Children's Home run by Adeza Care Homes Limited in Waltham Forest

Inspection report for children's home: SC032468 1 SC032468 Registered provider: Adeza Care Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run home for up to four children. The home provides emergency, short-term and long-term care for children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in October 2023.

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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 inadequate

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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: 11 October 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: SC032468 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/10/2022 Full Good 15/06/2021 Full Good 14/01/2020 Full Good 21/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC032468 3

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improvement to be good

Most children at the home come for short-term emergency stays, ranging from one day to a few months. Since the last inspection, 16 children have moved into the home and 16 children have moved out. There are currently three children living in the home, none of whom were living there at the time of the last inspection.

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improvement to be good

Plans to guide staff on how to care for children are weak. Many children’s plans are incomplete or contain irrelevant historic information. Some children who come to the home in an emergency from police custody do not have care plans or risk mitigation plans in place to guide staff on how to support them. Care planning for children when they move into the home does not consider how children will live alongside each other, and whether staff have the skills and experience to support their needs.

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improvement to be good

Children’s plans highlight support strategies, such as regular key-work sessions to support them to stop smoking or reduce their cannabis use. However, records do not consistently demonstrate that these sessions have taken place.

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improvement to be good

Children and staff are building their relationships. Children remain in contact with staff when they go missing, and they feel welcomed and cared for when they return. The ethos of the home is to provide nurture and love, and the staff try to do this with all children, no matter how long they stay for.

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improvement to be good

None of the children are attending school on a regular basis. The short duration of some children’s stays makes it harder to arrange plans for education. Staff attempt to engage children in informal learning, but children are missing out on vital educational opportunities.

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improvement to be good

Children’s progress is limited due to the short time they spend in the home. However, one child who has been in the home for a longer period does engage in some education and has reduced how often they are missing from the home. This child has also built relationships with staff and talks to them about their worries, something which is an important achievement for this child.

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improvement to be good

Staff are proactive in reporting incidents of children going missing, and they try to contact them. Children are welcomed home and offered food and time to reflect with staff. Safety plans are in place for children who may struggle with their emotional well-being. However, these are not always reviewed or have input from children’s professional networks. Inspection report for children's home: SC032468 4 Staff are able to confidently explain their safeguarding responsibilities and the action to take if they have any concerns about children’s safety and well-being.

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improvement to be good

Senior leaders take action to highlight concerns for children to their local authority networks. However, risk management plans are incomplete or not in place for many children, and leaders do not consistently update them following incidents. This undermines their purpose in guiding staff on how best to care for children as the risks they experience change.

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improvement to be good

The home is generally well presented. Some refurbishment was carried out during a planned break from children living in the home. However, leaders have not completed all the actions required in the provider’s fire risk assessment and health and safety assessment. Senior leaders took action during the inspection to start to address this.

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improvement to be good

Senior leaders have ensured that staff are recruited using safer recruitment practices. This means that staff are appropriately vetted before they start working with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Senior leaders have not notified Ofsted of all serious incidents relating to children. This inhibits the regulator’s oversight of safeguarding concerns and how senior leaders have taken steps to safeguard the children. This was a requirement at the last inspection and has been restated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The recently registered manager does not have effective monitoring systems or oversight of children’s care. Recording systems are poorly organised and some records, such as some children’s care plans and risk plans, could not be located. The responsible individual does recognise some of the shortfalls and has started to take action to address them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Senior leaders are unable to demonstrate that staff have completed the required training for their role. For example, the registered manager was unable to show that staff had basic training, such as in first aid, safeguarding and medication. While some staff said they have completed this training, the registered manager does not have effective systems in place to monitor staff training and development and ensure staff have the knowledge and skills to meet the children’s needs well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders have not consistently adhered to the registered provider’s statement of purpose. For example, they have accepted some children into the home with very limited information and have not followed the processes described in the statement of purpose. Furthermore, the registered provider was unable to provide records to demonstrate they have notified the local authority of all children who have come to live at the home or who have moved out. Inspection report for children's home: SC032468 5 The registered provider has reviewed its use of internal and external CCTV. However, leaders have not sought consent from children’s local authority representatives when they use it.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff feel supported by the registered manager and receive regular supervision. The registered manager also receives regular supervision but has not yet had a formal performance appraisal, as required. Inspection report for children's home: SC032468 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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to:  ensuring risk mitigation plans for children are in place and reviewed;  reviewing the health and safety audit and ensuring actions are carried out as identified. 12 January 2024

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(1) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider should carry out the actions in the provider’s fire risk assessment to ensure the home is safe in the event of a fire. 12 January 2024 Inspection report for children's home: SC032468 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

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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. (Regular 13 (1)(a) (2)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to:  ensuring that children are admitted to the home in line with the registered provider’s statement of purpose;  ensuring that staff have the skills, training and experience for their role and records are available to demonstrate this;  establishing effective monitoring and oversight of children’s care and records and reviewing the quality of care for the children. 12 January 2024

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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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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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 an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; 12 January 2024 Inspection report for children's home: SC032468 8 a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for who is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to a review of all written plans for children, including the care planning for children when considering their admission to the home. 12 January 2024

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of 12 January 2024 Inspection report for children's home: SC032468 9 exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(viii)(xi)(x))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider should ensure that all children are accessing an appropriate education provider.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance. (Regulation 24 (1)(b)) 12 January 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify, without delay, the local authority for the area in which the children’s home is located of every admission of a child into the home and every discharge of a child from the home. (Regulation 41 (1)) 12 January 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all staff, including the registered manager, have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: SC032468 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Adeza Care Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Second Floor, Kestrel House, Falconry Court, Bakers Lane, Epping, Essex CM16 5BD

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Inspectors

Chelsea Agyeman, Social Care Inspector Sara Stoker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC032468 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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