Children's home run by London Borough of Haringey

Inspection report children's home: 2687918 1 Registered provider: London Borough of Haringey

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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 local authority children’s home offers assessment and care for up to 6 children with emotional and/or social difficulties, as well as for children with learning disabilities. Placement assessments for the children typically range in length from 6 to 12 months.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living at the home.

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Information about this children's home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022.

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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: 4 February 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children's home: 2687918 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/02/2025 Full Good 03/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: 2687918 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children at the home live in a warm and comfortable environment. Staff ensure that children can personalise their bedrooms, which helps the children to feel settled and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to be listened to and to share their wishes and feelings. There are regular children’s meetings and children are consulted on a range of topics. However, the meeting records are not always in a child friendly format and there is no record of the issues raised being followed up by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Weekly summaries in children’s records provide a detailed overview of children’s lived experiences. The reports follow a theoretical model to help staff to understand the needs of the children and the progress that the children are making.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s plans include information about what is working well, what staff are worried about and what needs to happen, in accordance with the practice model used by the local authority. This provides a strengths-based analysis of progress and supports external professionals in having a common understanding of the work being completed with the children while they are at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good relationships with staff, and this was observed throughout the inspection, although opportunities for children and staff to sit together for meals are not promoted. Children state that they feel safe in the home and that they have staff whom they can talk to. Staff spend time talking with the children about a wide range of topics, helping the children to better understand themselves and their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in a range of areas of their lives. They are supported to attend full-time education provision. This ensures that they have opportunities to learn and to socialise with their peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have lived at the home have been successfully supported to move on to other arrangements, including returning home, if appropriate.

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

When issues of bullying occur in the home, staff take immediate and appropriate action to address these behaviours. The staff use a restorative approach, liaising with other external agencies if required, so that children learn and reflect on how their behaviour impacts on others.

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

Staff support children to be safe at the home. Detailed records are produced, following any physical intervention. Physical interventions are proportionate and children and staff are supported through subsequent debriefs. Inspection report children's home: 2687918 4 If children go missing from the home, staff ensure that records contain a detailed chronology. Staff work effectively with other agencies to reduce risk, and spend time talking with the children in order to understand their motivation. The learning from these discussions helps to reduce risk and to keep children safe.

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

There is now a stable staff team in the home; this enables staff to be more consistent with boundaries, helping the children to feel safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are ambitious and caring. They are motivated and enthusiastic about providing high-quality care and are knowledgeable about children’s individual needs. They have high expectations of the staff team with regards to the care that they deliver.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have completed their in-house mandatory training, helping them to be able to meet the needs of the children living at the home. In addition, staff complete a range of specialist training to increase their understanding of contextual safeguarding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains a strong relationship with the senior leadership team and receives regular support. Staff receive supervision. However, this has not always been in line with the statement of purpose and there have been gaps in support. Supervising staff have not attended any supervision training. The frequency of supervision has increased in recent weeks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff at the home are supported to access and complete the required Level 3 training. Despite some members of staff being in post for more than two years, they have not completed their residential childcare qualification. This puts them outside of the time frame specified in the regulations for achieving this qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are well established monitoring systems. These help the manager to have a good level of oversight of the home. The manager is reflective and is continually developing systems that will improve the quality of practice at the home. Inspection report children's home: 2687918 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, 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 registered person must compile in relation to the children's home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (1) (3) (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that staff receive regular supervision. 10 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children's home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained— 10 March 2026 Inspection report children's home: 2687918 6 the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that staff complete their required qualification in the required timeframe.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home's care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child's cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are provided with nutritious meals suitable for each child's needs. Where appropriate, children should be involved in choosing and preparing meals, and opportunities to sit together and eat should be promoted. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report children's home: 2687918 7

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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 children's home: 2687918 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, High Road, Wood Green, London N22 8LE

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Inspectors

Helen Daniel, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 2687918 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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