Children's Home run by Institute of Integrated Systemic Therapy in Kent

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has Improved effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the full welfare inspection carried out in August 2015 one requirement and one recommendation were made. The Registered Manager has addressed both to a good standard. As a result of training on autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, delivered by the head of therapy, staff have an improved and enhanced understanding of needs relating to associated behaviours. Action has been taken to ensure both staff and children are fully informed of the protocols around room searches. The children’s guide and service policy clearly outlines the protocol. The service’s statement of purpose is currently being updated to include the detail of room search protocols.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This service continues to be extremely well informed of the Quality Standards, their impact on daily practices and how to meet the children’s homes regulations. This can be seen in the service’s development plan and the review the Registered Manager has recently undertaken to assess how well they are meeting their improvement targets.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The service has a new Registered Manager. Although in place at the last inspection, he has since successfully completed his registration process with Ofsted. His impact on the service has been a very positive one. Changes to staffing, such as a new assistant manager and team leaders has given the service stability and a skilled and qualified staff team. The assistant manager provides effective support to the Registered Manager. They are working well together as a leadership team. Staff morale is good.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children continue to make very good progress with their educational, social and emotional development. High levels of support and excellent communication between the off-site school and residential staff allows children to feel staff know them well, that staff really do care about them and helps them feel safe. As a result they make very good progress. School attendance has significantly improved for all children since the summer of 2015. Children have received awards for their improved attendance from their placing authorities which they are proud of. The service uses external charities to support children’s education needs. For example, one child who is a prolific reader receives regular books from a book trust that supports reading for looked after children. This shows that the staff explore a wide range of avenues to enhance children’s education by providing them with additional educational resources outside of school time.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The service continues to meet the needs of the children accommodated. The well- planned referral procedures have been further developed to ensure placing authorities and children have up to date and detailed information of what the service can provide. Expectations in relation to children’s behaviour, educational attendance, community engagement and therapeutic living are also clearly stated. One child, who arrived the day before this inspection was very happy with how he has been supported to settle in. The other children have also been reassuring to him. As a result he was relaxed, calm and enjoying time with both staff and children.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The Registered Manager works closely with other leaders in the organisation to ensure robust monitoring; auditing of the service continues to be effective and inform future development plans. As a result a number of developments have taken place. These include changes to the staff team through career development channels, further developing the effectiveness of data analysis and gaining increased feedback from parents and children. Developments directly related to children include improved school attendance, engaging in more activities, a decrease in the number of physical interventions and being supported to better express themselves verbally. As a result the number of behaviour related incidents has decreased significantly.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Safeguarding procedures continue to be of a very high standard. The Registered Manager has recently undertaken advanced safeguarding and child protection training. He ensures his staff team are suitably trained and up to date with understanding the risks posed to children. Training delivered since the last inspection includes female genital mutilation (FGM), e-safety and child sexual exploitation (CSE). In turn, staff are very capable and extremely well informed of how to identify risks and refer to the correct agency. This ensures maximum protection for children.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff have an awareness of their PREVENT duty in relation to radicalisation and extremism, with training planned in the near future. This is an area that is on each staff meeting agenda. The safeguarding policy is currently being reviewed to include FGM, CSE and PREVENT.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children’s complaints are very low in number, taken seriously, investigated and result in good outcomes. There have been no external complaints since the last inspection. Relationships with local authorities are good, with regular communication between the home and social workers. Individual key workers are instrumental in reporting to social workers and do so effectively. Staff also communicate well with other professionals involved in children’s lives. For example the local general practitioner, dentist, optician and orthodontist. This results in a better experience for the children when they need to use the services.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The charity that runs this service has gained accreditation by the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and as a result can offer staff training in therapeutic practices so they qualify as therapeutic counsellors. Investments in the clinical side of the charity and restructuring of the clinicians and consultants has seen improvements such as improved access to professionals on site rather than waiting for lengthy appointments through external referrals.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The service has benefited from having a Registered Manager and continues to operate at a high standard. Children make very good progress whilst living at the home. They are happy here and said `I want to stay here’. Staff and children are positive and the house presents as a comforting family environment.

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Information about this children's home

 The home is registered to accommodate four young people of mixed gender aged 11 to 16 years old. The home specialises in the treatment of young people who present with severe emotional and behavioural problems. It is operated by a charitable organisation.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

24/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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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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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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

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Information about this inspection

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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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