Children's Home run by Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited in Kent

Good

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

p.2

The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff have built effective and robust relationships with the young people. These are evident from the young people’s perspective, their investment in the home and their progress.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people make good progress across each area of their development. This includes improved attendance at school, improvements in behaviour and significantly reduced episodes of going missing. As a result, they are safer.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Risk management is improved. Assessments are reviewed routinely after any event or change in order that progress is tracked or for any changes in practice to be considered. This means that young people can view visually how far they have come since moving to the home.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people are readily engaging with their education. They are making real progress in line with their starting points and exceeding previous expectations.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff have been able to encourage young people to take responsibility for their health and understand through informed choices how to keep healthy. Significant improvements have been made including medication reduction, which has benefited one young person. Young people frequently enjoy meals that they help staff prepare such as curries ensuring that meal times are communal and homely.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Social workers, parents and carers are pleased with the care and support offered to their young people. Young people maintain strong attachments with family members, friends and to others who are important to them. One social worker stated ‘My young person has a lot of unresolved issues regarding his past and his identity and the home have been very supportive of this for example they are taking him to visit an important site’.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff said they feel very well supported by the manager who is working shifts alongside them in order to maintain relationships with the young people.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff effectively manage their responsibilities as a team and have developed as a stable core group which ensures consistency for the young people.

p.3

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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

p.5

Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person must:

p.5

Requirement Due date

(2) (d) ensure that the premises and in particular the bathrooms are maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health. 23/11/2015

p.5

Requirement Due date

Case records must be kept securely in the home, in particular archived records must be kept safe. (Regulation 36 (2)) 23/01/2016

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children's home a statement, which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1, in order that parents and placing authorities can make an informed decision about the home (Regulation 16 (1)). 23/12/2015

p.5

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s): Compile a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of Regulation 16, detailing in particular the process and agreed timescales for staff to receive any ongoing training and continuing professional development, such as training regarding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, self-harm and substance abuse. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

p.5

Recommendations

Capture young people’s cultural and identity interests within the home's records on each child, as they represent a significant contribution to young people’s life history. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

p.5

Recommendations

Ensure that the registered persons have a key role in seeking to develop the home's effective working relationships with other relevant persons such as the Local Area Designated Officer. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 52, paragraph 10.3)

p.6

Recommendations

Include within the policy on protection of children from abuse and neglect the counter risks of self-harm and suicide. Ensure all linked policies are reviewed regularly and revised to ensure they are robust and effective in practice. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 44, paragraph 9.19)

p.6

Information about this children's home

This children’s home provides care for up to three children with emotional and behavioural needs. It is run by a private organisation.

p.7

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.7

Recent inspection history

17/03/2015 Interim improved effectiveness

p.7

Recent inspection history

24/02/2014 Interim Satisfactory Progress

p.7

Good

Young people are happy that staff spend time with them and are genuinely interested in their well-being, likes and dislikes. Young people develop effective and secure relationships with staff. This is a key strength of the home. Staff engage closely with them and show appropriate levels of affection and concern for them. One Social Worker comments that ‘Overall I am very pleased with the progress my young person is making within his placement, the staff are always very friendly and welcoming and he enjoys his time at the home.’ Staff facilitate positive house meetings with a strong emphasis on advocacy where the young people’s contributions and decisions are clearly heard. This has included the home designing bespoke posters for other advocacy services for the individual young person.

p.8

Good

Staff support and celebrate any achievements regarding educational targets. Young people are proud for staff to attend reward ceremonies with them. Staff work creatively with schools and colleges to help young people transition back to school after considerable breaks before coming into the home. Young people’s health has flourished at the home with long term medication dependency being decreased then stopped.

p.8

Good

Staff complete comprehensive and personalised placement plans to ensure consistent practice. Staff are not always completing the plans to a consistently high standard regarding young people’s cultural needs or identity interests. This does not impact upon the care provided as staff have a very good understanding of each young person’s needs. Staff are able to effectively demonstrate young peoples’ access to the cultural events and clubs they need or have an interest in. There is a strong football culture within the home which staff use to engage the young people as well as learning opportunities.

