Children's home run by London Borough of Hillingdon

Inspection report for children’s home: 2784402 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.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager also manages another home that is 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

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: 2784402 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home was registered with Ofsted, two children have lived at the home. Staff provide support to highly vulnerable children for short periods, allowing time for children’s needs to be assessed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child currently living in the home has developed a good relationship with staff and says that staff are ‘funny’. The child feels that their life has improved since moving into the home and they feel safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s emotional and physical health needs are well met. They have access to local health services and benefit from therapeutic support. This gives the child opportunities to talk about their emotions and feelings in a safe space.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to develop independence skills suited to their abilities. With some help from staff, the child can now do their own laundry and clean their bedroom. Additionally, staff support the child’s passion by helping them cook dishes from their culture.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys activities such as going bowling, ice-skating and taking part in karaoke. The staff have embraced the child’s interest around football, including visiting sport shops.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is in the process of moving on from the home. Staff understand the importance of children having a smooth transition process when it is time to leave. Staff took the child to see their new home, and the child enjoyed the visit.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is enrolled at a school, but staff find it difficult to support the child to consistently attend. Instead, they work with the school so that the child has resources to study in the home. There are discussions about the child having a tutor so that they can benefit from structured learning in an alternative way.

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

Staff adopt a multi-agency approach to ensuring children’s safety. They are aware of the children’s vulnerabilities and ensure that risk assessments are regularly updated. These assessments help to guide staff on the strategies needed to keep children safe.

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

When incidents happen, physical holds are only used as a last resort and only when a child puts themselves or others at risk.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff communicate with family members to get extra information about their whereabouts. For the child currently living in the home, this is helpful as they are usually found to be with friends. Despite staff efforts in locating Inspection report for children’s home: 2784402 3 children, leaders and managers are not consistently requesting independent return home interviews.

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

Staff are committed to helping the child understand the concerns professionals have about them. The child takes part in key-work sessions with staff, discussing community safety, the effects of bullying, risks associated with harmful substances, and positive behaviour.

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

Staff understand that the internet can be an unsafe place for children. There are safeguards in place to make sure that the child only accesses child-friendly sites. The child also gives their mobile phone to staff at night. Staff explain to the child the reason that this boundary is in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run by an experienced registered manager, who receives support from the responsible individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive support through regular supervision. One staff member finds it ‘therapeutic’. Staff also benefit from team discussions, where they reflect on their practice, receive updates on the home and discuss how the team can improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular training opportunities. Staff find that training helps them to support children and to remain up to date on current issues that affect children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are monitoring systems in place to analyse children’s care. This helps leaders and managers understand children’s progress, experiences and where additional support is needed. However, not all information in the child’s file is up to date. For example, the child’s care plan does not include information about the child’s cultural needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professional feedback is varied. The child’s social worker commends staff for their communication. However, police say that staff do not always report missing-from-care episodes correctly. The child’s school is not consistently informed about the child’s whereabouts. Inspection report for children’s home: 2784402 4

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns home after being missing, that they are provided with an opportunity to have an independent return home interview. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that they are working in partnership with the child’s school and police to ensure that these professionals have up to date and correct information about the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.3)  The registered person should ensure that children’s case records are always kept up to date and contain accurate information about the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: 2784402 5

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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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Inspector

Chelsea Agyeman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2784402 6 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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