Children's Home run by Solace Care Partners Limited in Enfield

Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 1 Registered provider: Solace Care Partners Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted on 10 April 2019 and is privately run. It provides care for up to four children who experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left their post on 30 April 2023. A new manager is in post. They have applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two 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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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: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/09/2022 Full Good 27/04/2021 Full Good 13/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 3

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improvement to be good

Staff show warmth and care towards the children. They support children’s identity and are sensitive and responsive to their individual experiences and needs. However, children’s progress is variable. One child is settled and enjoys positive experiences, whereas another child’s progress has been hindered due to them frequently going missing from the home.

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improvement to be good

Children’s rights are respected, and they know how to raise complaints. Leaders and managers ensure that complaints are progressed effectively and with an appropriate outcome.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand that it is important for children to maintain relationships with the people who are important to them. Staff support and arrange for children to spend time with their family when it is safe to do so.

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improvement to be good

One child has been out of education for a significant period. Staff have been slow to encourage the child to engage in suitably structured educational activities while waiting for a school placement.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to attend medical appointments and ensure that they have access to specialist advice when necessary. However, one child has missed several health appointments due to them frequently being missing from the home.

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improvement to be good

Feedback from professionals and a family member is positive. They praise staff for their child-centred relationships, stability and safety. They also praise staff for prompt communication.

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improvement to be good

Children are provided with opportunities to participate in a range of activities in the home and the community.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they feel safe in the home and that there are adults who they can speak to if they are worried.

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improvement to be good

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of children’s needs and vulnerabilities. However, children’s risk assessments do not consistently set out the specific actions staff should take to respond to and manage identified risks. This compromises how staff safeguard children and weakens their ability to provide a consistent approach to managing risk. Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 4 Staff generally respond when children go missing from the home. They maintain regular contact with children and encourage them to return home. Staff work collaboratively with key professionals and people in children’s networks. However, this has not led to a decrease in the frequency that one child goes missing from the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff and managers have not ensured that the environment is kept safe. For example, two empty bedrooms were found unlocked and could be accessed by the children. The bedrooms contained potentially flammable and unsafe items. The tool shed in the garden was also found to be open. Leaders and managers took action to resolve these risks during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have made improvements in their recruitment procedures. However, one new member of staff has only received a standard Disclosure and Barring Service check rather than the required enhanced check. Also, the member of staff has not been asked to provide details of their full employment history.

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improvement to be good

One child frequently refuses to take their prescribed medication. This medication should not be stopped without consultation with a doctor. Despite staff knowing this, they have not contacted the relevant health professionals.

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improvement to be good

Staff offer children regular key-work sessions. These sessions focus on children’s individual circumstances and presenting needs, including the risks of going missing from the home, cannabis misuse or discriminatory beliefs.

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

The home is managed by an experienced and qualified manager. She has applied to register with Ofsted.

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

Leaders and managers are aware of the home’s strengths and areas for development. There are plans to introduce a new recording system.

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

The manager’s oversight of children’s records needs to improve. Some records have significant gaps, including risk assessments and a grab pack for a child who frequently goes missing from the home. Care plans do not include set timescales for actions.

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

Leaders and managers do not challenge the placing local authority effectively when it does not provide the required support to meet children’s needs. For example, one child has not accessed any form of education despite being in the home for three months.

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

Leaders and managers have failed to carry out a quality of care review since the last full inspection. Furthermore, leaders and managers have failed to notify Ofsted of their concerns about the frequency that one child goes missing from the home.

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

Staff say that they feel well supported by leaders and managers, who are available and approachable. Staff benefit from regular supervision and have access to training that is Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 5 relevant to the needs of the children living in the home. Team meetings are focused and led by children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 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 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

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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vii)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers should ensure that risk assessments provide staff with clear strategies to minimise risks of harm. The registered person should ensure that staff follow these strategies.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, leaders and managers should ensure that the home environment is safe for children and any hazards are addressed without delay. 31 May 2024

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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; 31 May 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 7 children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being;

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Requirement Due date

and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the relevant health professionals are notified if a child refuses to take their prescribed medication.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)) 31 May 2024

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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

promotes their welfare. 15 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 8 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

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

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the monitoring and review systems lead to consistent improvements in the quality and consistency of records.

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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)) 15 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (b)(c)) 15 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 9

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Recommendation

 The registered person should give more consideration to what constitutes a serious incident and should be notified to Ofsted. This specifically relates to children who frequently go missing from the home and where this behaviour has had a significant impact on their progress. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.11)

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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: 2503142 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Solace Care Partners Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Solace Care Partners Limited, Unit 2a, 420 Eastern Avenue, Ilford IG2 6NQ

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Inspectors

Aneta Wasilewska, Social Care Inspector Richard Wyper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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