Children's home run by Action for Children Services Ltd in Watford

Inspection report for children’s home: SC004429 1 SC004429 Registered provider: Action for Children Services 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 short break service is registered to provide care for up to four children. Children who receive care may have a physical or learning disability along with a sensory impairment. The service is owned by a private organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in 2015, and she holds a Level 5 Diploma in leadership and management.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC004429 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/03/2024 Full Good 15/03/2023 Full Good 12/10/2021 Full Good 12/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC004429 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, two children were having a short break. The inspector saw both children. The children are non-verbal, and staff helped the inspector to interpret the children’s facial expressions and body language. From these observations, the children appeared happy and to be enjoying their short break.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff show genuine care and compassion towards children and talk fondly of them. They treat children with respect and understand their needs well. Staff demonstrate this in various ways, such as talking through the process with children when giving medication, which reassures those who are anxious about what is happening.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to achieve targets through a national awarding organisation. Through the completion of awards, children are given opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge in being more independent. However, records for one child are limited and do not show how the child is progressing. This could result in targets drifting and children not having all the support they need to reach their targets as quickly as they could.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have developed plans which tell staff about children’s needs and how to care for them. However, the paper copies for one child did not have all the information staff would need to understand the child’s health needs. The information was on the home’s electronic system, but this could cause confusion or could be missed by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy their stays. Staff make sure children have lots of lovely opportunities to mix with others, form friendships and enjoy a wide range of activities at the home and in the wider community. Staff help children to celebrate events such as Easter, Halloween and Christmas. All children get to go on activities in the community. Staff have taken children to farm parks, soft play, local parks, Christmas events and shopping.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children learn. They explore other cultures with children, and help them understand how to keep themselves safe and the importance of eating healthy foods and having healthy lifestyles. These sessions are fun and involve cooking foods, completing worksheets and taking part in physical activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to. Staff gain children’s views through children’s day-to-day requests, staff offering choices and getting feedback from children at the end of their stays. However, not all views are promptly acted on. One child had been exploring foods and had clearly named foods they liked and did not like, but this information was not included in the child’s likes and dislikes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A strength of this home is the positive relationship staff have with families. They support families not just with the short breaks but also with helping them to access money through enrichment and crisis funds. This shows the high level of commitment staff have to children and their families. Inspection report for children’s home: SC004429 4

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

Children have complex health needs and significant learning disabilities. Children are dependent on staff for all their care needs. Staff have developed plans which tell them about children’s health needs and how to care for them. For some children, this means staff need to closely watch them during the day and at night. However, one child’s plan was not clear as to the frequency of the staff check or how the staff check the child. This meant on one occasion the frequency of nighttime checks was not as per their agreed care needs.

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

Staff receive medication training and training to care for children’s complex health needs. This training is comprehensive, and staff have in-depth knowledge of individual children’s health care needs. As a result, children’s health needs are well met and there have been no medication errors.

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

Matching of children is a real strength of this home. Staff undertake assessments and children are invited to have trial days with other children. This helps staff to identify the most suitable mix. This careful matching means incidents are rare. When they do occur, staff manage them well and only use physical intervention when necessary to keep a child safe.

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

On occasion, children have struggled at the home and their behaviour has posed a risk to other children. When this has happened, the manager has advocated for them and arranged to have the child at the home without other children. This has kept other children safe and helped the child to have a more enjoyable stay without the added pressures of other children in the environment.

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

Children do not go missing. The children are vulnerable and if they were to wander off, staff have plans in place which tell them what action they need to take.

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

The home is well kept. The manager has a good oversight of the home, and any damage is reported and repaired promptly. Children are aware of the fire evacuation procedures, and all children have personal emergency evacuation plans in the unlikely event there was a fire.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is child focused. She is aspirational for the children and has high expectations for their care. Staff share this same vision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has monitoring systems which help her check the quality of care provided to children. In addition, the manager uses quality audits from her independent visitor and responsible individual to make ongoing improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say the manager is supportive. They are complementary about her, the support she gives and her commitment to the home. This has meant there is a stable staff team. No Inspection report for children’s home: SC004429 5 staff have left since the last inspection and many staff have worked at the home for a number of years.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is proactive in supporting staff development. She is creative in finding ways to develop staff skills and knowledge through tasks, responsibilities and training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular training. Training is online and face to face. Practitioners who know the children give staff specialist training. In addition, staff have completed training introduced following learning from national enquiries into failings in the care of those with learning disabilities. This training has given staff the confidence to question and challenge other professionals on their decision-making when prescribing medication to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a positive relationship with other professionals. She is not afraid to seek support from others to ensure children receive the best possible care. Professionals are complimentary about the manager. They say that she is always available, will try new things and offers creative ideas to meet the children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC004429 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;

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(a) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s health plans clearly say what checks staff need to do and when, and that staff complete the nighttime checks as set out in those plans. 11 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)) 11 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC004429 7 In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s targets are clear about the action staff need to take to help children progress, and that there are reviews to assess progress so that targets do not drift. In addition, the registered person must ensure that staff use information from other sources, such as education plans and health professionals, to develop plans which support children’s progress.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff provide care which meets each child’s needs and promotes their welfare, taking into account of the child’s gender, religion, ethnicity, cultural and linguistic background, sexual identity, mental health, any disability, their assessed needs, previous experiences and any relevant plans. Specifically, that information in children’s plans is accurate across all documents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2)

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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: SC004429 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Action for Children Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Action for Children, 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford WD18 8AG

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Inspector

Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC004429 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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