Children's home run by Mig House Residential Care Home Ltd in Waltham Forest

Inspection report for children’s home: SC062785 1 SC062785 Registered provider: Mig House Residential Care Home Ltd

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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 home is owned by a private provider. It provides care for up to nine children who have a learning disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in February 2005. The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 18 November 2024

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC062785 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/11/2024 Full Outstanding 23/01/2024 Full Outstanding 21/03/2023 Full Outstanding 20/12/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC062785 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have excellent experiences as a result of the care they receive at the home. Staff have a very strong focus on target setting and children make exceptional progress from their starting points. Staff are committed to supporting children to meet their full potential. Care plans are child-centred and very ambitious. Children benefit from staff’s creative and persistent support in helping them achieve agreed goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children develop strong and trusting relationships with staff. This is important, as the children are non-verbal and are reliant on staff interpreting and understanding their needs. Children engage well with the staff team and clearly enjoy spending time with staff. A social worker said, ‘My child enjoys living at the home, evidenced by his positive relationships with staff and his comfort in approaching them to express his needs. Staff respond appropriately, fostering emotional stability and confidence.’ Staff are attentive and highly skilled in using a range of communication systems that children are familiar with or have uniquely developed for themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s experiences are creative, rewarding and meaningful. Staff’s work with children routinely has a focus on helping children develop practical daily skills. Staff are passionate and determined in helping children to leave the home able to care for themselves as independently as possible. Care plans reflect this ethos and children make significant progress at their own pace. Staff have a ‘can do’ attitude and approach to care, as opposed to a focus on tasks that children are unable to achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s identity needs are very well met by the service. Staff have a clear anti- discriminatory approach to their practice, which enables them to work sensitively and effectively with children. For example, staff have incorporated one child’s Malaysian utterances to help identify and respond to the child’s heightened level of distress. The registered manager has recently developed children’s individual ‘cultural boards’. These display children’s photos, national heritage flags and traditional foods. Children enjoy safe, well-organised family time with their friends and families in one of the home’s two family rooms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children live healthy lifestyles and staff are very familiar and highly skilled in meeting children’s often complex healthcare needs. Children access, sometimes for the first time, primary and specialist healthcare services. Staff use social stories to support children to sit calmly in order to complete dental and opticians’ appointments. Staff recently supported a child to allow a potentially challenging ECG examination to be carried out. These are remarkable achievements, which everyone in the home celebrates. Managers have recently devised a children’s innovative easy-read medication guide that outlines in symbolic form children’s medication regimes. This is so that children are involved and can develop some level of understanding about the administration of their medicines. Inspection report for children’s home: SC062785 4 Children’s learning outcomes are excellent, as all children enjoy and attend school

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

regularly. Staff work in very effective collaboration with school personnel. A school vice principal said, ‘We have observed a positive difference in the students since being placed at the home, and it is clear that they are well cared for and supported.’ Children’s goals and targets set by staff frequently embody the same focus of work completed with children at school. This provides consistency in children’s learning and promotes children achieving targets, which they very regularly do.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s placements consistently meet the often unique needs of children. A local authority social worker said, ‘I am very impressed with this home. They provide excellent care to my young person who has a high level of needs. It is a warm home, and I can see staff and children have built a good rapport and staff have good insight into their needs.’

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

Children benefit from staff’s very strong commitment to keeping them safe from harm and abuse. Staff provide 1:1 supervision of children, which is lowered as risks to children reduce. Staff carefully risk assess activities outside the home, and the ratio of staff to children will increase if other risks become apparent.

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

Children do not go missing from the home, experience exploitation, abuse, or bullying. Staff’s supervision of children is highly effective. This results in there being very few critical incidents. Staff do not restrain children and there have been no allegations or complaints made against staff. Staff’s management of self-harming behaviour is sensitive, effective and results in significantly fewer incidents in comparison to when children first arrive at the home.

