Children's Home run by Westmont College Limited in Redbridge

Inspection report for children’s home: 2722575 1 Registered provider: Westmont College Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately run and provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in August 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager gave notice and left his post on 17 June 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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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

Date of last inspection: 30 January 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2722575 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/01/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2722575 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide a good standard of care to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children get support from kind and caring staff. Staff focus on building relationships with children at the child’s pace. One social worker commented that staff go over and beyond expectations to help children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with their family and friends, who play a significant role in their lives. Families visit children in the home and have good relationships with the staff. Each child’s views and wishes regarding the time they spend with their family are respected, and plans are put in place to make this time safe and meaningful. This support has helped children to settle in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are registered with all relevant health services. Staff are persistent in supporting children to attend their health appointments. For example, staff are supporting one child to access specialised health services in line with their care plan. This has promoted the child’s well-being and emotional development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are ambitious for the children, and education is clearly a priority at this home. For example, staff have taken positive steps to support one child to help them achieve their educational aspirations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to share their views and contribute to their care. Children can personalise their bedrooms, and they choose the activities they want to do. Children also enjoy being part of the decision-making when incentives are planned to help them develop new skills. This has helped children build on their confidence and gives them a sense of achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children learn independent living skills and are making progress in this area. One child can cook a variety of meals. This child takes pride in keeping their bedroom tidy and enjoys spending their time there.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, the home has been decorated. However, the standard of the work completed has not improved the living environment for the children.

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

Staff ensure that children have comprehensive care plans and risk assessments. Staff use these to help them keep children safe.

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

Staff consider children’s views, particularly when they are planning children’s care and safety plans. To keep one child safe, the home has given notice for them to move to another service. This was done in agreement with the placing local authority Inspection report for children’s home: 2722575 4 and the child’s parent. The parent commented that staff worked well within the restrictions they had in caring for the child.

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

Staff are enthusiastic about improving children’s lives. A social worker and a parent commented on the caring nature and good communication of the staff.

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

Staff know the children well and have engaged them in activities of their choice. This has helped the children to develop positive relationships with the staff.

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

Staff work well in partnership with social workers and the police to keep children safe. Staff follow children’s plans well when they go missing from the home. Staff stay in contact with children and encourage them to return home safely. Children know who to talk to when they are worried about anything.

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

Children are supported to meet friends outside of the home. Necessary precautions are taken before the child goes out, including asking the child to keep their mobile location on. This is helping one child to safely spend time with their friends.

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good

The registered manager is no longer in post. However, leaders have made effective management arrangements at the home. There is now a deputy manager who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the home. They are supported in this role by an interim manager, who has experience of managing a children’s home. The deputy manager is intending to apply to register with Ofsted.

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good

There are some shortfalls in the monitoring systems. Children, parents, social workers and staff’s views are not always considered in the home’s quality of care reviews.

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good

After the last inspection, leaders appointed three consultants whose role is to supervise the managers. Leaders and managers said that they have benefited from the supervision, and they are using the learning from this to improve their systems.

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good

Some records are not up to date, and a medication audit failed to alert staff to identify and discard out-of-date medication. This shortfall had a potential to cause harm if the medication had been given to a child. Managers are aware that they need to improve their quality monitoring systems.

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good

The deputy manager is experienced and has introduced some changes to the management of the home that will support staff in building their confidence. Team meetings are more frequent now, and the deputy manager has some creative ideas to improve the quality of care for the children. These are yet to be implemented. Inspection report for children’s home: 2722575 5 Managers are making effective use of the independent visitor. They take on board the recommendations and observations included in the monthly reports to improve the quality of care at the home.

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good

Staff benefit from a comprehensive training package. Staff have attended all mandatory training and additional training relevant to the needs of the children they care for. Staff demonstrate a good working knowledge of safeguarding practice and have knowledge of the management of the allegations procedure. Staff said they are supported well by managers and that the recent management changes are positive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2722575 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 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

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

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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)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to ensuring that staff update all records in a timely way so that there is always correct information about children’s care. 16 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. In particular, regular audits should be used to identify and remove out-of-date medication. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. In particular, they should seek the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff to gain information about what might need improving. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Inspection report for children’s home: 2722575 7  The registered person should ensure that the home provides a nurturing and

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Recommendations

supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. In particular, all areas of the home should be decorated and furnished to provide a nice and comfortable place for children to live in. This includes garden furniture being available for use by children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that the recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, managers should explore a full employment history, together with a satisfactory explanation of any gaps in employment for each applicant. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 2722575 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Westmont College Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Westmont College, 28-42 Clements Road, Ilford, Essex IG1 1BA

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Inspectors

Thobekile Bandama, Social Care Inspector Nurnahar Bhuniya, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2722575 9 and inspects 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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