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

Inspection report for children's home: SC033805 1 SC033805 Registered provider: London Borough of Barnet

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a local authority and provides care for up to six children with social and emotional difficulties. The home provides short- to medium-term care on a planned basis and in an emergency.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2020. The home has been registered with Ofsted since 2004. At the time of the inspection, six children were living at 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 requires improvement to be 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: SC033805 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/06/2023 Full Good 21/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/03/2022 Full Good 14/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC033805 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s overall experiences and progress can differ as their needs when they move into the home are varied. Some children only stay at the home for a short time, with other children living at the home for a long period. Regardless of a child’s length of stay, staff work hard to meet children’s individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff try hard to engage children in meaningful discussions. Staff are sensitive to the fact that some children find it hard to engage and need time and space to build up their trust in staff. One child described the home as ‘familial’. Another child said staff are helpful and forgiving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s meetings take place regularly, with some children taking the lead in these meetings. This helps them to feel appreciated and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have access to a range of social and recreational activities. For example, children can go to the local gym, participate in a variety of sports activities and enjoy movie nights. One child has been supported to attend church on a Sunday.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work in partnership with education providers and the virtual school to address challenges and barriers that impact on children making educational progress. Staff are currently supporting one child who is taking their exams.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their independence skills at a pace that suits their needs and considers their anxieties. For example, children learn to cook and to budget. These activities give children a sense of achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise family relationships. They work with parents to help them understand the importance of boundaries and positive relationships. This work has helped to rebuild bridges so that children can safely spend time with their families.

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

Staff understand children’s individual needs, behaviours and risks. Managers ensure that each child has an individual risk assessment. This document is detailed and provides staff with clear guidance. As a result, staff are equipped with the essential strategies that help to keep children safe.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff take prompt action and follow missing- from-care protocols. However, records made by staff are often incomplete and do not reflect any discussions with children when they return home. Although return home interviews are requested, these do not always take place and managers are not always quick to escalate this with the local authority. Inspection report for children's home: SC033805 4 Staff’s use of physical intervention is proportionate. Staff also use consequences as a way of managing behaviour. However, records are not always detailed, to evidence the effectiveness of the measure.

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

Senior leaders have completed a risk assessment of the local area. However, this assessment lacks evidence of any consultation with external professionals. This is a missed opportunity to get expert advice about risks that exist in the local community.

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

The registered manager cares about the children. She works closely with children’s social workers, teachers and health professionals, and feedback is positive.

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

Staff benefit from regular supervision that gives them time to discuss the care of the children and their personal development. However, there is no evidence that staff receive annual appraisals.

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

Senior leaders have not ensured that the home’s workforce development plan includes key information about staff’s experiences and qualifications.

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

There are some inaccuracies in children's records and they are not always clearly written. They do not reflect the everyday lives of the children.

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

The registered manager has completed their quality of care report for the home. However, the report does not include professional feedback or reflection on staff practice.

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

Senior leaders understand that the nature of the service means planning children’s moves into the home can be difficult. However, not enough thought has been given to how to achieve the right balance so that the needs of children already living in the home are at the front and centre of decision-making. This has resulted in some children’s placements breaking down and children needing to be moved. A requirement around admissions was raised following the last inspection and this is restated.

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

Since the last inspection, improvements have been made to how the provider responds to required repairs. However, there is still an ongoing problem with one section of the roof, which results in water getting through the tiles. However, this does not affect the part of the home where children live. Inspection report for children's home: SC033805 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all potential risks to children are thoroughly considered and assessed at the point of referral and that consideration is given to whether staff have the knowledge, skills and experience to meet the needs of children placed in their care.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is repeated. 1 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 1 July 2024 Inspection report for children's home: SC033805 6 In particular, the registered person must ensure that all children’s records are completed appropriately and only contain information about this home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any required repairs are carried out promptly. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that all staff have their performance appraised annually and records of appraisals should be available. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should ensure that the workforce development plan includes the required information, including the qualifications and experiences of each staff member. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that the quality of care review focuses on the experiences of children living in the home and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes

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Recommendations

Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)  The registered person should ensure that any consequences are reviewed to make sure that children understand why their behaviour is a concern so that they can learn from it. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing or away from the home without permission, and how staff should support the child on return to the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28)  The registered person should ensure that return home interviews take place after a child has been missing. When they do take place, feedback gathered at the interview should be used to support the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations,

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Recommendations

including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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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: SC033805 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: London Borough of Barnet

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: London Borough of Barnet, 2 Bristol Avenue, London NW9 4EW

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Inspector

Chelsea Agyeman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC033805 8 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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