Children's home run by Compass Children’s Homes Kent Limited in Dover

Good

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

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

 Children make significant progress in education, all attend school full time and have 100% attendance. Staff support children’s education through close communication with teachers, structured homework time and daily reading. All the children are engaging with learning and are making real progress from their starting points.  Children develop trusted relationships with staff. They share their concerns and receive the support and advice that they need. They enjoy encouraging relationships with staff that enable them to reflect upon their history and identify ways in which they can move forward.  Staff ensure that each child receives individual time and opportunities. Staff know and understand each child’s uniqueness. Children say that they are positive about themselves and are hoping to achieve their goals.  Children are developing outside friendships which are beneficial. Children are also more engaged with the wider community through these friendships, as

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

well as by attending clubs such as cricket, ballet, football and horse-riding.  Children are safe and feel safe living here. Staff work hard to consider and address children’s presenting and underlining needs. This has led to a reduction in concerning behaviours, such as incidents leading to the use of restraints and going missing from care.  Children enjoy living at the home. Staff actively engage with them in play and meaningful activities so that they have positive childhood experiences and memories. Children’s well-being is at the centre of all practice within the home.  There are shortfalls, regarding maintenance, staff training and while children’s views are welcomed, they do not always receive clear and timely responses to their suggestions and requests.

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, with particular reference to the required maintenance and lack of play and educational resources, the registered person must ensure that staff: (2)(b)(vii) provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably, and (2)(c) ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to: (i) meet the needs of each child, and (ii) enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. 20/12/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support the continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon within children’s meetings and other forums. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate that a child is in any way at risk of harm. In particular, the registered person should ensure that skills in safeguarding are gained, refreshed and recorded in the home’s workforce plan. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12)

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Recommendations

 Compile a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should be used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, in particular in relation to any roles given to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 10 children who have emotional or behavioural difficulties. There is a registered school on site, with additional educational facilities in a linked setting nearby.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 23/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 01/12/2015 Full Good 24/03/2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness 21/01/2015 Full Adequate

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Good

Children live in a stable environment with consistent core staff who work in their best interests. The observation during the inspection was of warm, caring relationships between staff and children. Staff invest time with the children. Children develop dependable relationships with the staff who care for them. Staff ensure that they are available to spend one-to-one time with them upon their return from school, and actively support the children to develop their interests, such as arts and crafts. Children know that staff are interested in their individual welfare, interests and dreams. As one child said, ‘Staff here are really nice, the manager is really fun and they all have time for me.’

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Good

There has been careful placement planning. Children have had successful transitions according to their plans and new children have had successful introductions to the home. Staff anticipated the needs of one child coming to the home in an emergency, and quickly learned how to build an effective relationship with them.

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Good

Children undertake daily household chores alongside staff. They learn life-skills and invest in the soul of the home, developing a sense of belonging. Children are increasing in maturity. They are more able to manage conflicts and consider how their behaviour and the behaviour of others has an impact upon them. They know how to make a complaint. They are also increasingly able to make and sustain outside friendships and attend outside activities. All the children enjoyed their recent summer holiday to Butlin’s.

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Good

Children contribute to decisions about their life. They attend their children looked after review meetings and receive help from staff to present their wishes and feelings. Within the home there is a wishes box and weekly children’s meetings allowing children to participate in decision-making. The home welcomes children’s views. However, children do not consistently receive prompt responses to the issues that they raise. This disempowers children and undermines their engagement.

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Good

Staff within the home work constructively with the staff in the school to ensure that all children attend full-time education on site. They are progressing extremely well educationally and have 100% attendance. Children want to go to school, which is significant given their histories. Children can identify their improvement at school. One child said, ‘I’m doing really well and have joined the council now because I am.’ The headteacher describes effective daily communication between home and school that provides stability and consistency for children. The home provides set homework time with individual staff support. This structured educational support enhances children’s progress. However, children do not have access to all the equipment they need to assist their learning, such as communal books and stationery.

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Good

Some children appreciate and enjoy the opportunities to cook. They happily work responsibly with staff to prepare evening meals. Children receive in-house therapeutic support as required. Initial therapeutic assessments, which have recently been improved and expanded to include the child’s experiences from a range of people, lead to specialised ongoing therapy delivered by qualified therapists.

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Good

All the necessary staff for each shift have current training in first aid and the safe administration of medication. Children in this home are in good health: their health improves due to the provision of targeted health support. Staff prepare the children for their futures according to their age and level of development. They support children’s rights, in accordance with legislation, such as access to independent visitors to advocate and help guide them.

