Children's Home run by Stellakis Miltiadous in Haringey

Inspection report for children’s home: SC039213 1 SC039213 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 July 2003 and is privately owned. It provides care for up to six children aged 11 to 18 years who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, six children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2014.

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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: 30 September 2024

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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: SC039213 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/09/2024 Full Good 16/01/2024 Full Good 31/01/2023 Full Good 17/08/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC039213 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress. They are supported to thrive physically, educationally and socially. One child said that they feel as safe as possible in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have individualised care plans that carefully consider the local authority’s concerns and seek to address their needs, including religion, ethnicity and identity. One child mentioned that the manager takes them to the mosque every Friday.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience a wide range of activities that take account of their hobbies and interests. For example, children enjoy go-karting, going to the cinema and dining out at restaurants.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported by staff to attend medical appointments. They receive support from a range of professionals, including specialist services.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote education by offering incentives, recognising the value of learning and its role in shaping children’s futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported in maintaining contact with their families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in house meetings, which allow them to discuss and provide feedback on various topics that affect their daily lives. While they receive incentives such as takeaways for attending these meetings, they do not always have the support to order food online. The manager has recognised this issue and is arranging for a payment card to be made available.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager understands that relationships between staff and children are fundamental to creating a safe, supportive and nurturing environment. Some staff follow these principles well and build positive relationships that help children feel secure, valued and respected. However, this is not universal, with some staff members lacking the necessary skills to develop positive relationships with all children. This can include key-work sessions that are not always meaningful, lack empathy and use language that is not helpful when discussing specific events or topics.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although staff encourage positive relationships between children, when challenges arise, responses tend to focus on managing the risk rather than exploring the role the staff can play in rebuilding these relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When there are concerns for children’s safety, bedroom searches are carried out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most of the children currently living at the home are teenagers who value their bedrooms as their personal space. While staff respect this, not enough thought is given to how to help children take pride in their bedrooms. Inspection report for children’s home: SC039213 4

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

The manager and staff ensure that they work closely with the wider professional network so that children receive the support they need. They create risk assessments that reflect each child’s individual risk factors and outline the actions staff must follow to keep them safe. This was demonstrated effectively after a recent incident.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff keep detailed records and report the child’s absence to the appropriate agencies. When children return, staff speak to them, and the registered manager requests return home interviews. For one child, their whereabouts are often known, but there is no agreed process for visiting their location and supporting their safe return home.

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

When children consistently refuse to take their prescribed medication, this does not always prompt a follow-up with a medical professional to review the medication.

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

Staff support children and manage incidents when they occur. Leaders and managers closely monitor these incidents and take appropriate steps to ensure that each child is supported. When necessary, they promptly share information with professional networks to ensure that all necessary safeguards are in place.

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

Staff have a good understanding of whistle-blowing procedures and how to involve external safeguarding professionals. When managers recruit new staff to work in the home, they follow clear processes that align with safer recruitment practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced registered manager leads the home, and staff turnover is low. The registered manager is passionate about delivering a high level of care to children, striving to provide them with the support they need to flourish.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager regularly informs Ofsted of serious incidents. However, there was a delay in submitting a notification on one occasion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision, providing them with opportunities to reflect on their practice, discuss the care of children, and review their learning and development needs. The home has a workforce development plan; however, it does not cover all the required staff training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals have mostly positive feedback about the care provided. One professional commented that the home offers children stability and security. Another professional noted that staff care for the children but questioned some staff approaches in their interactions with a few children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC039213 5

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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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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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

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust. (Regulation 11 (1)(a) (2)(a)(viii)) 4 June 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all areas of the home are maintained to a satisfactory standard, with a specific focus on helping children keep their bedroom clean and tidy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home, specifically around relationship-building. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information about individual children in a non- stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information.

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Recommendations

Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should oversee the medication administration records to ensure that staff practice promotes children’s health. This involves ensuring that children receive their prescribed medication in accordance with their doctor’s instructions. In addition, when medication is refused, health professionals should be consulted. Inspection report for children’s home: SC039213 6 (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  The registered person should ensure that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff follow the procedures for when a child is missing from care or away from the home without permission so that they can support the child on their return to the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28)

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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: SC039213 7

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Inspector

Ruth Okezie, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC039213 8 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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