Children's Home run by London Borough of Hillingdon in Hillingdon

Inspection report for children’s home: 2490938 1 Registered provider: London borough of Hillingdon Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The statement of purpose states the home should be considered as a long-term placement that can support children until they are ready to return home or move on to post-16 accommodation.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in August 2018. The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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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: 2490938 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/05/2024 Full Good 25/09/2023 Full Good 17/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/02/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 2490938 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made good progress from their individual starting points since living at the home. Children have individualised care plans that meet their complex needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by having clear, consistent and appropriate boundaries. Children’s risk assessment and behaviour support plans are clear. They detail children’s needs clearly to support staff in understanding the needs of each child. This has supported a consistent approach to helping children to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Key-work sessions are focused and engaging and support children’s understanding of issues, including relationships and personal development. Children complete workshops that help them to understand the impact of any key difficulties they may be experiencing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living at the home have fun. Children have access to a wide range of activities. These include activities that they participate in with their peers in the community. Staff ensure that children also take part in activities with staff, and these have included days out at the seaside, bowling, ice skating and going out for meals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good relationships with staff. Children have developed close relationships with different staff members. This has supported children to feel safe and cared for. Children are valued and listened to. Children are actively encouraged to participate in children’s meetings and complete key-work sessions that capture their views. These are used positively to influence how the home functions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good physical health and are supported to access opticians, dentists and other medical appointments when required. Staff also ensure that children are referred to specialist support services, including emotional health support and substance misuse support when required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is safe and homely. Children have personalised their own bedrooms, reflecting their own personal preferences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When staff apply proportionate consequences to behaviour, these are discussed with children to help them understand why they have been applied. Staff are working with children to move towards a positive behaviour approach to supporting children. Children are shown patience and consistency in staff’s approaches to managing behaviour.

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

Staff, leaders and managers know their children well, along with any risks to their well- being. Staff describe care plans and risk assessments as their ‘bread and butter’. Every aspect of children’s needs and behaviour is considered in risk assessments. Risk Inspection report for children’s home: 2490938 4 assessments consider all potential safeguarding risks to children and how children can be supported to reduce any risks or potential harm.

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

When children go missing from the home, there are clear plans in place. When they return, staff undertake helpful conversations with children to help them understand any risks they may have been exposed to while away. Concerns relating to exploitation are appropriately escalated to the local authority multi-agency child exploitation panel. The manager and staff ensure that they liaise with other agencies to support children to access support services that will help to reduce risk.

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

The staff use a range of approaches to manage behaviour. Children have their own individual behaviour support plans. These plans support children to understand their behaviours and how staff will work with them to help them through any periods of crisis.

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

The staff have a good understanding of any safeguarding issues that affect the children living in the home. Staff respond to children in a supportive and understanding manner. This supports staff to meet the needs of the care needs of children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers provide a consistent and effective service for children. The quality of care has led to sustained improvements in the lives of children living at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and senior leadership team have a very good understanding of the home. The manager is passionate about the standard of care the children receive while living there. The manager can talk about the children as unique individuals and their particular needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are highly ambitious for children and have created a positive and effective culture in the home. This has supported the retention of staff, which has helped children receive consistent, high-quality and continuous care from trusted adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers provide a good level of support to staff working at the home. Staff receive regular supervision and annual appraisals. These reviews support staff to evaluate their development and identify future learning needs and career aspirations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an appropriate focus given to staff training, with the quality and impact of training being monitored. This has included specialist training that has supported staff to meet the specific needs of children living at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager actively challenges professionals and seeks support in terms of managing risk and addressing the needs of children. The manager and leadership team ensure that a multi-agency approach is used to meet the needs of the children. Feedback from all professionals working with the children living in the home highlighted the positive difference the care provided in the home is making. Inspection report for children’s home: 2490938 5

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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: 2490938 6

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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: Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge UB8 1UW

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Inspectors

Salean Bryant, Social Care Inspector Helen Daniel, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2490938 7 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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