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

Staff receive regular training in protecting disabled children from abuse and harm. They demonstrate good knowledge of child protection procedures and of the action to take if there are concerns. Staff have a good understanding of and are vigilant about children’s individual vulnerabilities. Managers ensure that staff inductions, supervision and team meetings consistently explore staff’s understanding of effective child protection practice. This helps to keep children safe.

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

Risk assessments highlight known and anticipated risks posed to children. Risk management strategies are comprehensive and tailored towards the specific needs and circumstances of individual children. They offer explicit guidance to staff about what needs to happen to help reduce risks. These strategies are highly effective in supporting staff to keep children safe.

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

Staff encourage children to adhere to structure and boundaries. Staff’s management of challenging behaviour is measured and highly appropriate. Staff devise individualised behavioural management plans, which take into consideration the impact of children’s disabilities. Inspection report for children’s home: SC062785 5 Behaviour management strategies have a highly positive impact on encouraging children’s positive behaviour. The registered manager has introduced to children and staff a visualised colour-coded system to gauge and respond to children’s distress. For example, staff may say and show children graphics of the ‘red zone’, indicating that children are at a very heightened level of distress, which is cause for concern. Children are well supported to recognise the meaning of each colour zone and will be guided to safety, or will often take themselves to a space they have identified where they feel safe.

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

For some, this is the garden, while for others it is the rainforest-themed soft-play room or their bedrooms.

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

Children work together with staff to help regulate their emotions and develop a range of positive behaviour management strategies. Staff encourage children to make appropriate decisions about what they prefer to happen if their behaviour poses risks to themselves and others. This is a creative and innovative approach to positive behaviour management.

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

A school staff member said, ‘Staff work collaboratively with us around behaviour strategies and individual needs, which has supported children in settling into the home and feeling secure.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The leadership and management of the home is exceptional. It is strong, efficient and effective. Since the last inspection, the home’s former deputy manager is now the registered manager. She has extensive experience, qualifications and skills to manage a children’s home for disabled children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The service manager, who is the home’s former registered manager, has a good presence at the home and support the efforts of the new registered manager. This results in the continuity of the home’s culture, ethos and exceptional standards. Managers have good insight into children’s needs and are committed in ensuring that children receive high-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager’s monitoring systems are extensive and robust. These explore most aspects of the home’s functioning and offer good insight into the quality of the service. Leaders and managers have an ambitious vision for the development of the home and high aspirations for children’s achievements. Managers’ monitoring checklists ensure that areas identified for monitoring are consistently reviewed, highlighting any remedial action required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There are effective systems in place that help to monitor children’s progress. Managers monitor staff performance, meet with children, parents, staff and others to obtain their views of the home. Managers complete regular case file audits to ensure that children’s records are of a high quality and reflect well the work being completed with children. Key records such as care plans and reports for children in care reviews are available in formats children are familiar with so they can access this information should they want to. Inspection report for children’s home: SC062785 6 The last inspection highlighted no areas for improvement. The one issue identified at this inspection is the minor amendment to the children’s guide to ensure that all sections of the guide are available in symbolic format.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive excellent support from managers. Inductions prepare staff well for their roles, with new staff having fortnightly supervision. More experienced staff benefit from regular monthly supervision and annual appraisals. Training opportunities are relevant and extensive, and the registered manager ensures that this learning has influence on staff development and care practice. Staff appreciate the open and encouraging manner in which managers work with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A member of staff said, ‘I am privileged to be working in a home that has a high expectation of staff ethics. We have an inspirational management team that lead the team exceptionally well. I could not work in any other home.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers and staff share an effective working relationship with professionals and parents. This ensures that all parties are aware of any concerns and issues for children. A social worker said, ‘We value the high level of cooperation, communication and professionalism shown and believe the placement is effective in promoting the safety, wellbeing and stability of the children placed there.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC062785 7

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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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all aspects of the children’s guide are available in formats that are accessible to all children. 1 February 2026

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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: SC062785 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Mig House Residential Care Home Ltd

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Khairoonessah Dustagheer

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Inspector

Sandra Jacobs-Walls, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC062785 9 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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