Children's Home run by Fairport Care Services Ltd in Kent

Unique reference number SC066129 Inspector Helen Lee Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Fairport Care Services Ltd Registered person address Lemanis House, Stone Street Lympne HYTHE Kent CT21 4JN Responsible individual Philip John Adams Registered manager Vanessa Elizabeth Dalton Date of last inspection 25/03/2014 2 of 10 Inspection date 25/11/2014

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Previous inspection satisfactory progress Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness good

Outcomes for children and young people good Quality of care good Keeping children and young people safe good Leadership and management good

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Overall effectiveness

The progress that young people are currently making in relation to all aspects of their welfare and development is positive and encouraging. An Independent Reviewing Officer says that ‘they had a really positive review meeting and are doing extremely well. They did have a wobble a few months ago due to other young person. Since the other young person left, my young person realises how good the placement is. They are doing absolutely amazing and education is very promising.’ Young people who have recently left the home did so positively with improved levels of independence enabling them to move on to the next phrase of their lives with continued support from staff at the home.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people fully recognise that staff care about them individually and are aspirational for them to succeed. As a result, once young people engage with the home the quality of relationships between staff and young people is very good. A young person said ‘ this house is fine, staff are doing the very best they can – I’d rate the home as good, say 4 out of 5’. Another young person added that ‘I’d rate the home as good and give it 11 out of 10. It is a very fun house and staff are nice’.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are and feel safe in a home where their individual needs are identified and addressed. There is a commitment from staff to safeguarding young people and working with them to develop individual self-protection skills. 3 of 10 This is a good home overall. There is strong and effective leadership. Management oversight identifies weaknesses and improves the service. The inspection finds that some information is not included in the Statement of Purpose and that some records require further information such as recruitment checks, formal placement plans and the location assessment. These minor shortfalls have not adversely impacted on young people's welfare. 4 of 10

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Information about this children’s home

This service is a privately run children's home that provides care and accommodation for up to four young people who may have emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/03/2014 Interim satisfactory progress 03/12/2013 Full good 10/01/2013 Interim good progress 13/06/2012 Full good

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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

4 (2001) compile in relation to the children's home a written statement which shall consist of a statement as to the matters listed in Schedule 1 (Regulation 4 (1)) 30/01/2015

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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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Recommendations

 demonstrate, including from written and electronic records, that the home consistently follows good recruitment practice, and all applicable current 5 of 10 statutory requirements and guidance, in staff recruitment (NMS 16.2)  ensure that information about the child is recorded clearly and in a way which will be helpful to the child when they access their files now or in the future, in particular by making sure the formal placement plans are up to date on all matters (NMS 22.5)  ensure the homes location assessment includes all areas that present significant risks to children, in particular, known gang associations (NMS 10.2)  ensure that there is a written or electronic record kept by the home detailing the time and date and length of each supervision held for each member of staff, including the registered person. (NMS 19.5) 6 of 10

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people make good progress in forging workable relationships with staff and each other. Young people are developing an understanding of their backgrounds thereby enabling them to build emotional resilience. They have strong gender role models. They feel secure in the home and enjoy a period of stability in their lives, often following frequent placement moves prior to moving in. This also includes being responsible for pets, which the young people are incredibly proud of.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Social workers feel young people achieve more from education and benefit from a wide range of educational and learning opportunities. Young people's educational attendance and attainment is varied. Young people that have been resident in the home for some time achieve extremely well in school and have progressed on to college placements. Consequently, young people's confidence in their educational abilities improves and they are ambitious for their future employment prospects. However, not all young people new to the home are attending education provision at this time although placements have been identified. However, as one young person says ‘I might not be in actual school but I am doing real life education with loads of projects such as the bread making this morning’.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people's general health improves as a result of living in the home. They access all the general medical services they need. One young person lists a strength of the home as ‘the feelings work – understanding my own and other people’s’. Young people make real progress in understanding the importance of healthy lifestyles. For example, ceasing to or reducing smoking since moving in to the home, understanding their relationship with food and engaging in exercise. Young people's self-esteem improves as they develop the increased confidence to make healthy choices.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people fully benefit from the proactive approach employed by staff to ensure that they are able to maintain and improve contact and relationships with parents and siblings. This effectively enables young people to understand their cultural links and build relationships which will sustain them now and in their future independent lives. Young people consider options for their adult lives and the skills they will need to acquire. They benefit from spending time with their friends, meeting them in the home and in the local area.

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Quality of care good

Staff place young people's welfare at the centre of their work and want to give them positive childhood experiences. They use a lot of praise and recognise young people's achievements, for example, by displaying certificates for excellent attendance at 7 of 10 school. Young people state that staff care about them and state; ‘it is a positive feeling and relationship they give me’.

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Quality of care good

Young people enjoy a sociable, family experience when eating together with staff at mealtimes, laying the table and clearing away afterwards. Staff encourage young people to try different foods and to adopt a more healthy diet.

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Quality of care good

Young people are involved in plans and reviews of their care. Young person’s diverse and cultural needs are identified and addressed in their day-to-day lives. Young people are actively involved in developing their initial ‘child friendly’ care plans with staff once they move in to the home. As a result young people feel respected, listened to and valued, empowering them to engage with the care provided. However, the formal placement plans are not consistently updated regularly to reflect any changes in planning and progress young people are making.

