Children's home run by Able Health Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2529815 1 Registered provider: Able Health Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to four children. Three children can be accommodated in the house and one child in the adjoining annex.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 1 October 2022.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 13 December 2022

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2529815 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/12/2022 Full Good 24/06/2021 Full Good 20/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2529815 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, four children were living at the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home. The manager carefully considered the impact of this move on the existing children. Good planning has helped children to experience a positive settling-in period.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The management team understands how living in care affects children’s lives and their experience of childhood. They know this can increase children’s sense of isolation from their family and friends. Staff work hard to help the children to enjoy a wide range of positive experiences and activities. This contributes to children feeling part of a community.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and support children to improve their health and attend health appointments. They help children to plan healthy meals and encourage them to participate in cooking. When children need additional support for their emotional well-being, staff help them to access specialist services. Staff provide additional one- to-one meetings that focus on topics that matter to children, including managing emotions, substance misuse, online safety, and healthy relationships. These provide a space where children can learn, discuss and consider how their behaviour impacts on others.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children contribute their views in individual key-work meetings and conversations about planning for their independence. They have tailored independence targets that are linked to extra pocket money and treats. Children talk positively about meeting their targets and planning for new ones.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children have education placements. When children struggle with education, the manager advocates strongly on their behalf. Positive relationships with education providers mean that one child benefits from a variety of tuition and outside activities that help him to learn. All staff encourage education and the importance of attending school. They support children with homework and additional learning in creative ways.

p.3

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

Leaders respond to safeguarding issues efficiently. Managerial monitoring and oversight have improved. Leaders use monitoring to identify patterns and trends in children’s behaviour. Staff work in strong partnership with the police, education and social care professionals. Learning is shared with appropriate agencies and all staff are trained in safeguarding. They show a commitment to keeping children safe. When safeguarding incidents occur, they act appropriately and know how to escalate concerns. Inspection report for children’s home: 2529815 4 There are clear and well-written plans for each child. These include comprehensive risk assessments, which are reviewed regularly. The manager’s oversight of behavioural incidents is good. Staff have effective risk-reduction strategies in place. Children understand these plans and the need for staff to understand their individual vulnerabilities.

p.3

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

Missing-from-home incidents occur. Staff know how to use the child’s missing-from- care protocol. They look for the child and escalate their concerns if the child does not return home. Positive relationships with the police ensure swift responses when a child is missing. This helps children to understand that staff care about them. When a child returns, staff treat them with love and care.

p.4

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

Restraint is rare and used only when it is reasonable and proportionate. Staff talk to children during and after restraints to help to support them. Debriefs are provided to children and staff and include therapeutic questions that help children to understand the process. Staff are encouraged to be reflective when talking to children. This helps them to model positive responses and encourages children to be more reflective about managing their emotions. However, during one restraint incident, the techniques taught to staff were not applied effectively. This resulted in a child becoming upset and the police being called. Staff failed to evaluate the changes in risk or review the child’s emotional state appropriately. This meant that the child was not monitored effectively while left in another part of the building. As a result, the staff relied on the police responding to the incident to safeguard the child.

p.4

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

Although the garden is an appropriate area to take time out, there is no comfortable seating to support this. The garden is not child friendly or appealing and this does not encourage children outside.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has very strong relationships with all the children. They talk to her and know that she will listen to them. She takes the children out individually and models a strong value base for staff and children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that supervision sessions are valued and an opportunity to discuss their practice in a safe space that is both therapeutic and reflective. There is a core staff team with new members of staff working alongside them to gain insight and practice skills. Staff said that induction training is thorough and provides enough time for them to learn the home’s processes.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is relatively new. Waking-night staff were put in place to provide increased support for one child. Two newly appointed members of staff are joining the team from the agency and a new deputy manager has been appointed. This will help to stabilise the team and provide consistency moving forward.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A recent incident has had a destabilising effect on the staff. Managers acted appropriately, and the staff involved have been supported by the senior Inspection report for children’s home: 2529815 5 management team. Two members of staff have since returned to work. All appropriate agencies were informed. Specialist mental health services are involved. However, the manager acknowledges that staff need additional training to help them understand that children’s behaviour can escalate and calm in a short length of time. Managers are planning a restorative team meeting to explore lessons learned from the incident. This will provide an opportunity for staff to talk to senior management about how incidents are managed in the future. Inspection report for children’s home: 2529815 6

p.4

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

p.6

Requirement Due date

is necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 21 (c)(ii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that deprivation of a child’s liberty is agreed with the child’s social worker and regularly revised and assessed for risk. 20 March 2024

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, identify when situations have changed and children may be at increased risk of harm. 20 March 2024

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. 20 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2529815 7 (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

p.6

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the outside area is suitably maintained to create a more welcoming space that encourages children to play outside. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

p.7

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: 2529815 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Able Health Care Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C/o Argyle House, 3rd Floor Northside, Joel Street, Northwood Hills HA6 1NW

p.8

Inspector

Trudy Potter, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2529815 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9