Children's Home run by Woodford Children's Services Ltd in Redbridge

Inspection report for children’s home: 2559019 1 Registered provider: Woodford Children’s Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in November 2019 and is privately owned. It provides care for up to five children who experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 12 February 2024

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2559019 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2024 Full Good 21/03/2023 Full Good 09/08/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2559019 3

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improvement to be good

Senior leaders do not always consider how a new child moving into the home may impact on children who are already living at the home. Not enough consideration is given to assessing risks to determine whether children’s needs can be safely met. One member of staff described how two children have had a negative influence on each other.

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improvement to be good

Children’s views and their participation in decisions are not clearly recorded. Senior leaders do not ensure that staff capture the child’s voice in their care plan. House meetings take place weekly. However, the records of these meetings do not consistently detail the children’s opinions about their care. One child said that the rules are not explained clearly.

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improvement to be good

Children do not always receive targeted support. For example, concerns about children’s safety in the community are not discussed during key-work sessions.

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improvement to be good

The complaints procedure is not recorded in full. There is uncertainty whether complaints are appropriately handled. One child said that their complaints are not taken seriously.

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improvement to be good

Staff work closely with education providers to ensure that children maintain their education. When children’s school attendance is not consistent, staff will offer incentives to encourage engagement.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to attend medical appointments. When children are reluctant to attend, staff offer additional help or rearrange appointments.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to develop their independence skills in line with their age and ability.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to have a structured routine. Mealtimes are timely, and children are aware of their weekly meal plans. Children are encouraged to participate in positive activities in the home and the community, although they often prefer to spend time with friends.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from a clean and welcoming home environment.

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improvement to be good

Children going missing from care continues to be a concern. Feedback from the police highlights a lack of information-sharing about the individual children to help them to Inspection report for children’s home: 2559019 4 carry out informed risk assessments. For example, one child’s record does not include the details of their new social worker. When children are missing from care, there is a lack of information on files around the agreements for notifying parents. This is a concern given the legal status of all children in the home.

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improvement to be good

Children are not routinely receiving independent return home interviews after a period of being missing. Staff do not always debrief children in a timely manner after they have been missing from care. Key-work sessions around missing-from-care episodes do not help children to understand the concerns around risk. One child highlighted they do not understand the concerns staff have around their safety.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments do not always reflect the level of risk to the child. One child’s records did not identify their level of risk had increased following an incident. This does not support staff when managing the risk to children to keep them safe.

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improvement to be good

Children’s medication records are incorrect. Recordings are missing signatory for entries of administration and when children refuse their medication. Medication records are also not updated when there is a change in dosage.

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improvement to be good

Searches of children’s bedrooms records lack detail. It is therefore unknown whether these searches have been carried out effectively. It is also unclear whether children are always made aware that a room search has taken place.

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

There has been a period of instability in the leadership of the home. The deputy manager has now been appointed as the home manager and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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

Senior leaders do not have effective oversight of children’s files. For example, staff are not always providing details in children’s records to explain what has been done to support a child. Children’s files are not always easily accessible in the recording systems used at the home.

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

There is a lack of evidence that supervision takes place regularly. There are gaps in supervision records and some records are unclear around key topics of conversation. One member of staff said that they are not receiving regular supervision due to pressures in the home.

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

Staff receive annual appraisals. However, records often miss evidence of feedback from children.

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

Management does not have regular oversight of the staff training record. Training records are not readily available and updated to ensure that staff have the skills to meet all the children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2559019 5 Staff do not have clear knowledge of the procedures to be followed to apply the organisation’s whistle-blowing policy. Inspection report for children’s home: 2559019 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s 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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home;

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

the child is, or has been, persistently absent from the home without permission;

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(ii)(e)(i)(ii)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, senior leaders and managers must ensure that the risks and needs of the current children in the home are considered before admitting new children to the home.

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Requirement Due date

Senior leaders and managers must have oversight of staff training and ensure that training records stay up to date.

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Requirement Due date

Senior leaders and managers must ensure that where there are frequent missing-from-care episodes, this is raised with the child’s placing local authority to ensure that a return home interview is offered to the child. 14 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2559019 7 The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, senior leaders must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

bedroom searches reflect the risks to children. Records must be detailed, and children should be informed when a room search has been carried out;

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Requirement Due date

staff have a clear knowledge of the procedures to be followed to apply the organisation’s whistle-blowing policy;

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Requirement Due date

tailored discussions take place with children that explicitly focus on concerns around risks and decision-making when in the community;

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Requirement Due date

when missing-from-care episodes occur, debrief sessions take place in a timely manner. If children do not wish to engage, this should be recorded. 14 January 2025

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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 14 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2559019 8 promotes their welfare.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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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)(a)(c)(f)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

the appointed home manager receives adequate training to enable them to manage the home effectively;

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Requirement Due date

children’s voices are captured around the care they receive;

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Requirement Due date

monitoring and review systems enable management oversight to be effective in assessing the quality of care children receive.

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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)) 14 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2559019 9 The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, senior leaders must ensure that staff receive regular supervision. 14 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, all complaints from children must be recorded regardless of the level of significance. 14 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(c)) 14 January 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should support children in strategies to manage and reduce any risks. Staff should encourage children to express their views about whether they feel safe inside and outside the home. Staff should support children to understand how to ask for help to stay safe and ensure that the home is an environment which supports this. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.10)  The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home, they consider information provided from return home interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30) Inspection report for children’s home: 2559019 10

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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: 2559019 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Woodford Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Abacus House, Forest Road, Loughton, Essex IG10 1DX

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Inspectors

Natalie Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Chelsea Agyeman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2559019 12 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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