Children's Home run by Kent County Council in Kent

Good

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

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Leadership and management of the home is strong. Staff are well trained, they share knowledge and experience to improve their care of young people. Supervision is focused on young people, reflective and challenging. The Registered Manager ensures that young people remain at the centre of good practice.  Young people make measurable progress supported by achievable targets, for example, a young person has learnt to manage aspects of their personal care independently since the last inspection. Staff review and regularly adjust targets to ensure they remain relevant and achievable.  Consultation with young people is a strength of the home. Staff listen to young people and act on their wishes. On admission, one young person wrote a list detailing his plan for his stay; he was able to negotiate with staff to fulfil this.  Good planning effectively supports young people during stays. Staff liaise with parents and carers prior to each stay to ensure that care plans and risk

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The children's home provision is good because:

assessments are up to date. Staff are fully aware of any changes that will affect the young people during their short breaks.  Young people are cared for safely, however, an allegation against a staff member was not reported to the e Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) in line with the homes policy.

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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 (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.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person must ensure that staff-

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a)(vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies in relation to reporting safeguarding incidents to external agencies. 30/12/2015

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Information about this children's home

This county council service is a purpose built short break unit for six young people with learning and/or physical disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Young people make impressive progress measured by easily attainable targets which are subject to regular reviews. The Registered Manager monitors outcomes and adjusts the targets to suit the young person. For example, one young person’s target for independent self-care was broken down into small and specific steps to ensure he could achieve his goal.

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Good

Young people share their views using individualised communication methods. Staff value young people’s input highly. The Registered Manager ensures that each young person attends consultation meetings and records their views on feedback forms. Staff listen to young people, requests made in children’s meetings for items such as mega blocks and compact discs were responded to quickly. Staff continually develop consultation methods to encourage all young people to engage promoting their sense of being valued.

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Good

Young people enjoy their time at the home; they describe the home as ‘good’. Staff ensure that young people have opportunities for new experiences within a safe environment; examples such as a project introducing young people to petting dogs are effective. One parent reported her child is no longer frightened of dogs and as a result, she is not afraid to go to the park now. Young people benefit from activities in the community; visits to the zoo, parks, river trips and restaurants are popular.

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Good

Parents value the service, complimentary feedback reflects this, for example, a parent says ‘he loves it here, there is a variety of activities, he has learnt new self- care skills that he now does at home too’. Staff have helped young people to gain new skills and increase their independence.

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Good

Staff value young people’s education. They make excellent links with young people’s schools and proactively support their learning. Staff visit schools and establish successful professional relationships. A home to school book ensures that all carers communicate effectively and promote their educational attainment.

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Good

Staff ensure a multi professional approach to young people’s care, including, health professionals. Staff have excellent relationships with health professionals. They consult with a range of specialists, including Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists. Specific equipment is purchased to meet the young people’s complex needs and ensure they have similar equipment in all settings.

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Good

The home environment is well equipped, well maintained to meet the young people’s sensory needs. Facilities are of a very high standard, young people can enjoy the soft room, sensory room and Jacuzzi. Young people bring personal items for their bedrooms, which gives them a sense of belonging and enhances their stay.

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Good

The quality of relationships between staff and young people is a strength of the home. The staff nurture the young people and meet their holistic needs. They enjoy being with the young people. Young people respond by engaging with adults and interacting well. Staff say ‘I love working here’ and ‘the team are good, everyone works together’.

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Good

Safeguarding practices are generally professional; policies are clear and staff have had recent safeguarding and child sexual exploitation training. Some incidents have not been reported to the relevant professionals or in a timely manner. Young people were not left at risk as a result of these failures to report. The Registered Manager is clear about when shortfalls have occurred and identifies training needs as a result. A nursing professional based at the home effectively oversees all medical and medication issues and ensures that robust policies are in place and followed. Medication errors are rare; however, if they occur staff follow procedure and ensure that the young person is safe. The Registered Manager ensures all staff learn lessons from any errors made.

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Good

Risk assessments are individualised and implemented effectively. Staff learn from incidents and ensure that risk assessments remain live documents. An example is that one young person plunged into the Jacuzzi headfirst, the risk assessment was immediately updated and parents informed. The information was shared at the team meeting prior to the young person’s next stay to ensure all staff knew how to prevent a recurrence.

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Good

Robust recruitment procedures safeguard young people and ensure that only appropriate adults care for them, this includes any agency staff. The Registered Manager ensures that only regular agency workers are used. This provides consistency of care and relationships for young people.

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Good

Young people are closely supervised so do not go missing, however, staff are able to discuss child sexual exploitation and missing from home policies in detail. They would know how to respond if a young person presented such a risk. The Registered Manager has links with a local project, which works with young people who have experienced trauma due to sexual abuse. Staff read research material provided, which is a point of discussion at training days and team meetings. This keeps staff skills updated to potential needs of placements.

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Good

Staff reinforce boundaries clearly and young people respond to them. Staff discuss young peoples’ behaviours at team meetings and effective strategies are put in place. Restraint logs demonstrate a good standard of recording, reflection, analysis and recording of debriefs with young people. The Registered Manager monitors and evaluates physical interventions to improve care practice therefore safeguarding young people welfare.

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Good

The Registered Manager ensures that monitoring of health and safety checks are robust including fire drills and personal evacuation plans. All staff can readily access fire safety information in an emergency.

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Good

The Registered Manager provides clear leadership of the home. She has been registered with OFSTED since 2011 and has appropriate experience and qualifications. She has a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care. She is currently studying for a degree in Social Work.

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Good

Staff have an excellent understanding of plans related to young people’s needs; they effectively identify, understand and manage young people’s behaviour. The ‘About Me’ document is a colourful, simple but informative individualised care plan. A photograph of the young person and space for their contribution ensures it is personalised. Weekly team meetings are effective in familiarising staff with every aspect of the young people’s care needs before each stay and allow for discussion regarding young people’s behaviour and interventions. This means staff respond to young people consistently.

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Good

The Registered Manager is highly thought of by staff who describe her as approachable, professional and knowledgeable, a staff member says ‘I can share any concerns with the Manager’. The Registered Manager has worked hard to build a strong well-functioning staff team. A member of staff reports that ‘the team are good, we work together. I like working here’.

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Good

Supervision is regular, in line with the statement of purpose, reflective and informative. Staff have comprehensive training programmes. The Registered Manager promotes a culture of challenge to continually improve practice. A staff member reports that ‘you can be open and frank and say what you feel in a healthy way’.

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Good

The Registered Manager responds to feedback from parents. A verbal complaint was recorded as a complaint despite the parent not formally complaining. The parent’s concerns were taken seriously and action taken to address the matter.

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Good

Good professional relationships between the home and partner agencies result in highly effective multi-disciplinary working to ensure the best possible care and experiences for young people. A Team Manager says ‘the Registered Manager is in close communication and has a good relationship with the local authority’. A Social Worker reports that ‘the staff are prepared to go the extra mile, my young person really likes coming’.

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Good

The Registered Manager is committed to developing the services by learning from external monitoring processes and internal auditing, evaluation and analysis. A detailed action plan is put in place based on the findings to ensure continual improvement.

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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.

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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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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

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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

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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 .

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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,

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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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

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