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Quality of care good

The committed staff team are ambitious for young people to succeed and work very hard to engage them in education provision. Positive reinforcement is used successfully with some young people to encourage them to attend individual education placements in line with their plans. Not all young people in this home are engaged in education, but those that have invested have done extremely well with the enthusiastic support of staff. Where young people have not engaged in mainstream provision, staff use young people’s individual interests to identify a suitable education placement. Additionally young people immediately engage with an alternative curriculum programme using outdoor learning opportunities such as visiting historical sites and researching their significance.

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Quality of care good

Young people are listened to. They give their views on all aspects of their lives and towards plans for their future. Young people give their opinions about everyday matters in the home, for example, at daily meetings and in key work sessions. Their views are sought and changes are made in light of these, for example, about the appropriateness of sanctions or deciding on Christmas planning. This ensures young people can express themselves and their views are taken seriously.

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Quality of care good

Young people are fully conversant with the complaints procedure and have confidence in using it. They receive prompt feedback as to actions and are happy with outcomes. This effectively builds confidence in young people's ability to express dissatisfaction in a positive manner and that their concerns are valid, therefore they are as well. A young person said ‘I might not always agree but they always explain their view and I respect that’.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

8 of 10 Young people report they feel safe in this home. Young people are also supported to take appropriate risks to help them take increased responsibility for their own safety. Staff are fully aware of how to protect young people and keep them safe; their training in child protection equips them with skills to refer any concerns or allegations appropriately.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The manager is aware of the impact new placements have on young people already resident in the home and takes steps to manage referrals appropriately. However, since the last inspection there has been an occasion when one young person was not placed appropriately leading to violence and damage within the home. This young person was moved on positively to a more suitable placement benefitting both themselves and the remaining resident group.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people are trusted to spend time away from the home independently and to return when they are expected; they generally respond very positively to this trust and are helped to understand the impact of any late returns through key work sessions. There is a marked improvement in the number of missing episodes with young people once they engage with the staff and home. There was a significant spike in occurrences of young people going missing during the summer months. This was clearly linked to the admission of one young person. This has since reduced dramatically. The organisation has consulted formally with the local police as well as placing authorities and established agreed protocols for missing children. However, although known, the specific concerns relating to involvement with gangs requires recording in the homes location assessment.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Staff use their in-depth knowledge of young people and an effective positive and negative consequences programme to build good relationships. As a result young people learn how to express feelings and emotions in a constructive manner. Young people appreciate the rewards for making progress in their behaviour and for meeting their targets. Restraint is used infrequently by suitably trained staff for appropriate reasons and is always followed-up with the young person concerned to help them reflect on the incident. Robust management oversight of sanctions and restraint ensures methods used in the home are fair and appropriately applied, contributing to a reduction in use where possible.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The effective implementation of robust recruitment procedures mean that young people are protected from being cared for by someone who may pose a risk to them. However on-going recruitment for staff who have yet to start working at the home requires further information regarding the checks made by the home. This includes identity, full employment and qualification checks. The building is physically safe and appropriately secure. Stringent health and safety procedures are fully implemented.

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Leadership and management good

9 of 10 There is a permanent Registered Manager who has been in post for six years who effectively manages this home. The experienced and committed manager knows the young people in her care well and is ambitious for them to achieve in all aspects of their lives. A staff member says that the management has a ‘very open door and expects honesty – she is a good people reader and will challenge if necessary and this is good.’

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Leadership and management good

The home has demonstrated a continued capacity to improve. All previous requirements and recommendations have been met ensuring that restraints, sanctions and occurrences of young people going missing are now adequately recorded and evaluated to aid reduction planning.

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Leadership and management good

Good quality training is in place for all staff, with new areas being delivered such as child sexual exploitation and e-safety. This enables staff to keep up to date with changing risks and learn and explore matters that are important for the care of the young people. Supervision is valued highly by staff. However not all of the records of supervision are kept in the home, in particular the Registered Manager's.

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Leadership and management good

Independent reviewing officers and social workers are clear on the aims of the placement. Young people are provided with clear written information about what they may expect while they are living in the home. The Statement of Purpose requires updating to clearly define the purpose of the independence flat, the age, number and sex of the children it is intended to provide care for and an evaluation of the location of the home. Additionally, the Statement of Purpose mentions that the home provides a therapeutic approach but insufficient details of this are included. These shortfalls are being addressed by the service and do not affect children's welfare.

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Leadership and management good

Robust internal and external monitoring processes include the views of young people and other interested parties. As a result they are provided with the opportunity to contribute to the improvement of care and development of the service provided.

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Leadership and management good

The management and staff can demonstrate the positive effect living in the home has on young people. For example, successfully moving in to semi-independent living within the home while attending college, developing a healthier lifestyle and building sufficient self-confidence to trust staff and make positive friendships within the community. A staff member stated:’ the young person who has moved on successfully is one of my proudest moments in life – they were distraught and traumatised when they arrived.’ Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management good

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Judgement Description

Outstanding A service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Good A service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Adequate A service that only meets minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Inadequate A service that does not meet minimum requirements.

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Information 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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Information about this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the framework of inspection for children's homes.

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