Children's Home run by Agility Children Residential Care Ltd in Redbridge

Inspection report for children's home: 2751325 1 Registered provider: Agility Children Residential Care Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home provides care for up to 4 children with learning disabilities and physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in December 2023. The manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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: 2751325 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/05/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2751325 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their individual starting points. Staff support children by giving them choices and helping them to develop their daily living skills, such as cleaning their bedroom, washing dishes and doing laundry. This gives children a sense of independence and control over their life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well cared for and experience a nurturing and positive environment in this home. The facilities include a sensory room, education room and a garden for children to enjoy. Each child’s bedroom is personalised with belongings that reflect their personal interests, helping to support their wellbeing. For example, one child has a foam bed and projector in their bedroom; the bed helps to reduce the risk of injuries if the child becomes distressed and the projector creates a soothing environment in which the child can relax and enjoy their personal space.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to make choices and enjoy activities in the community, including visits to farms, football stadiums and favourite restaurants. One child who previously rarely went out and found crowded spaces difficult now goes out regularly with staff. These opportunities have enhanced their experiences and supported them to feel part of the wider community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are nonverbal, and staff use a range of communication methods to engage with them. This includes using pictures, social stories and sign language. One child who is hard of hearing is supported by a communication support worker every day to help them to feel better understood. Two members of staff are also enrolled on a sign language course.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well understood and met by staff. The children are registered with essential health services, and the manager and staff work closely with specialist teams, including mental health services that work with children with hearing impairment. Due to children’s special needs, the GP and specialist services visit children in the home, which ensures that assessments and reviews take place in a familiar environment, helping to minimise distress and support children’s comfort and wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with their families in the home, the community and in their family homes. Staff build warm, trusting relationships with the children and their families, which help to strengthen children’s sense of belonging and stability. One parent said that staff played a key role in helping them to improve their relationship with their child. These positive relationships help children to feel connected and valued.

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

The manager and staff work closely with the children’s parents and social workers to understand and support the children’s needs. The manager develops detailed care plans, Inspection report for children's home: 2751325 4 risk assessments and behaviour support plans, which help staff to meet the needs of the children. The children are always closely supervised by staff, which enables the staff to quickly respond to children’s needs and provide consistent assurance. However, up-to- date local authority care plans are not on some children’s files, which limits the ability of staff to provide support in accordance with the child’s current needs and in line with the placing authority’s expectations.

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

Staff have a clear understanding of children’s emotional needs and behaviours. They respond appropriately, following children’s behaviour management plans, and they use various strategies to de-escalate incidents. Staff give children space, they share positive reminders of their families and use consistent communication approaches, including sign language, to help the children to become calm. When physical intervention is used, it is appropriate and only to prevent harm to children or others around them.

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

Staff work effectively to understand each child’s wishes and feelings, ensuring that children have a voice and feel valued in the home. Children receive regular key-work sessions that support their individual needs. Through personalised communication, staff use these sessions to explore a wide range of topics, including choices of activities, behaviours and house meetings.

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

Safeguarding practice is strong in the home. Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures and are confident in reporting concerns to leaders and managers. They respond appropriately to any concerns of harm or abuse. Leaders and managers take allegations of harm seriously and act promptly when concerns are reported. This increases children’s safety in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the children well and has a sound understanding of their needs and behaviours. She promotes child-centred practice in the home and ensures that there are effective communication methods in place to ensure that the children feel heard and understood.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that there are sufficient staff to support children in the home and community, based on children’s needs and vulnerabilities. This ensures that children receive good-quality care and support, promoting positive experiences and progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager brings the staff team together regularly in various forums. They use these opportunities to reflect, to discuss children’s needs and to review practice. Staff share strategies that support children and reinforce the importance of understanding children’s individual behaviour management plans. This has a positive impact on practice, enabling staff to provide good-quality care that results in good outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervisions that focus on the progress of children, as well as their own training and development. However, the use of artificial intelligence recording tools has meant that records do not capture the experiences of children or the voice of staff particularly well. Additionally, details of one staff member’s supervision sessions were Inspection report for children's home: 2751325 5 very similar across 3 records. This does not give confidence that the staff member is having reflective supervision sessions in a way that will support and develop their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Transition planning is thorough when children move into the home. For example, the manager ensured that staff visited one child at their previous home to build rapport and familiarity. However, the child’s pre-admission risk assessments do not fully capture this; neither do they indicate that managers have considered the risks that children may pose to each other, or whether staff have the skills and training to support new and existing children safely. The absence of this information could potentially impact on children’s wellbeing and experiences in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have completed all mandatory training to support children in the home, including safeguarding children with learning disabilities, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which has helped them to support the children well. However, staff have not completed training on deprivation of liberty, which limits their knowledge and understanding of how to support children who are subject to these orders.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work closely with children’s parents and professional networks to ensure that children receive consistent support across all areas of their lives. Parents and professionals have praised the manager and staff, noting that children have made progress because of the care and support provided at the home. They say that the manager and staff advocate effectively for children and that communication with families and professionals is clear, consistent and regular. Inspection report for children's home: 2751325 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff complete specific training regarding the deprivation of liberty. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should only accept placements for children when they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and when they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. They should also evidence they have considered staff skills, knowledge and training when considering children’s placements. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that children’s care plans from the placing local authority are up to date and available on children’s files. (‘Guide to the Children’s

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Recommendations

Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should review the use of artificial intelligence when recording supervision and team meeting minutes to ensure that children’s needs, progress and staff voices are captured accurately. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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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: 2751325 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Agility Children Residential Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 101 Whitechapel High Street, 4th Floor, London E1 7RA

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Inspector

Amena Begum, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2751325 8 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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