Children's home run by Utopia Supported Housing

Inspection report for children’s home: 2748091 1 Registered provider: Utopia Supported Housing Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home is registered to provide care for up to six children with social, emotional, and mental health difficulties. There was one child living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since April 2024. A new manager has been appointed and has applied to be registered with Ofsted.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: Ofsted issued a notice restricting accommodation following the first full inspection of the home in April 2024. Ofsted carried out monitoring visits to the home in June 2024 and July 2024. The purpose of these visits was to monitor compliance with the restriction notice and the compliance notices served following the full inspection. Following the visit in July 2024, the restriction notice was lifted, and the compliance notices were deemed to be met. There were no children living at the home between June 2024 and the end of October 2024. Inspection report for children’s home: 2748091 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/04/2024 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2748091 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the child well and are committed to providing a caring, safe and nurturing environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s move into the home was well planned and at the child’s pace. This helped the child to adapt and settle into the home quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff speak fondly of children, and the relationships witnessed between staff and the child were respectful, kind and understanding. Staff are always keen to capture the child’s views, wishes and feelings and use these to inform future care planning. This is also to ensure the child is given the opportunity to enjoy chosen activities and have autonomy over decisions such as menu planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has only been in the home for a short period of time, yet the progress made is remarkable, considering their starting point and the ongoing challenges that they face.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is happy and settled and enjoys spending time with the staff, who they feel well supported by. The child said, ‘I don’t have a favourite member of staff; they’re all lovely.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is not currently attending any formal education, and managers are taking steps to address this. In the meantime, staff have enrolled them on an accredited education programme. They have helped them to choose subjects that will be beneficial for them now and in the future and that provide the greatest chance of success.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Advocacy for children is a strength of this home. The manager strongly advocates for the child to ensure that their views are shared with other professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support healthy daily routines, including good sleep hygiene, and they actively encourage the child to attend health appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated to a good standard and provides a comfortable space. The child has been supported to decorate their bedroom to their own personal taste. This helps the child feel at home.

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

Staff are consistent in their expectations for children’s behaviour toward adults and each other. Staff are well trained and use restorative approaches that help the child to reflect on their actions. Inspection report for children’s home: 2748091 4 Staff plan regular conversations with the child about important topics. The discussions are meaningful and include sharing information with the child about relationships, sexual health and online safety.

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

Staff know the child’s needs in detail, and risks are understood. Missing-from-care protocols are clear. There has been a significant reduction of incidents of the child going missing from the home. When this happens, staff follow guidance effectively. The risks of exploitation in the community have also reduced. The caring approach that staff use has enabled the child to be settled and confident in their care.

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

The manager follows a robust process to ensure that the people who work at the home are safe to do so. The manager oversees the recruitment of staff to ensure that they employ the right people. They have high expectations of staff and provide a high level of support.

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

However, risk assessments are not specific and do not provide enough detail. This could result in pertinent information being lost, which could increase the risk of harm to the child. In one example, the child’s risk assessment does not provide sufficient information to reliably inform staff about the risks that some medications pose to them. This has the potential to risk compromising the child’s health, although there has been no evidence of a negative impact on the child.

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

Health and safety processes, including for fire, are effective. Maintenance tasks are resolved quickly, and the manager ensures that the home is maintained to a high standard. Children live in a safe environment, and staff and children know how to evacuate safely and where to assemble.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an ambitious and experienced manager. There are transparent and respectful relationships between leaders and staff. Staff speak highly of the manager and the support and guidance that they provide. Staff receive regular supervision and debriefs, which ensure a high standard of care is provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff team meetings are held weekly and are well attended. Meetings are focused, and staff use this opportunity to review the progress that children make, the development of the home and staff training. Recruitment is ongoing, and the home currently uses a minimal number of agency staff who are regular, well known and well liked by the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive extensive training before children arrive. This ensures that they have the knowledge and skills that they need to provide good-quality care and can speak confidently about the child’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Generally, the manager leads and manages the home in a way that is consistent with the home’s statement of purpose. However, the statement of purpose states that a therapist attends the home on a weekly basis. This is something that ceased some time ago. This Inspection report for children’s home: 2748091 5 is being remedied by senior leaders. In the meantime, staff are not receiving any specialist support to help them to fully meet the child’s emotional and mental health needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Equality, diversity and inclusion are promoted in the home. The staff team ensures that the child is enabled to celebrate their religion and cultural background. Leaders have employed a diverse team to better support children from a range of different cultures and backgrounds. Inspection report for children’s home: 2748091 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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met. (Regulation 10 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff fully understand the risks that some medications pose to the child. 31 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)) 31 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

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. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(a)) 31 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2748091 7

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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: 2748091 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Utopia Supported Housing

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: English Room, Old Free School, Watford, Hertfordshire WD18 0BX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Lauren Mercurius-Mascoll

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Inspector

Emma Haskell, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2748091 9 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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