Children's Home run by The Drive Care Homes Ltd 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 Sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The recommendation from the previous inspection has been met. Young people’s confidential information is now stored in a secure cabinet.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has been a change of manager since the last inspection. The newly appointed manager has extensive experience in adult learning disability services. He is currently undertaking the Level Five Qualification in Leadership and Management for Children and Young People. He continually strives to improve and develop the service.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Following an allegation against staff members the manager consulted with the police and adult safeguarding team. The head of care carried out an internal investigation. However, when the allegation was made staff did not follow procedures and report the allegation immediately in line with the organisation’s safeguarding policy. A notification to Ofsted did not reflect that the allegation was made initially to staff. This limited oversight of the investigation and outcome of the allegation.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A transition plan to adult services has been in place for one young person for eighteen months. The Registered Manager and senior managers have liaised with adult services; however, the adult social work team have not been able to identify a placement. Notice has now been served on the placement, a more robust challenge and an earlier notice would have required adult services to find a suitable placement in a timelier manner.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Communication with young people is a strength of the home. Young people are actively involved in making choices and expressing their views. Staff use a variety of communication methods to ensure that each young person has a say, for example, objects of reference, photographs and picture exchange cards. Consequently, staff are able to respond effectively to young people’s stated views.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people are consulted about all aspects of their lives, including activities inside and outside of the home. They are encouraged to develop daily living skills, for example, hoovering and laundry. They participate at their own level; this increases their skills and sense of responsibility. One initiative is the use of photographs with young people’s weekly planners, for example, photographs used depict the young person travelling on a bus. This helps him relate the activity to himself. Another young person was supported to explore different sports and leisure activities and is able to indicate that she enjoys bowling, playing on arcade games and sightseeing in London.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff support young people to work towards independence and they have made considerable progress. The manager ensures that there is an updated independence plan in place so that staff know what skills young people need to learn in preparation for adult life, for example, one young person can now use the kettle and make tea for herself without being prompted. Another young person is able to wash his plates, hoover his room and make his bed with encouragement from staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Targeted key work sessions address young people’s needs, help them to build relationships with staff and realise that staff care about them. House meetings are held where young people express their views. These need to develop further to evidence how young people’s views are sought and increase the variety of communication methods used.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home is well equipped and homely. Young people personalise their bedrooms and choose new furnishings. Professional photographs of the young people are displayed in the front room and the main office. This fosters a sense of young people being valued.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Monitoring systems are effective in ensuring that regulations and quality standards are met. The manager undertakes daily, weekly and monthly checks. He increases staff’s awareness of the importance of accurate record keeping by tasking them with auditing files. This means that they can learn the benefits of organised filing systems first hand.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All staff are assigned responsibilities to develop their skills. They have received specific training to ensure they are equipped to undertake these tasks, for example, one member of staff is responsible for fire safety so has completed a fire awareness course. Another staff member has undertaken supervision training to fulfil supervisory responsibilities. The manager retains overall responsibility for monitoring of the service.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Recruitment files demonstrate that care staff are suitably vetted and checked prior to appointment. The home provides a thorough and extensive induction period, for example, the overlap between managers was three months. Through this effective system, the manager is confident in his role prior to taking up the role fully.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Supervision is regular, evaluative and challenging. The manager seeks staff’s views in regards to improvements. He consults staff about the development of the service in order to offer young people the highest standard of care. A staff member said ‘there have been lots of improvements; the care of the young people has improved’.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Inter-agency working is strong. Staff refer young people for speech and language therapy in order to improve their communication skills. They share information with young people’s teachers, for example, changes in communication methods and any increase in vocabulary use to ensure that skills attained are continued across both settings. Staff provide a quiet space within the home to help young people to complete their homework. As a result, young people are able to make good educational progress.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people enjoy positive interactions with staff. They present as happy and wanting to socialise together. One young person said ‘everything’ was good and he could not think of anything he wanted to change. A parent reported that her son ‘is very happy’ at the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff promote young people’s safe use of the internet. They worked with one young person for two weeks to highlight the importance of deleting unrecognised sites. She is now able to manage her own use of the internet safely.

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Information about this children's home

Dartford House is a registered children's home, accommodating six young people, who are diagnosed as having mild, moderate, and severe learning disabilities with other associated complex needs. These may include sensory needs, communication difficulties, autistic spectrum disorder and health needs e.g. epilepsy.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

17/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

05/03/2014 Interim Satisfactory progress

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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, particularly in relation to reporting allegations made against staff, (2)(a) (vii) staff are familiar with and acting in accordance with, the home's child protection policies. 30/4/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s): Promote the best interest of the child, proactively advocating for the child to ensure that others play their role and deliver the high quality support as needed, in relation to transition plans. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, Page 11, Paragraph 2.4)

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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

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

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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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