Children's Home run by The Caldecott Foundation Limited in Kent

Unique reference number SC037309 Inspection date 22/01/2013 Inspector Sophie Wood Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 11/07/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This private children's home is registered to provide care and accommodation for nine children. The home is run by a charitable organisation.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making satisfactory progress .

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Progress

At the full inspection in July 2012 the home was judged good overall. One requirement and two recommendations were made and the home has successfully addressed two of these.

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Progress

The provider was required to ensure the Registered Manager be provided with regular and on-going supervision. This is now occurring and provides better opportunities to support the manager and to continue to evaluate her role.

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Progress

The manager was asked to review behaviour management guidance, specifically with regards to the use of physical restraint techniques to prevent absconding. Such guidance now offers greater clarity and individual risk assessments are much more precise. Interventions now ensure the safety of individuals; greater protection is now afforded to all.

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Progress

The provider was asked to improve upon the quality of the home's quality assurance processes, in particular, Regulation 33 and 34 monitoring. New formats with regards to Regulation 33 visits are being developed to better reflect the quality of the care provided and the manager is regularly monitoring the home in accordance with Regulation 34. Such processes are yet to become embedded and it is therefore not yet possible to measure their effectiveness or impact upon improving the quality of the service. Although Regulation 34 reports are being completed, administrative errors appear to be responsible for these not being submitted to Ofsted. A requirement is now made to address this shortfall which hinders the regulator's ability to effectively monitor the service.

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Progress

Young people remain happy and settled within the home. Those newcomers at the previous inspection talk of now feeling safe and settled. Good quality records demonstrate that good progress is being made. Much of this success is attributed to the excellent relationships which exist between the staff and young people.

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Progress

New staff members also settle into post very quickly. They speak of excellent support and guidance which is further underpinned by thorough induction processes. Records pertaining to staff induction are of a very good quality. Children and young people are being extremely well looked after by well-trained staff under the strong leadership of a competent Registered Manager.

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Progress

The organisation continues to develop improved consultation processes with its workforce. On-going training opportunities increase the skills and knowledge of the staff team. One example is the manager's recent completion of the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care and Children and Young People's services.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) the registered person shall supply to the HMCI a report in respect of any review conducted by him for the purposes of paragraph (1), and make a copy of the report available on request to placing authorities where the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home. (Regulation 34 (2) 22/02/2013

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection.

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