Children's Home run by London Borough of Hounslow in Hounslow

Inspection report for children's home: SC062128 1 SC062128 Registered provider: London Borough of Hounslow

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to six children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in November 2004. The manager registered in August 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, five children were living in the home.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC062128 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/05/2023 Full Good 10/08/2022 Full Good 21/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/07/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: SC062128 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have supportive and nurturing relationships with staff. Staff are kind and caring in the way they support children. Staff provided exceptional support to a child who is new to the home. They acted quickly and effectively to stop an argument with some of the other children getting worse. This helped the child to feel safe and comfortable.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children get help to make progress at the home. They are supported to learn how to live well with each other, and the importance of respecting other people. Rewards and incentives are used to help children to behave in a more positive way. Staff talk proudly about children who have done well in their lives because of the support they have provided.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who were not in education when they moved to the home are attending school. Managers work with external professionals to ensure that children get the support they need to stay in education. When children cannot attend school, managers work with organisations that can provide tuition to the children. This helps children to continue with some education until a suitable school can be found. Staff help children with their homework, and they also support them to learn other things. For example, a member of staff who speaks Spanish is helping children to learn the language. A member of staff said, ‘I’m so proud to work at [name of home] and support young people to ensure they have a good education and great career prospects.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children tell staff about their views and feelings, through planned and informal conversations. This can be individual conversations with staff or in house meetings. Staff help children to make decisions about their meals and the activities they want to take part in. One child recommended a film they saw recently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children personalise their bedrooms with items that are important to them, including photos of their family members, friends and subjects of interest. The extensive refurbishment work being carried out at the home will make it comfortable and homely for the children. This includes the walls in communal areas being plastered and painted, new flooring and new doors. Managers said that new furniture has also been ordered for the home. Children were involved in choosing the paint and some furnishings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children get support to meet their health and well-being needs. Children are seen by health professionals when required, and staff support them to attend routine appointments.

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

Children feel safe at the home. Staff help children to learn how to remain safe when they are away from the home. Children’s free time can be subject to restrictions when there are serious risks of harm to them. When this happens, children are supported by staff to Inspection report for children's home: SC062128 4 enjoy different activities away from the home. Incidents of children going missing from the home have reduced because of the support they receive to understand the importance of using their free time responsibly.

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

Risks to children are managed well, with detailed care records that help staff to understand how to reduce risks to children. Staff provide a good level of support to children who are at risk of harming themselves. When this happens, children are responded to with care and warmth. Children are referred to appropriate professionals who can help them to feel better.

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

Staff employment records were not available as these are kept by the local authority’s recruitment service that manages staff recruitment for the home. Therefore, it cannot be seen that necessary checks are completed before new staff start working at the home. Managers recognise the importance of having access to staff records. There is a need to improve their processes to achieve this. However, there is no evidence that children are at risk of harm because of this shortfall.

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

Managers and staff check the home regularly to ensure it is safe. The refurbishment work is being managed well to prevent accidents to children, staff and visitors.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager was on leave during this inspection. The deputy manager provided good support with the inspection. She is experienced, having worked at the home for many years. She is knowledgeable about all aspects of the home and could talk about the progress children make. Leaders and managers understand what they do well at the home and what could be improved. They are proud about the improvements they have made since the previous inspection. This includes the work they did to meet the regulations and guidance. For example, a review of the quality of care provided to children now includes feedback from people involved with the home. This ensures everyone contributes to the development of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are effective monitoring systems in place and managers regularly assess all aspects of the home. They act on recommendations made by the independent visitor to continually improve the quality of care provided to children. Because of this monitoring and oversight, managers know the progress that children make. They also identify if they need to do anything differently to support children to do well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff retention is very good and some of the staff have worked at the home for many years. Staff said that they work well as a team and managers provide very good support. This helps to promote a stable team that provides consistency of care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff said they get the right training and support to do their jobs well. Staff are trained to support children using a recognised therapeutic model of care, with playfulness an important element of this approach. However, staff records do not clearly show what induction, probation processes and core training are provided to staff to help them to meet children’s needs. Staff had also not done training to support their understanding of Inspection report for children's home: SC062128 5 how to meet the needs of children subject to legal restrictions. Managers are working to improve this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is positive partnership working with external professionals, which helps to build trust and cooperation. Social workers for four children are positive about their working relationships with the managers and staff. One social worker said, ‘They are good and very professional. They are good at keeping us up to date.’ Inspection report for children's home: SC062128 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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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) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to ensuring that the manager has access to all employment records and can evidence that employment checks, including interview records, criminal record checks and references are completed in full before staff start working at the home. 4 June 2024 Inspection report for children's home: SC062128 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home provides a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. In particular, they should ensure that the refurbishment work being undertaken is completed to a good standard. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that they keep appropriate records for staff in the home. In particular, these should detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training necessary to meet children’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. In particular, staff should receive additional training to support their understanding of how to meet the needs of children subject

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Recommendations

to legal restrictions. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that they keep relevant plans for each child in their care. In particular, such plans should guide staff on how to meet the needs of children subject to legal restrictions. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 11.1)

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Information about this inspection

The Inspector has 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: SC062128 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: London Borough of Hounslow

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: London Borough of Hounslow, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB

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Inspector

Thobekile Bandama, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC062128 9 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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