Children's Home run by Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited 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 judges that it has improved effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people continue to progress and do well in this home. Their care is thoughtfully considered and planned. This helps them to enjoy life and develop skills that assist them to access the community and manage change. The young people are settled, having lived here for more than a year and a half each. They have improved their behaviours and are showing much less aggression and causing much less physical damage to the home. Staff are clearly proud of the young people whom they look after and the progress that they have made.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff successfully support young people to enjoy life and achieve. All three young people attend school and do well. One young person received an award from his local authority for his educational progress. Any medical or health needs are understood and met well by staff. Young people are involved in a range of activities that they enjoy, and which enrich their lives and extend their understanding and interests. For example, visits to London museums.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Decisions made about the home and young people’s lives take full account of young people’s views. Records of the young people’s meetings show that young people are asked for their views and suggestions about what happens in the home and that these views are acted on appropriately.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Safeguarding practice is understood well and protects young people effectively. Records of restraints are completed diligently and reviewed so that lessons are learned and staff understanding can be evaluated. This improves practice and ensures that physical interventions are used only when necessary. Risk assessments are detailed and cover a range of appropriate issues that relate to the area in which the home is located, as well as the individual needs of the young people. The assessments are kept under review and changed when necessary.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Health and safety checks of the premises are not completed effectively for all areas of the premises. Broken glass and tiles were present in the garden. In some instances, fire records do not accurately record the time that it takes for people to evacuate the building. This does not allow managers to review whether this is a satisfactory amount of time. In addition, the home is on four floors and, therefore, should a fire break out in the lower part of the building there may be a need to evacuate to a safe area in the home. Although this is known, no fire evacuation drill has occurred that takes this into account.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager leads and manages effectively. She has dealt with the two requirements and eleven recommendations from the last inspection. This is a positive achievement considering the short time period and the number of actions requiring attention. The manager plans, monitors and reviews how the practice focuses on young people’s needs effectively, and she takes action if she identifies a concern. When she identified that medication administration was not being managed well in some areas, she put into action a plan which considered practice from a range of perspectives to improve it, prevent recurrence of the concerns and continue to monitor its efficacy. Staff speak positively about her leadership, and their supervision notes sensitively and successfully cover issues for development and good practice as well as allowing the supervisee to discuss matters that they find important.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There are sufficient numbers of staff on duty to meet young people’s needs, and, while this is small staff team, there are no examples of excessive hours being worked by any individual. The manager is also addressing an imbalance in the gender of the team by recruiting another female member of staff. This ensures that young people can have positive role models of both genders.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children’s records are orderly and detailed. Some logs, such as daily records, are not fully linked to the aims of a young person’s placement in ways that help understanding of how a child’s everyday life is supporting them to progress. This is an area that the manager is developing with individual staff in supervision, and therefore no recommendation is made at this time.

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Information about this children's home

This children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to three children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is privately owned and is part of a larger company which has a number of similar homes in the area. Children may attend one of the schools run by the company. Therapeutic services are also on offer.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 01/11/2016 Full Good 05/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01/10/2015 Full Good 19/03/2015 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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must— (a) take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home (b) provide adequate means of escape from the home in the event of fire (c) make arrangements for persons working at the home to receive suitable training in fire prevention (d) ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (2) If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005( a ) applies to the home: (a) paragraph (1) does not apply (b) the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (3) In this regulation, ‘the fire and rescue authority’ means the

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Requirement Due date

fire and rescue authority under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004( b ) for the area in which the home is located. In particular, the provider must ensure that the timing and nature of fire drills support staff and young people to understand how to manage evacuations under differing circumstances they may encounter. 18/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered provider must ensure:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(d) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are 18/04/2017 designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. In particular, that any health hazards in the garden are removed and that the area is maintained safely at all times.

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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 that 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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