Children's Home run by Karenest Ilford Limited in Redbridge

Inspection report for children’s home: 2744586 1 Registered provider: Karenest Ilford 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 four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in September 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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2744586 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build positive and trusting relationships with staff. Children said that they can share their wishes and feelings with them. Staff are warm, caring and encourage positive behaviours and changes. The atmosphere in the home is welcoming and nurturing, which creates a sense of warmth and familial closeness.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in a diverse range of activities in the home and in the wider community, which contributes to their overall enjoyment and engagement. They have enjoyed trips into central London and going to local cinemas and restaurants. Furthermore, children play board games with staff and bake and cook together. This helps children to develop good relationships with staff while having fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff consistently promote education. There are weekly planners in place to ensure that children are engaged in educational and social activities. One child, who has been out of school since last year, engages in daily tuition online and there are plans for them to return to mainstream school. Another child is learning how to speak a new language with the support of the registered manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain contact with significant people in their lives. Family time is planned into children’s weekly routines, and, where appropriate, staff have good communication with children’s parents and families. One parent said that they feel very confident about the care and support given to their child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and support children to attend routine and specialist health appointments. When children are unwell, staff support them to attend GP appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s voices are valued. They can express their wishes and feelings and have the opportunity to chair their regular house meetings. This gives children autonomy and increases their confidence. During house meetings, positive behaviours and achievements are praised, which boosts morale and encourages good behaviour. Children get to plan activities and the food menu, which helps cater to their needs and choices. Children’s complaints are responded to appropriately and managed effectively.

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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 children’s needs. The staff and children enjoy time together in the living area each day.

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

Children say they feel safe living at this home. Staff understand children’s risks and needs well. Their individual risk management plans identify risks appropriately and Inspection report for children’s home: 2744586 3 include strategies to manage situations. However, some risk assessments are too long, which means that new staff will struggle to read and use them effectively.

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

Bedroom searches are carried out when there is a cause for concern. Staff remove items that pose a risk to children. 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 emotional well-being. This supports children to reflect on their actions and work towards making positive changes.

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

Incidents of children going missing from the home are rare. If children go missing from the home, carefully recorded protocols and essential information help staff to act quickly to find them or report them missing. Staff are proactive in their response and try to find children. Return home interviews and debriefs take place with children, which helps staff to understand the reasons behind children going missing from the home.

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

Managers and staff manage most incidents well. Children and staff are provided with appropriate support after incidents and reflect on them together. However, some incident records demonstrate that staff do not use their learning from training to de- escalate incidents, and consequences are sometimes punitive.

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

Incidents of physical restraint are infrequent. However, some records lack sufficient detail to describe the incident and intervention used. Nevertheless, the registered manager maintains oversight of these occurrences and encourages a culture of learning from each experience. Children and staff are provided with appropriate support after incidents and reflect on them together in key-work sessions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed effectively by a passionate registered manager who knows children’s individual needs well. The responsible individual and deputy manager support the registered manager. The leadership team has a good understanding of children’s needs and the progress that they are making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is ambitious for children and advocates for services to help promote their needs and well-being. This includes ensuring that children engage in educational learning during the day as well as arranging in-house therapeutic support for children to ensure that their emotional needs are understood and met. One child has engaged particularly well with the in-house therapist and found this to be beneficial.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers support staff to learn from complaints and incidents. They ensure that meetings take place with the staff team to discuss lessons learned and identify areas for improvement and actions to follow up. This helps to support positive practice and addresses poorer performance and learning needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2744586 4 Staff feel well supported. They said that they receive regular supervision, where they discuss children’s needs and risks as well as action plans for staff. However, supervision records do not demonstrate that these discussions have been held.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is not sufficient. Leaders and managers have not provided all relevant training to staff. Some staff have not completed mandatory training, such as self- harm. This could compromise how well staff can meet children’s needs. However, staff demonstrate that they have a good understanding of children’s needs and respond appropriately when there are concerns. Staff also demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding and their responsibility to report any concerns through the whistle-blowing procedure.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professional feedback about the registered manager and staff is positive. However, one professional raised an issue about some staff’s professionalism. The registered manager was aware of this and has addressed this with staff appropriately. Inspection report for children’s home: 2744586 5

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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

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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (2)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they provide relevant training and that staff complete mandatory training to meet children’s specific needs. Staff supervision records should reflect the conversations held with staff. 31 March 2024

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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) (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that all staff receive regular supervision that is accurately recorded. Discussions about children’s risks, needs and progress must be captured. 31 March 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, the staff caring for them and the wider community. Inspection report for children’s home: 2744586 6 (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that staff develop effective working relationships with each child’s placing authority and with other relevant persons to successfully deliver good care to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 10.3)

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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: 2744586 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Karenest Ilford Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2a, 420 Eastern Avenue, Ilford IG2 6NQ

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Inspector

Amena Begum, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2744586 8 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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