Children's Home run by Optimum Youth Care Limited in Harrow

Inspection report for children’s home: 2704477 1 Registered provider: Optimum Youth Care 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

The home registered with Ofsted in March 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It offers care for up to three children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since August 2024.

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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: 2704477 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/05/2024 Full Good 10/05/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2704477 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are attuned to children’s needs. Staff know the children well and tailor their support to meet their needs. Staff have regular discussions with children about their personal interests and often engage in activities to develop children’s skills. One parent said that ‘staff care’ and explained that staff proactively engage in their child’s interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff respect children’s views and wishes. House meetings take place regularly and are child centred. Engagement is positive, and children express their views confidently. This promotes their confidence and sense of belonging in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children access mainstream education. Staff are creative in finding ways to help children engage with education when there are barriers to learning. From their starting points, children make good progress. Children are now attending school with the daily support and encouragement of the staff team. Staff are proactive in working with relevant agencies to ensure that children engage.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and well-being are promoted. They are registered with universal services, and staff support them to attend appointments to ensure that their medical needs are met. Staff proactively seek additional medical support to ensure that children maintain good well-being when this is required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children remain connected with their family members. Staff make plans and establish good connections with these significant people. Children spend quality time with their families inside and outside of the home. One parent said that communication with staff is excellent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are offered a warm welcome when coming to live in the home. Staff prepare bedrooms for new children thoughtfully, encouraging them to personalise them on arrival. The home is spacious. However, some communal areas, outside spaces and paintwork are not well maintained, and some furniture needs repair. This detracts from the otherwise homely environment.

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

Staff build trusting relationships with children. They encourage open communication, and children engage well. Staff manage children’s behaviour well and understand what might cause them upset or distress. This has contributed to children and staff maintaining positive relationships.

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

Children’s risks are well managed. Staff are responsive when managing the safety of children. Incidents are overseen in a timely manner. Risk assessments are up to date, regularly reviewed and set out effective strategies to mitigate risk. While there are no incidents of children going missing, staff have the relevant training to take effective Inspection report for children’s home: 2704477 4 action and effectively work in partnership with parents and other professionals to support children’s safe return.

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

Staff advocate on behalf of children and source additional specialist services to promote children’s well-being and safety when needed. This helps children to make progress and make some positive choices.

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

Leaders and managers communicate regularly with partner agencies. They ensure that relevant information is shared in a timely way, and concerns are raised promptly. Professionals talk positively about leaders’ and managers’ efforts to support children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have high aspirations for children. They ensure that staff have the right knowledge and understand children’s individual needs. Good support and tailored, comprehensive training help staff to feel confident in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have good oversight of the home and have effective monitoring and reviewing systems in place. Staff are supported to address any shortfalls in their practice and improve the care to children. This consistent oversight ensures that children receive personalised care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular supervision. Discussions are child centred and well documented. Leaders and managers provide supportive advice and help staff to reflect. These discussions support staff to tailor their approach to best meet children’s needs. Staff feel well supported by managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular team meetings. Meetings are well attended and child focused. Leaders and managers promote reflective discussions among staff and support them to develop their practice. Discussions are well documented and capture the views of team members.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight of the quality of case recording has not always been robust. This has led to some incidents and key-work sessions not being fully reflective of discussions with children. Managers are increasingly aware of this and are taking action to address staff performance when needed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2704477 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 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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that they provide a homely environment and continue to repair and clean all areas of the home. This includes paintwork, removal of items from the outside areas of the property and repairs to the bathroom furniture, ensuring that the home is decorated to create a warm, welcoming and child-friendly environment. 16 Aug 2025

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Recommendations

 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 incident reports and key-work sessions that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) This recommendation has been reinstated.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2704477 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Optimum Youth Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Broadwing Accountancy Services Ltd, The Rickyard Barn, Blisworth Hill Farm, Stoke Road, Blisworth, Northampton NN7 3DB

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Inspector

Natalie Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2704477 7 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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