Children's Home run by SEVA CHILDCARE LTD in Barnet

Inspection report for children’s home: 2675155 1 Registered provider: Seva Childcare Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for up to four children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in July 2022. The home has not had a registered manager since May 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living at the home at the time of the 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 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: 5 December 2023

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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: 2675155 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/12/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/02/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2675155 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are comfortable and relaxed, and staff are warm and attentive towards them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers strongly advocate on behalf of children to ensure that their educational needs are met. Staff also support children in developing their independence and life skills in line with their needs and abilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. Staff ensure that children attend medical appointments and have access to specialist advice. This helps children to improve their well-being. Staff make sure that children take their prescribed medication. However, when medication audits are carried out, the records are not always clear about the outcome of the findings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend time with children, giving them opportunities to express their feelings and share their views. Staff carry out direct work with the children. Some of this work is pre-planned to address specific issues, and some is unplanned. In all cases, this direct work is well recorded. Whenever possible, staff act and try to deliver according to children’s wishes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and arrange for children to spend quality time with their families when it is safe for them to do so. This helps children to maintain important relationships with the people who are special to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to participate in a wide range of activities in the home and the community. These include participating in sports, social and cultural activities and going on short holidays. Staff capture these moments by taking photos and videos that are then added to the children’s life-story work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is comfortable and decorated to a good standard. Children’s bedrooms are personalised in line with their choices and likes. There are photos of the children displayed throughout the home. This all adds to the homely atmosphere. A garden house is being built to accommodate the home’s office, and the plan is to turn the office into a sensory room.

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

The manager and staff demonstrate a good understanding of the needs and vulnerabilities of the children in their care. The children’s risk assessments and behaviour support plans are reviewed regularly. These records include all known risks and set out specific actions that staff should take to respond to presenting risks. The manager ensures that there is good-quality joint safeguarding work with children’s social workers, parents and other members of children’s networks. Inspection report for children’s home: 2675155 4 Behaviour management in the home is good. There are good boundaries and routines in place. There has been no use of physical intervention in the home since the last inspection. Instead, staff try to identify children’s triggers and de-escalate any difficult situations at the earliest stage. Incidents at the home are relatively low. When serious incidents happen, the manager ensures that information is shared

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

promptly with relevant professionals and that actions are taken to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

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

There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home since the last inspection. Leaders have installed sensors on the doors to strengthen safeguarding measures in the home. However, there are varying views among staff about how and when they should be used. Furthermore, none of the placing local authorities have given their consent for this type of monitoring.

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

Safeguarding issues are regularly discussed with staff in supervision, using case examples. Staff have a good understanding of whistle-blowing and the procedures to follow if allegations are made against other staff. This helps to ensure that children’s safety is prioritised.

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

Safer recruitment and employment practices are followed to ensure that only suitable staff are employed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in post since March 2024. She has applied to Ofsted to be registered. The manager is supported by a deputy manager and seniors in the team. They create a culture where staff strive to make a positive difference to children’s lives. There is a stable staff team in place, providing children with stability and a consistent level of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff at the home feel well supported by their colleagues and the manager. Team meetings, individual supervision and annual appraisals provide staff with opportunities to reflect on their practice and share their views. Staff meetings are also used as learning and development opportunities. Staff have access to regular training that is relevant to the needs of the children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers work well with children’s professional networks. Feedback from external professionals and a parent regarding the quality of care provided and communication from staff is positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management monitoring systems are effective. Information is easily accessible, and children’s files reflect their everyday lives well. Leaders use learning from practice and feedback to improve the experiences and care of children. For example, serious incidents are analysed to support team learning. Inspection report for children’s home: 2675155 5 The home’s statement of purpose has been updated. However, it does not contain all the information required. Inspection report for children’s home: 2675155 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home’s statement of purpose provides all information required by regulation 16 and schedule 1. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that any monitoring equipment has a written policy describing how this will support the safeguarding of the children so all staff can have a shared understanding of its use. Furthermore, the registered person should ensure that appropriate consent for its use is obtained in writing from the relevant persons. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  The registered person should ensure that the outcomes of medication audits completed as part of their oversight of the welfare of the children in their care are recorded clearly. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality

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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: 2675155 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ

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Inspector

Aneta Wasilewska, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2675155 8 regulates 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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