Children's home run by Heartwood Residential Services Ltd in Barnet

Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 1 SC423959 Registered provider: Heartwood Residential Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted on 1 March 2011. The registered manager post has been vacant since 20 September 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living at 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

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: SC423959 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/03/2023 Full Good 12/08/2021 Full Good 16/09/2019 Full Good 13/08/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences are variable and they make limited progress. The leadership and management and care planning in the home need to be strengthened for children to be supported to make good progress.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not make child-centred decisions about children coming to live at the home. Before children move into the home, leaders and managers do not carefully consider children’s individual risks and needs or take into account the needs of children already living at the home. Additionally, leaders and managers do not consider the number of staff required, or their skills and abilities, or the training that will be required for them to meet children’s needs. This compromises the quality of care provided to children and the effectiveness of safeguarding practices and consequently has a negative impact on children’s progress and outcomes.

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improvement to be good

Children are not settled in the home. There have been a number of incidents of children going missing from care, and children assaulting other children and members of staff, which often require police intervention. Consequently, some children’s placements have been terminated immediately because of staff being unable to meet children’s needs effectively.

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improvement to be good

Children are registered with primary health services in the local area. However, not all children’s health needs are met well. For example, children are not given additional support to access specific health services that can meet their individual needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff and managers have made efforts to enrol children in education. However, there is an issue with children refusing to engage in education or positive routines during the day. The manager has been working closely with children and their professional networks to encourage school attendance and engagement. Consequently, one child is beginning to return to education.

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improvement to be good

Children engage in social and fun activities, including going go-karting and on cable cars. Their birthdays are celebrated with staff, who decorate the home, give presents and enjoy birthday cakes with children. This helps children build good relationships with staff and gives them a sense of belonging in the home. However, house meetings for children are infrequent. This limits children’s opportunities to share their wishes and feelings about the home.

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improvement to be good

Feedback from children’s social workers is varied. One social worker reported that the managers are not child-centred and they did not support the child to engage in education or reflect on their behaviours. However, a team manager said that one child has made some progress, and there has been a reduction in incidents since the Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 4 child has lived in the home. They also say the current manager works positively with the child’s school and placing authority to review their engagement in education.

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improvement to be good

The new manager has made positive changes to the home’s decor, particularly the children’s bedrooms, which are freshly carpeted and painted and have new bedding. There are plans to refurnish the education and activity rooms. Other parts of the home are also decorated and maintained to a good standard. As a result, the environment feels comfortable and homely.

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improvement to be good

Children’s care plans and risk assessments are not sufficiently detailed and are not kept up to date. Children’s risk assessments and behaviour support plans do not detail all known risks or provide effective strategies to manage children’s complex behaviours and needs. Additionally, leaders and managers do not have up-to-date local authority care plans. This means that staff have a limited understanding of children’s individual needs. This also places staff at risk, as they are working with children without understanding all their risks and behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Missing-from-home protocols are not on all children’s files. This prevents a robust response to children who go missing from the home. For example, staff are inconsistent in following the correct protocols, and do not always contact children to check on their welfare and encourage their safe return home. The records also lack sufficient information on what actions were taken when children were missing. One child’s last missing-from-home incident is not recorded on their file. These shortfalls in practice further increase the risk of children suffering harm and exploitation when away from home.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of negative behaviour are not managed well. When incidents occur in the home, staff do not have the skills to support children effectively and often resort to calling the police to manage incidents. Staff are unable to de-escalate incidents and on one occasion used physical intervention to prevent a child from leaving the home. Incidents are not carefully recorded and behaviour support plans are not updated. Consequently, incidents continue, because staff do not have guidance or support on how to promote positive behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers take allegations of harm seriously when issues arise. However, on one occasion, they did not report a concern to the local authority designated officer until two days after an allegation had been made. Furthermore, leaders and managers do not consistently inform Ofsted of all significant incidents. The failure to report serious incidents in a timely way compromises the effectiveness of safeguarding procedures and the regulator’s external oversight of the home.

