Children's Home run by Compass Children’s Homes Kent Limited in Kent

Inspection report children‟s home: SC425071 1 SC425071 Registered provider: Ferndearle Child Care Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children‟s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six children and young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. Education is available on site. Therapy is available to young people if required.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 21 to 22 September 2017

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 The registered manager is dedicated to providing a high standard of care for young people to enable them to succeed.  Young people enjoy positive relationships with staff, who enjoy working with Inspection report children‟s home: SC425071 2 them.  Daily meetings and house meetings are used to resolve any conflicts and to encourage young people to take responsibility for their actions.  Good links with schools have contributed to the goal of 100% school attendance being achieved by the majority of the children and to positive academic achievement.  Staff receive good-quality and regular supervision to review their practice.  Young people‟s safety is prioritised. Good links have been developed with local agencies to safeguard the young people and the staff.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children‟s home‟s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Placement plans are not consistently signed by the registered manager and social workers.  Not all agency staff have the required qualifications.  The use of bedroom door alarms is not assessed or reviewed.  One parent was not told about her child‟s health appointment in time for her to attend.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 23/05/2016 Full Good 06/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/08/2015 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC425071 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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

17: Placement plan for looked after child

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must co-operate with the child‟s placing authority in agreeing and signing the child‟s placement plan (Regulation 17 (2)) 22/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

An individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained:

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Requirement Due date

(a) the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or (b) a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Recommendations

 Any decisions to limit a child‟s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home, must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child‟s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child‟s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 15, paragraph 3.10) Particularly in relation to the use of door alarms at night.

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Recommendations

 A close working relationship is essential with those with parental responsibility for them, usually their parents or carer. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 11, paragraph 2.5) Particularly in relation to informing a parent about her child's health appointments. Inspection report children‟s home: SC425071 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prepare the young people effectively when they move into the home. They receive well-organised information, which helps them to understand the care and support they will receive. A welcome book, which includes photographs of the home and staff, together with a children‟s guide, prepares young people for what to expect. Each young person is encouraged to personalise their bedroom, which helps them to feel that they belong. Matching risk assessments ensure that the needs of the young people moving in do not affect those already living there. Staff prepare the young people well to welcome those who are moving in; as a result, they are friendly and warm towards the young people who move in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people form positive and constructive relationship with staff and especially their key workers. Young people are allocated two key workers each to ensure that they always have someone that they can talk to. They engage in meaningful conversations that help them to reflect. Staff meet young people from school and ensure that they have their undivided attention as the young people follow their evening routine. Regular meetings take place after school. Staff and young people talk about their day and plan their evenings prior to undertaking individual or shared activities. This ensures that any issues that may have arisen during the day do not affect the evenings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff value the young people‟s views and encourage them to express themselves. Weekly house meetings are an effective forum for young people to influence how the home is run. Young people agree the agenda and use meetings to discuss, within a safe environment, any issues that are of concern to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The organisation provides education on site or at the nearby sister home. Occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy are available at the school. Education is prioritised by staff, who support young people to achieve 100% attendance at school. This goal has not been reached for all children but attendance is good. Previously, some young people had not attended school for a considerable length of time, so this is a great achievement. School staff liaise closely with the home‟s staff to ensure that they provide consistent care. Young people make good academic and social progress as a result. Staff make time for young people to complete homework at the end of the school day. Those who do not have formal homework are encouraged to do some extra-curricular learning as part of their evening routine.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The ethos of the home is therapeutic, with input from the organisation‟s psychotherapist. She organises therapy that each young person feels comfortable with, such as family therapy or counselling. She chairs regular child-focused meetings where the underlying psychological reasons for behaviour are discussed, and the strategies to best support young people are formulated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff fully support young people to see parents, relatives and those who are important to them. When needed, they supervise this time within the home environment. Parents are Inspection report children‟s home: SC425071 5 very positive about the service and appreciate the care that staff provide. A parent said, „I could not praise the staff any more... I am pleased about how well they do with my son‟. Another parent said, „He has achieved a lot since being there‟. However, one parent said that staff had not told her about a health appointment in time; this meant that she was unable to attend with her child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between young people and staff are positive. Young people seek out the staff to spend time with them and enjoy positive interactions. Staff enjoy having fun with the young people. On the day of the inspection, staff shared positive comments with young people during the house meeting. Staff reinforced these positive messages at teatime, when staff and young people talked about what they liked about each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make significant progress. They work to agreed targets that are achievable and linked to self-care skills and appropriate social skills. This ensures that young people learn new skills and know what is socially acceptable. Safety booklets address any issues of concern. Young people‟s achievements are celebrated. Staff prepare young people well for when they leave the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people are kept safe by a staff team that demonstrates a good knowledge of safeguarding practice. For example, in the event of a young person leaving the home without permission, staff do their utmost to locate them. They follow the young person and immediately inform the police; as a result, young people are located quickly. Positive relationships between staff and young people and the close supervision of young people by staff mean that young people rarely go missing. Some young people who previously went missing regularly have reduced their missing from care episodes significantly.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff challenge young people who use discriminatory language, such as racial abuse. Young people are guided on how to treat others with respect. Key workers discuss relevant issues with young people, who learn to reflect on their behaviour and emotions. This gives young people the opportunity to apologise for and correct their behaviour. Methods such as restorative justice and mediation are effective.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Physical interventions are rare. When they do occur, there is good recording of the events that preceded the need for this intervention. Staff are able to reflect and learn from the registered manager‟s evaluation of the effectiveness of the method used. She evaluates all records and seeks young people‟s views. Young people are helped effectively to take responsibility for their actions and alert the registered manager if they are unhappy with any aspect of the intervention.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Sanctions are used as appropriate, with an appropriate emphasis placed on reparation, and young people have the opportunity to make amends. Where sanctions do occur, they are relevant to the incident. Young people are encouraged to record anything they are unhappy with as complaints, which the registered manager follows up formally. There have been few complaints, but those that do occur are responded to in line with the organisation‟s policy. Young people are advised of the outcome of their complaints. Inspection report children‟s home: SC425071 6 Staff have a good knowledge of e-safety. Software helps to keep young people safe as well as staff providing education about risks. Those who are able to use a mobile phone have a risk assessment in place to ensure that staff are aware of how to support safe use.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