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Good

Maintaining contact with children’s families is a key strength of the provision. The children enjoy the relationships with individuals who are important to them, such as their relatives. Staff ensure that they have contact, such as overnight stays. Children are able to talk to staff about their difficult and painful feelings when they have a negative experience, for example after a phone call or when a parent does not attend a significant event. They also work alongside families and the home’s therapists are commissioned to undertake family therapy work to aid children’s transitions home.

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Good

Staff set consistent boundaries which promote positive behaviour and ensure that children feel secure. Staff seek to understand the triggers for behaviour. They do not overreact to the immediate situation, but explore the underlying emotional state of the child. Key workers demonstrate a keen understanding of what is currently going on in the life of their key child and intervene appropriately when needed. This may include conferring with professionals such as the therapist or social worker. Strategies are successful. Previous difficult behaviours, such as children wishing to leave or having violent outbursts, have significantly reduced.

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Good

All staff receive up-to-date safeguarding training although not all have received training in how to counter child sexual exploitation and online safety. Consequently, not all staff are fully up to date with current practice in this area of work. Staff are confident in their understanding of safeguarding procedures. Safeguarding issues receive a prompt response, recording is clear and evidences action taken and the outcome of safeguarding concerns. Children learn about peer-to-peer safety and are very knowledgeable of this.

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Good

Children show increasing maturity in managing their own behaviour. They are much more able to reflect upon their behaviour and understand the consequences of their actions. Children say house rules are fair and these are consistently applied. Children receive effective support to manage their feelings safely, including therapeutic support to reduce their levels of anxiety. The staff team, therapists and managers regularly review such support through meetings to ensure that children are receiving effective responses to their difficulties.

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Good

There have been no incidents of children leaving the home without permission, but procedures are in place to ensure that staff take appropriate action to protect the child and ensure their safe return if such an event occurs. Children do not have unsupervised access to the internet. Risks associated with using social media are addressed with children at an appropriate age to develop their understanding of keeping themselves safe. As one child states, ‘I know of Instagram and other social media but I wouldn’t use them because I know the dangers.’

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Good

Children’s safety is enhanced by the secure recruitment procedures in place, which ensure that all staff are fully vetted prior to commencing working at the home. Their safety is further enhanced because of the robust vetting of visitors to the home. Children live in a safe environment. The internal areas are newly painted, using colours chosen by the children and with large graffiti chalk areas. All necessary health and safety certification is in place. However, a significant number of maintenance issues were observed as requiring attention, such as unreadable signage, a dripping outside tap, and warm ice packs attempting to cool the medication. Additionally, there was a lack of communal play items and educational resources.

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Good

The registered manager has over ten years of work experience with looked after children, including four years as manager. She has achieved the level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. The registered manager demonstrates drive towards continual improvement in standards of care and has high expectations for children’s progress and outcomes. Staffing levels are appropriate to meet the needs of children living at the home, ensuring that they are closely supervised and protected. The children are fully supported to manage their emotional difficulties and can engage in self-chosen activities.

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Good

Staff are experienced in supporting children who move into the home as an emergency placement. They ensure that their room is ready and there is someone there to welcome them on their arrival. Children have an induction planned for them and the manager has made a bespoke children’s guide for the youngest child in the home, ensuring that they have access to its information.

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Good

A particular strength is the partnership working. Staff work with key professionals in their own local authority as well as other placing authorities. They agree strategies to keep children as safe as possible. The manager ensures that staff follow such strategies and keep good records as to the actions that they have taken. Close liaison with education staff allows strategies to be consistent between care staff and the on-site school.

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Good

Regular staff supervision and annual appraisal have a focus on supporting staff to develop their working practice, and evidences professional challenge where practice is below expected standards. New staff undertake a thorough induction programme to prepare them for their roles. Training for staff is, however, inconsistent. Not all staff have received specific child sexual exploitation or equality and diversity training, although they may have been given extra responsibilities for these areas within the home. This does not demonstrate effective and consistent performance management of staff to maintain safe practices within the home.

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Good

The robust referrals processes mean that only children whose needs the home can effectively meet are accepted for placement. Matching risk assessments for new and existing children help to ensure placement stability and a settled environment for all. The home is not full to capacity and the provider has closed taking any further referrals while staff recruitment is prioritised. The stability and progress of current children are the manager’s priorities.

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Good

An independent visitor comes to the home regularly. They identify the pertinent issues and provides professional challenge to the manager. The report is submitted to the relevant authorities including Ofsted.

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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 children looked after 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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