Children's home run by London Borough of Hillingdon

Inspection report for children's home: 2785128 1 Registered provider: London Borough of Hillingdon

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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 one child with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager were registered with Ofsted in May 2024. The manager also manages another home that is registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the home was registered, one child has moved in.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2785128 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

After some initial difficulties, the child is now settled, and their overall experiences and progress are good. Staff have worked closely with the child’s social worker, health professionals and the local police. Together, they have ensured that the child is safe and is thriving physically, emotionally and socially.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have built nurturing relationships with the child. The child can identify a member of staff to speak to if they are unhappy about anything.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have ensured that the child is registered with health services. For example, the child is registered with a local dentist and has had a routine check-up.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the child can participate in activities. However, on one occasion, an activity that had been arranged was not age appropriate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are working with the virtual school to secure a suitable school placement. However, as the new school term starts, not enough thought has been given to planning educational activities to help to prepare the child for school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are shortfalls in how staff record the child’s daily experiences. Key information is sometimes missing. For example, the child has decided to stop practising their religion. Despite this being known, staff have not updated the child’s records.

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

Staff are acutely aware of the child’s vulnerabilities and their responsibility in keeping them safe.

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

Since the home has opened partnership working has evolved. This multi-agency approach ensures that appropriate support is in place to support the child’s progress and maximise their potential. Staff have formed good relationships with the police and regular meetings take place with the child’s professional network to discuss strategies that are helping to keep the child safe. As a result of this joined-up work, the child is no longer going missing from home. When incidents happened previously, the police were often called out to de-escalate situations. This is no longer a concern, and serious incidents in the home are now rare.

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

When the child has raised a concern about a member of staff, senior leaders have ensured that all information is promptly shared with the right professionals. However, the record made when a complaint is raised does not clearly show the different stages of the process, including the outcome. Inspection report for children's home: 2785128 3 Safer recruitment processes are in place to ensure that all staff are qualified and safe to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides good leadership to the staff team and demonstrates a strong commitment to providing a good standard of care to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a wide range of training, which centres on the child’s specific needs and vulnerabilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision helps to challenge staff practice and to improve the care given to the child. This is further supported by team meetings. However, records do not always show that team meetings are reflective and that the child’s needs are discussed in staff supervisions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from the child’s social worker is positive. They are happy with the support that staff provide, and they can see an improvement in the child’s behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior leaders make use of appropriate monitoring systems to analyse the child’s care. This helps them to understand the child’s progress and experiences and where staff can improve on their practice. However, the manager’s monitoring and oversight of the child’s records need improving. Inspection report for children's home: 2785128 4

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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 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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all children’s case records are legible and include appropriate detail to help staff to care for children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s wishes, complaints, activities, rewards and daily experiences are well recorded. 5 November 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that supervision allows staff to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children in their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that when children are not participating in education, they should be supported to engage in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure that children are offered a wide range of age- appropriate activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.5) Inspection report for children's home: 2785128 5

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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: 2785128 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: London Borough of Hillingdon

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: London Borough of Hillingdon, Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge UB8 1UW

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Inspectors

Chelsea Agyeman, Social Care Inspector Josephine Onwubiko, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2785128 7 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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