Children's home run by Area Camden Limited in Haringey

Inspection report for children’s home: SC473639 1 SC473639 Registered provider: Area Camden Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to five children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since October 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC473639 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/08/2022 Full Good 13/10/2021 Full Good 22/10/2019 Full Good 06/03/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC473639 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build positive and trusting relationships with staff and share their wishes and feelings with them. Staff are warm, caring and encourage positive behaviours and changes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to rebuild positive relationships with their families. This supports children to maintain positive relationships with significant people in their lives. Where appropriate, staff have good communication with children’s parents and families to promote this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in education and make good progress. Staff support children to attend school by encouraging good routines. They communicate regularly with school professionals about children’s moods and behaviours to support their engagement in learning and improve their well-being. For children who are out of mainstream education, managers have arranged for them to receive regular tuition during the week until they secure a permanent school place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and support children to attend and engage in routine and specialist health and well-being appointments. The manager ensures that staff receive specialist training to meet children’s specific health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities at home and in the community. They are encouraged to develop their independence skills in the kitchen and enjoy various recipes. Children have participated in enjoyable activities, including visiting theme parks and beaches. This helps children develop good relationships with staff while having fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s house meetings are regularly held where they can share their wishes and feelings about the home. They are given the opportunity to plan for the Christmas break, choose weekly meals and activities and are reminded of how to make complaints.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The physical environment is maintained to a high standard and meets the needs of the children. The home has been decorated for Christmas by the responsible individual. However, an exposed fire panel in the living room area does not make it feel homely.

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

Children’s overall risks and vulnerabilities are understood by staff. Children’s risks are regularly discussed with them in key-work sessions. They address individual behaviours and needs, including substance misuse, safety in the community and personal hygiene. This supports children to be reflective and work towards making positive changes. Consequently, this helps to reduce risks to children. However, not Inspection report for children’s home: SC473639 4 all known risks for children are reflected on their care plans nor do they have robust strategies to meet those needs. This does not enable staff to support children with high risks.

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

Managers and staff manage incidents well. Staff do not use restraint to control children’s behaviours but rather use learning from training to de-escalate incidents and promote positive behaviours. The manager has oversight of all incidents and keeps children’s professional network informed. Children and staff are provided with appropriate support after incidents.

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

If children go missing from home, staff are prompt to take appropriate action and follow relevant protocols. Staff attempt to find children and stay connected with them when they are outside of the home. They work with other agencies, including the police, to ensure that children are safe.

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

The location risk assessment does not reflect consultation with safeguarding partners when it was updated. This does not support leaders, managers and staff to respond effectively to risks relating to the location of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders, managers and staff have high aspirations for the children in their care and understand their needs. The registered manager works closely with children’s placing authorities to support good outcomes for children. One child’s social worker said that they are kept up to date and concerns around the child’s risks have reduced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a clear understanding of the progress children are making. If children are struggling to settle in the home and are not making progress, leaders and managers work closely with their placing authority to promote their safety and well-being. Furthermore, when a child’s placement ends, staff create a child-friendly file with photos of their new home and prepare them well for the move. Leaders, managers and staff stay in touch with the child to ensure that they feel held in mind by them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager makes child-centred decisions about children coming to live at the home and explores the impact children will have on one another. The manager ensures that staff receive appropriate training to meet children’s known needs at the time of admission.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager takes allegations of harm seriously and acts promptly when issues arise. Leaders and managers work closely with safeguarding agencies to support children. However, they do not promptly notify Ofsted of all significant incidents as required. This compromises the regulator’s external oversight of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff do not receive effective supervision. Similar minutes are recorded in several staff supervision records. Children’s needs and risks are not consistently discussed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC473639 5 This does not demonstrate that the registered manager has good oversight of children’s progress, staff practice and development needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some team meetings have been a good learning forum for staff. For example, they discuss professional curiosity in practice, which helps staff understand how to support and care for children. However, minutes of team meetings are weak as they include similar minutes and actions from other team meetings or supervision records. This does not enable for good practice to thrive or for the professional development of the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A small number of staff have not completed mandatory training, including first aid. This impacts on staff’s ability to help and protect children in an event of an emergency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite these shortfalls, staff feel supported and well led by the leaders and managers and say that they can share any worries or concerns if they arise. Inspection report for children’s home: SC473639 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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that risk assessments include details of all known and potential risks to children and the strategies identified to manage and reduce these risks. All staff must fully understand their roles and responsibilities when protecting children from harm. 5 January 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2)) 5 January 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC473639 7 In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that the local authority risk assessment includes up-to-date information from relevant agencies.

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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

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that notifications of serious incidents are made to the regulator without delay. 5 January 2024

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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

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 work as a team where appropriate. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff complete mandatory training and that staff development opportunities, such as team meetings, are meaningful and effective. 5 January 2024

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction; 5 January 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC473639 8 ensure that each permanent appointment of an employee is subject to the satisfactory completion of a period of probation.

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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 (1)(a)(b) (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that all staff receive effective supervision, taking into account their skills and experience. They must ensure that supervision sessions are recorded effectively.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should, as far as possible, maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression of the home. In particular, the fire panel area should be covered in the living room so that the environment feels homely. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC473639 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Area Camden Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Malvern View, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove B60 4AD

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Inspector

Amena Begum, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC473639 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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