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improvement to be good

Safer recruitment is not robust. Staff checks do not consistently explore all gaps in staff’s employment history. Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 5 Searches of children’s bedrooms are conducted appropriately for children who have been in possession of weapons or if concerns arise. Children are made aware of bedroom searches and are present when they are carried out, which demonstrates respect and sensitivity towards children’s views and feelings.

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improvement to be good

Positive relationships between staff and children allow key-work sessions to be meaningful and beneficial for children. Staff use educational tools to plan effective key-work sessions, which are targeted and address various needs and risks. This helps children to reflect on their behaviours and how to make positive life choices to be safe. Children are also supported to reflect on how their actions impact on others. For example, after a targeted key-work session, one child recognised the impact of their bullying and apologised to a peer in the home.

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good

The leadership and management arrangements in the home have been unstable. This has impacted on the quality of care provided to children.

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good

Staff supervision sessions discuss and reflect on children’s needs, experiences and progress. They also focus on staff skills, training and development and identify actions and timescales for completion. However, supervisions are not consistent or regular. Staff say their views are not heard when they raise concerns about meeting children’s needs effectively. Consequently, staff feel unsupported in their roles and their morale is low.

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good

Team meetings focus on staff interactions with children, missing-from-home incidents and learning from the independent person visits. This helps staff reflect on practice and make positive changes. However, team meetings have not been held regularly, and some meeting records are repeated with the same minutes and actions from previous team meetings. This does not support staff to receive effective support and challenge as a team or have opportunities to reflect on good practice.

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good

Staff have not completed training to meet the specific needs of children, including in areas such as child criminal exploitation, child sexual exploitation and substance misuse. Not all staff understand whistle-blowing procedures. This impacts on the staff’s ability to help and protect children effectively or to report malpractice.

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good

The home is not always sufficiently staffed to meet the needs of the children, in line with their care plans and the required number of staff who should support them. When there are staff shortages, the managers provide support to the staff team and children. However, this compromises their ability to fulfil management responsibilities and is not always effective for children.

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good

The newly appointed responsible individual and manager have identified areas for improvement and are working to implement positive changes in the home. For example, when staff have not had appraisals on time, the new manager has focused Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 6 on this and developed an appraisal folder to complete with all staff as soon as possible. Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 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 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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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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 home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that there is sufficient staffing to meet the needs of children, as outlined in their care plans. 22 December Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 8 Leaders and managers must ensure that children’s risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated, correctly identify risk levels and outline robust strategies to help staff to manage and reduce children’s individual risks.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that missing-from-home protocols are followed, and that they have clear oversight of missing-from-home episodes. They must also ensure that missing-from-home records include all relevant information.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that staff understand the whistle-blowing policies and procedures, including how to report malpractice to external organisations, including the regulator.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that all health and safety checks are completed within timescales.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the 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 whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they have a copy of all children’s local authority care plans and develop robust home care plans to meet the individual needs of children.

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Requirement Due date

When considering new children moving into the home, leaders and managers must fully consider their needs as well as the needs of children already living there. Leaders and managers should carefully consider whether staff have the skills and training to meet the needs of all children in their care. 22 December Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 9 Leaders and managers should ensure that children have positive experiences when moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care;

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Requirement Due date

is enabled to provide feedback to, and raise issues with, a relevant person about the support and services that the child receives. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iv)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that children’s meetings are held regularly, and seek children’s views, wishes and feelings about the home. 22 December

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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

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally; 22 December Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 10 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 exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(iv)(v)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that children who are not in education are supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and are engaged in suitable, structured educational activities in their daily lives.

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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.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs; and

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well- being;

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that children are supported to meet their specific health needs by 22 December Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 11 attending appropriate services when concerns arise for their health and well-being.

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for 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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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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)(a)(c)(d)(f)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff receive the appropriate support, development opportunities and relevant training specific to children’s needs and risks to provide good-quality care. 22 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 22 December Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 12 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.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that all staff, including managers, receive regular and effective supervision and that their appraisals are completed annually. 22 December

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iii)(v)(vii)) 22 December

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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)) 22 December Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 13 In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they explore all gaps in employment as part of their safer recruitment procedures.

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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: SC423959 14

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Heartwood Residential Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 416 Green Lane, Ilford, Essex IG3 9TH

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Inspector

Amena Begum, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC423959 15 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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