Children consistently communicate that they are happy at the home. They develop positive relationships with other children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff work with key agencies such as health, education and social care effectively to ensure that children’s development is promoted. Managers and staff access specialist services and training where necessary to ensure that they can respond effectively to children’s needs. Examples of this are in providing epilepsy training for staff, and a referral to a dietician clinic for one child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with a wide range of enriching social and leisure activities, both within the home and in the community. At the time of this inspection, an ‘Autumn Party’ was taking place at the home to celebrate Halloween and Diwali. Children who live in the home or use the short-break service attended the party with their family members. Staff document children’s activities and achievements through photos, and create personalised albums so that children have positive memories of their time in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff listen to children, and this is a strength of the home. Staff ascertain children’s wishes and feelings through a wide range of communication methods, including Makaton and pictures cues. Staff hold children’s meetings regularly and a child living at the home is the nominated ‘children’s champion’. This appointment has been effective and has led to the ‘champion’ raising issues with managers on behalf of other children in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make positive progress from their starting points. Staff help children to become competent in mastering their own personal care and independence skills, such as cleaning their teeth, dressing themselves and cooking. One child’s success in using the toilet independently highlights good collaborative work between the child’s school, occupational therapy and staff at the home. However, not all children have clear goals set for them to support their independence, social or self-care skills. In addition, the current template staff use to record achievement of independence skills is not being used in a consistent manner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child commented at their looked after child review meeting: ‘I used to have a different view of myself in my old life, but since coming here, I feel that my disability doesn’t define me, it is just a part of me along with other parts. I feel accepted.’ Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 5

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

Leaders and managers have worked hard to enhance the safeguarding ethos within the home. This follows on from a serious child protection incident in September 2022 and recommendations from subsequent inspections in September and December 2022.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that safeguarding is on the agenda at every discussion in team meetings, team reflective discussions and staff supervisions. Managers provide regular information on safeguarding practice and use quizzes and case scenarios to embed learning. Staff understand how to report worries or concerns. One staff member said that ‘professional curiosity’ was part of their practice now and they would have no hesitation in raising concerns.

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

Children express in their reviews and other meetings about them that they feel safe and settled in the home. Staff help children to think about their own safety through key-work sessions and children’s meetings. Staff use children’s communication methods to discuss online safety, risks from abuse and feeling safe and who to communicate with if worried.

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

Staff help children to remain safe in the home and in the community. Staff devise risk assessments and behaviour support plans for children in collaboration with others, including parents, social workers, and schools. These plans provide staff with clear information about the risks and triggers for children and strategies for minimising harm and incidents. Staff receive training in child protection, safeguarding and restraint. This enhances their responses to risk and incidents.

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

When incidents do occur, staff respond appropriately to safeguard children. Managers evaluate the effectiveness of responses from staff, to ensure that, where necessary, any learning from these incidents takes place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are experienced in the field of children’s residential care. The registered manager has substantial experience in residential care for children with additional needs or disabilities. The addition of a deputy manager has strengthened the leadership team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are aware of the areas for improvement in the home and have a clear action plan in place to address these shortfalls. One area for improvement identified by leaders and managers is the quality of recording on children’s files. Staff recording does not consistently reflect the day-to-day experiences of children. Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 6 The staff team has a wide range of skills and experiences, with some staff having worked at the home for many years. The staff team is diverse in terms of gender, language, culture and religion. This is another strength of this home, as the staff team reflects the diversity of the children who live in the home and the children and families who attend short breaks. Staff use this familiarity to help children settle and address children’s identity and cultural needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that managers support them well. Staff receive regular supervision from managers, as well as participating in reflective discussion sessions. Leaders and managers enable staff to attend a range of training opportunities to further their development and improve the care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have developed processes to monitor the day-to-day activity in the home and ensure that staff are following regulations and adhering to the quality standards. However, templates used by staff to record information when incidents occur in relation to children are inconsistent and staff record in different formats. This may compromise the management oversight of incidents, as staff may not have included relevant information, depending on the format used.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The Children’s Rights Group undertakes monthly visits to the home. The responsible individual also conducts regular monitoring reviews. Leaders and managers welcome external oversight in ensuring that children’s care and safety remain paramount in the home. Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 7

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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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that monitoring forms used for recording information in relation to children, such as charts and body maps, are in the format agreed and used consistently by staff. 8 January 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand the purpose and function of the template used for recording progress in children’s independence skills. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand that each child using the short-break provision should have realistic and achievable goals set for them, based on knowledge of the child and their abilities. Further, progress in relation to these goals should be recorded accurately by staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5)  The registered person should ensure that there is consistency in the quality of record-keeping, specifically in daily logs, and that staff are supported to understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to

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Recommendations

the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 8

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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: SC068789 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: London Borough of Hillingdon

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 1UW

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Inspector

Colin Bent, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC068789 10 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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