All risk assessments are individual to the young person, in addition to the generic assessments. Staff read and sign these assessments to demonstrate that they are aware of how to prevent incidents occurring and what to do if they do arise. Staff regularly review and update risk assessments after incidents.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Bedroom doors are lockable with a key to secure young peoples‟ privacy and security. However, alarms fitted to bedroom doors to alert staff if young people leave have not been individually risk assessed or reviewed.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Good relationships with the designated officer and local authorities mean that managers share significant events promptly with relevant agencies. Any allegations are reported and fully investigated to protect the young people and the staff. This promotes transparency and accountability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is appropriately experienced and qualified to lead the staff and manage the home to a good standard. She has the level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare. Staff appreciate her calm and open approach. Those staff spoken to said that she is approachable and available to staff. A member of staff said, „The manager is organised, she is clear about what we need to do and shows us how to do it.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Appropriate induction programmes and relevant training and development opportunities prepare staff effectively to meet young people‟s needs. New staff shadow more experienced staff and only work directly with young people when they are confident. This means that staff are competent from the start.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Permanent staff are well trained and experienced, with the right skills to look after the young people. Agency and casual staff, when used, are regular and known to the young people. However, they do not all have the level 3 diploma in residential childcare. The experience of the staff group is not consistent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision is regular and evaluative. The focus is on the young people‟s needs, impact of the work, personal development and consistent care. Staff value supervision; one member of staff said, „Supervision is constructive; I have it monthly and have one-to-one time to reflect on how I can improve.‟ Team meetings are constructive and cover a range of topics, including monitoring, staff morale and young people‟s care plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal care plans are detailed, with all aspects of young people‟s care included. These are updated regularly to ensure that they remain effective. A shorter version, „My Care Inspection report children‟s home: SC425071 7 Plan‟, is signed by young people who contribute to these plans. Staff encourage young people to attend or to contribute to their care plan review meetings. They have a say regarding the decisions made. However, not all of the young people‟s placement plans have been signed by the registered manager or local authority.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager works hard to maintain staff morale. Staff enjoy their work, they work closely as a team and they support each other. The registered manager works positively with the local authority. One social worker said, „I get timely feedback and comprehensive reports; the staff make me aware of any concerns.‟ Another social worker said, „I am very impressed with the care; the paperwork is concise and thorough with manager‟s comments included.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager evaluates the home effectively in order to make improvements. She has a good understanding of young people‟s needs and staff performance. She recognises areas of weakness and is committed to making improvements.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the „Social care common inspection framework‟, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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‟. Inspection report children‟s home: SC425071 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Ferndearle Child Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 77 Biggin Street, Dover, Kent CT16 1BB

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Inspector

Suzy Lemmy, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC425071 9 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children‟s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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