Children's Home run by Achieving Above Average Ltd in Merton

Inspection report for children’s home: 2733359 1 Registered provider: Achieving Above Average Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home cares for up to 4 children who have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted on 1 October 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

There were 4 children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2733359 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/04/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2733359 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 moving into the home. Their health, educational achievements, self-care skills and communication skills have all improved. Staff use social stories and a range of engagement approaches to help the children to understand their plans. This helps to reduce children’s anxiety and uncertainty so that they can fully engage in daily activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children are not in formal education settings, staff support them to access educational activities through home tuition. Children have made significant progress with their learning since living in the home. For example, one child is now able to identify numbers, shapes and colours. Some children use the local library for their tuition, enabling them to benefit from accessing their community resources.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have developed trusting relationships with the stable, consistent and thoughtful staff team, who have a range of experience and skills. Children have detailed plans that fully reflect their needs and goals. Staff help the children to influence their plans through the use of pictorial communication books. This means that their wishes and feelings are captured in their plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from having consistent routines that are relevant to their individual needs. Staff provide nurturing and reliable care that helps to reduce challenging behaviour. Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met, supporting them to access specialist health services for medical treatment when necessary.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have been helped to make good progress in accessing and taking part in social and recreational activities that reflect their individual interests. These include bowling, trampolining, cinema trips and sensory-based activities. Their confidence has improved and they enjoy being part of their community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children use their pictorial communication books to tell staff how they are feeling and to indicate their preferred social activities and menu choices. This is helping the children to develop their independence, both inside and outside the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time is supported by staff so that children can enjoy time with people who are important to them.

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

Children receive help and protection from compassionate and caring staff who understand their needs. The children have individual risk assessments that are reviewed and amended to reflect emerging risks and needs. ‘All About Me’ and behaviour support plans help staff to understand children’s needs and what they find Inspection report for children’s home: 2733359 4 helpful when they are feeling frustrated or distressed. The voice of the child is evident in these plans.

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

Staff promote positive behaviour and understand the triggers that cause children distress. Staff know how to engage children to reduce challenging behaviours through effective and appropriate intervention strategies. Physical intervention is used as a last resort, and its use is recorded, reviewed and monitored by leaders.

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

Staff understand child protection and whistleblowing, and they know who they need to speak with should they have concerns.

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

Robust recruitment processes are in place to ensure that only the most suitable staff are recruited.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection in April 2024, leaders and managers have continued to provide consistent and highly effective services for children. The quality of care has led to sustained improvements to the lives of children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have created a system to continually chart and review children’s progress. This is helping to ensure that managers have an excellent understanding of children’s needs. This also helps staff to identify when children require additional specialist support, such as child and adolescent mental health services.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Comprehensive weekly summaries ensure that key stakeholders have up-to-date information about children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective communication enables the registered manager to develop and sustain positive working relationships with parents, social workers, independent reviewing officers and educationalists. This ensures that all professionals are working collaboratively to provide children with the best possible care and experiences. The impact is evident in the progress that the children are making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The competent and effective registered manager is ambitious for children and has created a positive and constructive culture in the home. Staff report feeling valued and supported. The calm and nurturing environment that has been created helps the children to feel safe and secure.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff are aspirational for each of the children and ensure high standards of individualised care. This includes advocating on behalf of children to ensure that their needs are met. Management oversight and quality assurance processes are robust, ensuring that a high standard of care is provided to the children. However, the Regulation 44 independent visitor reports do not always provide sufficient depth or analysis to assist the manager in identifying areas for service development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2733359 5 The staff induction programme is comprehensive and ensures that staff are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to care for children with special educational needs and disabilities effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Annual appraisals support staff to evaluate their development and identify future learning needs and career aspirations. Staff achievements are recognised and celebrated through annual events. This supports the organisation’s recruitment and retention strategy. Inspection report for children’s home: 2733359 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent monitoring. In particular, the registered person should ensure that reports from the independent person provide sufficient depth and analysis, enabling the identification of areas for service development. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: 2733359 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Achieving Above Average Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit A, Abbott’s Wharf, 93 Stainsby Road, London E14 6JL

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Iheanyichukwu Wadibia

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Inspector

Nicki Shaw, His Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2733359 8 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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