p.8

Good

The young people live in a homely environment. They are proud of their bedrooms, which they have personalised according to their tastes and show their support for their favourite football club. They are given support and encouragement linked to rewards to take responsibility for keeping their own room clean, changing their bed linen, so they learn useful skills as well as maintaining a reasonable environment. Judgement grade

p.8

Good

Staff receive training in safeguarding young people and are knowledgeable about how to apply this in practice. Young people receive appropriate support within the home and from other professionals to assist them in addressing behaviours such as ‘aggression’. Staff have a sound knowledge of how to respond to high risk behaviours and in responding to the sharing of information or disclosures to keep young people safe and ensure appropriate supports are provided.

p.9

Good

Staff have a clear understanding of the issues around child sexual exploitation. They are aware how this can affect boys and girls and talk openly with the young people about how to keep themselves safe. Recent training on child sexual exploitation has been valuable to staff. The staff also provide assistance which helps the young people understand how to keep themselves safe while using social media. Staff speak with young people regarding keeping themselves safe out of the home and young people confirm that they know how to ‘contact the home if they were in danger. A Social Worker adds that ‘the home is very good teaching the young person about stranger danger and appropriate behaviour in the community to ensure they remains safe’ . Young people all report having more than one staff member they trust to talk to or to advocate for their best interests. Staff carry out a good number of key-working sessions with the young people. Staff undertake these frequently and record them.

p.9

Good

All young people are involved in reading these and having their comments added to the records. Staff link these discussions with the areas of need identified in the placement plan. This therefore provides a clear review and demonstration of progress.

p.9

Good

The staff have a good understanding of the young people’s needs, they can recognise when the young people are in distress and upset. This helps staff provide early interventions and reduce challenging behaviours. Young people say that they have learnt to ‘take a deep breath’ rather than get involved in altercations with their peers. Comprehensive behaviour plans give a clear feel of what works for each young person to diffuse any potential situations. Young people openly discuss with staff their behaviour triggers and if they think, they should get a sanction. There has been six restraints since the last inspection. This represents a reduction in both frequency and duration of holds being used. Records reflect how young people are feeling and their thoughts on preventing reoccurrences. Young people state ‘I’ve never been restrained’. Staff have implemented reward charts which young people have all actively

p.9

Good

participated in. Young people are pleased with their accomplishments being on display on the charts and enjoy planning what the reward with mean for them. All staff appointments are subject to safer recruitment guidelines ensuring appropriate measures are taken to appoint appropriately qualified and suitable staff. The manager involves young people in staff recruitment which reinforces their sense of responsibility and ownership of their home.

p.9

Good

The manager ensures that most of the necessary physical and environmental checks of the premises are carried out at the appropriate intervals. However, the downstairs bathroom required urgent attention regarding its cleanliness and maintenance to ensure that young people are protected from avoidable risks.

p.10

Good

Case files in the office need to be kept securely within the home.

p.10

Good

The Registered Manager has been registered with Ofsted for over two years. Staff recognise that he leads the team calmly and that his strength is being approachable and working on shift role modelling practices.

p.10

Good

There is a clear statement of purpose, which is easy for staff to implement. They understand the statement of purpose and the home is managed in-line with its stated aims and objectives. However, some statements are too generic to enable perspective parents or social workers to make an informed choice regarding placing a young person at the home. Additionally, there is presently no completed workforce plan. This is required to ensure that staff’s training is matched against the presenting needs of the current young people and any that the home would consider accommodating.

p.10

Good

The Registered Manager has adapted the home’s young people guide to now include all the contact details they require such as their independent reviewing officer. Young people, parents and social workers and staff are involved in the review which addresses all levels of progress for each young person.

p.10

Good

The self-harm policy is not sufficient or robust. It does not enable staff to clarify the risk, link with signs of suicide, or demonstrate effective working together practices with other agencies such as health.

p.10

Good

The Registered Manager works well with other agencies and the professionals involved in the young peoples’ care. However, the Registered Manager has not established an effective working relationship with the Local Area Designated Officer.

p.10

Good

Staff receive regular supervision with a strong focus on ensuring they are appropriately skilled and informed, to meet the needs of the specific young people in the home. Independent monitoring takes place at the required intervals. The Registered Manager uses the recommended actions from the independent visits to review systems to make improvements in the quality of care provided. He then completes comprehensive monitoring of the home, which tells the story of the young people and their progress. The Registered Manager is able to demonstrate the difference living at the home has made to the young people.

p.11

What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

p.12

What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

p.12

What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

p.12

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

p.13

Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.13

Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

p.14

Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.14

Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.14

Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

p.14