Children's Home run by Soaring Heights Care Limited in Haringey

Inspection report for children’s home: 2726456 1 Registered provider: Soaring Heights Care Limited

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties and/or special educational needs and/or disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

One child was living at the home at the time of this inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home and the manager were registered with Ofsted on 11 October 2023.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

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.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2726456 2

p.1

improvement to be good

Two children have lived at the home since it opened. One child did not settle and had to move out of the home in an unplanned way after only living there for a short period of time. Staff could not meet their needs, and this created instability for the child.

p.2

improvement to be good

Children’s care plans do not always include important information from the placing authority, including their diagnosis and how it affects them. In addition, children’s plans do not demonstrate that their views, wishes and feelings are taken into account when planning their care. This compromises staff’s ability to fully understand and meet the needs of children in their care.

p.2

improvement to be good

The registered manager and staff take effective action when children are not in school. They talk with education professionals and provide children with educational activities at the home. However, daily records for one child do not demonstrate well how staff are prompting the child to undertake educational activities when not in education.

p.2

improvement to be good

Children are routinely registered with health services, and their health needs are met. Children are supported and encouraged to think about their health and the impact of their lifestyle choices. Key-work sessions focus on relevant issues, such as diet and personal care. For example, children are supported to choose healthy meals and manage their weight. This supports children to understand the importance of good healthcare and life choices.

p.2

improvement to be good

Staff offer a range of activities, both in the home and in the community, that provide good routines and structure for children. Children are given opportunities to have new experiences in the community. However, staff have been unsuccessful in encouraging one child to engage fully in these activities, and sometimes they spend long periods of time in their bedroom.

p.2

improvement to be good

The child currently living at the home is adequately safeguarded. However, there are areas for improvement in how staff help and protect children to ensure that all their known risks are clearly understood and responded to.

p.2

improvement to be good

Some staff do not demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding processes. This limits their ability to recognise and respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns. However, the registered manager has appropriately reported allegations once they have become aware of them and has taken actions to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2726456 3 Generally, staff manage incidents well and are able to de-escalate challenging situations. However, there have been some incidents when staff have had to call the police to manage children’s behaviour. In addition, leaders and managers do not routinely review and evaluate significant incidents and concerns in order to identify any themes, patterns and shortfalls. For example, one restraint incident recorded did not have appropriate oversight, and some information recorded about speaking to the child who had already left the home was not correct. Therefore, opportunities to learn and to

p.2

improvement to be good

improve staff’s practice to care for children are missed.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments are updated following incidents. However, the assessments do not contain all known risks from the placing authorities, including children’s diagnosis. In addition, the assessments lack clear analysis and strategies to help staff to manage potential risks to children.

p.3

improvement to be good

The admissions process for new children moving into the home is not sufficiently robust. The registered manager and staff carry out an assessment of risk from the information provided in the referral and meet with children before they move into the home. However, the assessment does not consider all of the children’s needs and vulnerabilities that are identified in the referrals. In addition, the assessment does not consider if staff have the specific skills to meet children’s needs or if there is training required. This limits the registered manager’s ability to carry out a full assessment of children’s suitability to live in the home and to prevent placement breakdown.

p.3

improvement to be good

The local area risk assessment lacks sufficient information about concerns in the local community. Safeguarding agencies were not consulted when the local area risk assessment was updated. Furthermore, there are no strategies to manage risks safely. This does not equip leaders, managers and staff to respond effectively to risks relating to the location of the home.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers accept the shortfalls raised in this inspection and are committed to making improvements to ensure that children receive good care. Although most staff are new to the role and currently unqualified, they are enthusiastic to learn and demonstrate a commitment to children. They are caring, child-focused and have a good understanding of the children’s interests and talents. Feedback from professionals is positive.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff say that they feel valued and well supported. They have regular supervisions and team meetings that allow them to reflect on their practice. Despite this, there are gaps in staff’s training, such as in first aid. In addition, staff did not show appropriate understanding of restraint procedures despite having completed training.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not have effective monitoring systems in place to review the quality of care provided to children or to identify key themes. For example, one child’s daily records do not show what help is provided to encourage them to engage in Inspection report for children’s home: 2726456 4 alternative educational activities and to develop appropriate routines. This compromises management oversight.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Generally, leaders and managers report significant incidents to the regulator as required. However, one serious incident that was reported did not include the full information about the incident, including significant police involvement. The failure to report full details of incidents compromises the regulator’s oversight.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The workforce development plan in place is not sufficient. There are no clear plans in place to demonstrate how unqualified staff will obtain the relevant qualification for their roles. Inspection report for children’s home: 2726456 5

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.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

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;

p.5

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

p.5

Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

p.5

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

p.5

Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(c)(e))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that all known risks are included in children’s risk assessments and that there are effective strategies to help staff to manage and reduce risks. 28 June 2024

p.5

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.5

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 28 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2726456 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.5

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

p.6

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;

p.6

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)(e)(f)(h))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff are suitably trained, and that there are effective monitoring systems in place to review the quality of care provided to children and take action to address any shortfalls identified. Furthermore, leaders and managers must ensure that they fully assess children’s needs to ensure that the home is suitable and that staff can meet their needs.

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration; 28 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2726456 7 details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

p.7

Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

p.7

Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

p.7

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that restraint records demonstrate appropriate management oversight and review to ensure that records include full details of the method of restraint used and ensure staff understand the measure of physical intervention used in the home.

p.7

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).

p.7

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))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that safeguarding partners are consulted, and that feedback is used to inform the local area risk assessment. 28 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2726456 8 The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

p.7

Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

p.8

Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

p.8

Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that children’s updated placing authority’s plans are on file. 28 June 2024

p.8

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the workforce plan contains sufficient information, including the experience and qualification of staff and any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful and clear recording. In particular, this refers to recording children’s day-to-day activities and support when out of education. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should include all relevant information when notifying Ofsted of significant events. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

p.8

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s views, wishes and feelings are taken into account when planning and reviewing their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 21, paragraph 4.5)

p.8

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: 2726456 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Soaring Heights Care Limited

p.9

Inspector

Dorothy Thompstone, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2726456 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.

p.9

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.10

Inspector

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

p.10

Inspector

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

p.10