Children's home run by The Beeches UK limited in Redbridge

Inspection report for children’s home: SC053529 1 SC053529 Registered provider: The Beeches UK 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 privately owned children’s home provides care for up to six children with a learning disability and/or other complex needs. Five children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2022.

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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: 12 September 2023

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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: SC053529 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/09/2023 Full Good 20/07/2022 Full Good 28/10/2021 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC053529 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All five children were spoken with during the inspection. Children receive a good standard of care. Staff are warm and caring to the children. They understand each child’s vulnerabilities and strengths. Professionals and children’s parents are positive about the care that staff provide to children. The manager has good oversight of the home and staff say that they feel well supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved into the home and one child has moved out since the last inspection. Moves are well considered. The manager has made efforts to maintain communication with the child who has moved out. She has encouraged children still living at the home to talk about the child who moved out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly. Staff celebrate children’s achievements at school and attend children’s open evenings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met. Staff encourage the children to remain active and support them to take care of their health and hygiene. They support children to attend health appointments. When one child was experiencing an acute mental health crisis, the manager and staff advocated for specialist assessment and care for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand each child’s likes and dislikes. This helps them to plan meaningful and varied activities with the children. One child wants to work with trains, so staff have planned days out using trains rather than the home’s car. Other children have been supported to attend a large car show and visit dinosaur parks. All five children have recently returned from a two-week seaside holiday in the UK and there are plans to travel abroad in the future. This is in line with children’s wishes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to spend time with people who are important to them. Children’s families can visit them. This promotes a positive and relaxed atmosphere for family visits. Staff have developed positive relationships with family members to ensure that they can work together for the child. One parent said of staff, ‘They are amazing’. Another parent said, ‘I love the staff. They are so kind to me and my child, they really care.’

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

Three children said that they feel safe. They could identify staff members who they could speak with if they feel unsafe or sad. Two children are non-verbal. Both children were seen playing happily alongside staff members who guided them warmly. Staff showed a good awareness of each child’s additional and communication needs. Staff were able to use this understanding to support one child to move beyond their usual level of tolerance and progress in their play. The staff Inspection report for children’s home: SC053529 4 member was able to evidence a good understanding of scaffolding one child’s play, to help them to develop and grow their ‘window of tolerance’. This helped the child to manage their frustrations and build their problem solving and resilience.

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

Risk assessments are detailed. The manager has implemented a system of pictorial and written risk assessments, with ‘grab sheets, to help guide staff clearly.

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

Children know how to complain. One child has complained this inspection year. The child’s complaint was addressed by the manager and the deputy manager.

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

Staff are proactive when children go missing from or leave the home without agreement. They search for children and work tenaciously with police and social workers. Staff advocate for children to have return home interviews. They welcome the children back warmly.

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

The senior management team follows reporting procedures for concerns and allegations against staff. Investigations are carried out and children are safeguarded. Learning outcomes identify further training to prevent future occurrences.

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

Staff speak about the children with warmth and care. However, the language used to record their time with children is not consistently written in a child-friendly way. The manager has not consistently challenged staff about this.

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

Children’s meetings are regular, but feedback to the children is not consistently evidenced. This could mean that children do not understand what has happened in response to the matters raised by them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is dedicated and child-centred. She speaks of the children with great warmth. She is aspirational for the children in her care. The manager is supported by an experienced responsible individual, who ensures that the manager has regular supervision that challenges and supports her to develop in her role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak of the manager as being supportive, consistently available and an enthusiastic advocate for their development. One member of staff spoke of their admiration for the manager and said, ‘I want to do well in my role for her, as well as myself.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision sessions are regular and enable staff to reflect on the emotional aspects of their role as well as safeguarding. These sessions together with staff team meetings provide a balance of support and challenge to staff. They help staff to reflect, learn from mistakes and identify their learning and support needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are supported by competent, knowledgeable staff who are trained to meet their needs. The manager regularly reviews staff’s training needs to ensure that training is meaningful and enables staff to provide good-quality care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC053529 5 The manager ensures that staff are suitable by following safer recruitment processes. She takes steps to ensure that there are sufficient skilled staff supporting the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Four staff have not achieved a relevant level 3 qualification within the required timescales. This requirement is re-stated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the strengths and areas for development at the home. She has a good level of oversight. However, she has not consistently challenged staff to remain curious in their approach with children. As a result, staff have potentially missed valuable opportunities to connect with children further and understand their lived experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has met two requirements raised at the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC053529 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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (1) (2) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)) 31 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC053529 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children can see the results of their views being listened to and acted on. In particular, ensure that children receive responses to issues that they raise in children’s meetings and that any responses to children’s complaints are written in child-friendly language. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose. In particular, ensure that staff are supported and challenged to remain curious to children’s lived experiences in line with the home’s chosen therapeutic model. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)  The registered person should ensure that records relating to children are written in

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Recommendations

child-friendly language and that language used to describe children is appropriate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC053529 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Beeches UK limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: S B C H House, 212 Ballards Lane, London N3 2LX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michelle Robinson

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Inspector

Majella Russell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC053529 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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