Children's Home run by Little Acorns London Beach Farm Limited in Kent

Inspection report children’s home: SC023651 1 SC023651 Registered provider: Little Acorns London Beach Farm Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to eight children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a private organisation that provides an independent school for children at the home, on the same site. The home offers a 24-hour therapeutic curriculum to support specialist therapies.

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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

Inspection report children’s home: SC023651 2 This children’s home is good because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The service continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of children. Staff know the children well and form strong, positive relationships with them.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Therapeutic services enhance children’s lives by helping them to overcome early traumas.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Close working between residential staff, education staff and therapists mean that children have excellent attendance at school and make good academic progress.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children are kept safe by close supervision and the use of effective risk assessments that inform staff about how to keep children safe.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Regular morning community meetings with children ensure that their views are listened to, any concerns are addressed, and they have a positive start to the day.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Leaders and managers promote the ethos of the home effectively. The strong staff team is interested in, and ambitious for, the children.

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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

 One child’s healthcare plan had not been completed, which compromised staff’s ability to meet all his health needs.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Closer monitoring of physical intervention records and decisions made by staff with regard to sanctions would ensure better manager evaluation.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 09/11/2016 Full Good 17/12/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 21/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC023651 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

In order to meet the health and well-being standard the registered person must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

10 (1)(a) the health and well-being needs of the children are met. In particular, in relation to devising a healthcare plan for a child recently admitted. 30/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must:

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Requirement Due date

13 (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home, particularly in relation to evaluating sanctions and a child’s response to a physical intervention. 30/11/2017

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Recommendations

 It is crucial that the home works in close partnership with all those who play a role in protecting and caring for the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.3) In particular, this is in relation to reporting hospital visits to social workers and informing a parent about health appointments.

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Recommendations

 A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13) Inspection report children’s home: SC023651 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well prepared for moving into the home. They receive an informative children’s guide, which includes photographs and the information they need prior to the move. Children who already live there are well prepared regarding the children moving in. This reduces their anxiety and, as a result, they are welcoming.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A strength of the home is the comprehensive care plans, which are written with the children. Children have a say about matters that are important to them, and are fully involved in decisions made about them. Staff take a consistent approach to support children to improve their communication. Speech and language therapy is available in the home and school environment. Communication aids help children to manage routines better. For example, staff use pictorial prompts to help one child with his bedtime routine.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress. They identify their own targets and show pride in their achievements. ‘Superstar of the day’ is awarded every day to recognise children’s progress. This is popular, and is celebrated by all. As a result, children’s self-esteem and feelings of self-worth improve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is a high priority, and all the children have 100% attendance at school. The children all attend the organisation’s school in the home’s grounds. Staff aim to integrate children into local schools in preparation for when they leave the home. Good liaison between the care staff and teachers enhances the continued learning for the children. Handovers between care and education staff support the children during transitions between school and home. Children attend after-school clubs as a reward for good behaviour, and complete any homework before they join in the evening activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Key-work sessions can be formal or informal. Children enjoy activity-based sessions, when they go out with a staff member to a place of their choice. Sessions that are more formal complement the therapeutic ethos of the home. Children form close relationships with staff and enjoy spending time with them. Community meetings also help to develop positive relationships between staff and children. The meetings are a strong mechanism for children to share their feelings and views, prepare for their day and discuss any concerns they may have with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Access to therapy is a strength of the home. In-house therapists provide children with the therapeutic support they need. This includes equine and other specialist therapy treatments. The therapeutic ways of working are effective in helping children to understand and manage their emotions, and for one child this has significantly reduced the number of aggressive incidents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s physical health needs are met. They respond quickly to children’s health needs and ensure that they get medical support when needed. However, one child’s healthcare plan was not complete. While staff had the necessary Inspection report children’s home: SC023651 5 information to support the child’s basic medical needs, the absence of a comprehensive healthcare plan compromised staff’s ability to understand all aspects of his health.

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

Managers and staff have a thorough understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures, which they put into practice. Safeguarding issues are reported to the local authority immediately. Children build trusting relationships with staff, and develop the confidence to share their concerns and reflect on past traumatic experiences. Staff listen, respond sensitively and take action when safeguarding concerns are raised. However, on one occasion, the manager did not appropriately share information with Ofsted to enable external monitoring.

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

24-hour risk assessments and behaviour management plans are effective tools for identifying risks to children and informing staff on how to minimise the impact of these risks on children. Child-focused team meetings give staff protected time to discuss the children’s emotional needs and vulnerabilities, and agree a consistent, therapeutic approach. Children’s safety is paramount. Supervision levels are high, and well-planned activities, inside and outside the home, ensure that children are not at risk. Children access the community when they are able to manage their behaviour safely.

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

Training courses available to staff have a strong safeguarding element. Training ensures that staff remain skilled and knowledgeable about the risks that children face. These risks include the potential for children to be sexually exploited through social media websites. Staff ensure that only children who are educated, and assessed as able to use mobile devices safely, have access to social media. Staff supervision is an additional safety measure, in addition to restrictions that are in place to ensure that children do not access risky sites.

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

The number of physical interventions have significantly decreased. Effective de- escalation techniques, and early intervention to calm children, are successful. Managers analyse and evaluate records in order to identify trends and implement interventions to reduce the need for such measures. External oversight of higher-level interventions ensures appropriate scrutiny. Staff seek children’s views, and generally they respond positively. However, there was one occasion when the manager did not record actions taken following a child raising a concern.

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

Sanctions are rarely used; positive rewards are used to reward good behaviour. Positive relationships and staff supervision of children ensure that bullying is not an issue. Sanctions are usually recorded well and are monitored by the manager; however, on one occasion a sanction was not recorded as such. This meant that managers were unable to monitor the effectiveness or appropriateness of the sanction.

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

Health and safety checks are up to date. Fire safety measures are routinely applied. Children are aware of how to respond in the case of a fire. External visitors to the home are closely supervised, ensuring a safe, secure environment. Inspection report children’s home: SC023651 6

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a strong leader with the necessary qualifications and experience to manage the home. The senior team leaders, with the support of the registered individual, managed the home while she was absent. A restructuring of the home’s management arrangements has taken place, and there is now a deputy manager in place. This creates a stronger leadership team. The deputy is undertaking the necessary induction to prepare her for this role. Leaders and managers share a good understanding of the young people’s needs and staff performance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and the registered provider are committed to ensuring that staff increase their knowledge of therapeutic approaches. Staff are encouraged to keep up with research and attend additional training. Staff report how they are able to put what they have learned into practice. As a result, children’s anxiety is reduced and behaviour improves.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Good relationships between staff and external professionals result in effective multi- disciplinary working. The team around the child includes psychotherapists, occupational therapists and speech and language support. This is effective in providing a strong support system. A social worker said, ‘Staff are very effective at communicating with me and do so on a regular basis. They are providing a safe and nurturing environment.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and child-focus meetings take place regularly. Discussions at the end of each shift provide an opportunity for staff to share information. Supervision is effective in enabling staff to reflect on the impact that the job has on them. However, formal supervisions have not been regular during the manager’s absence. Staff have not had regular protected time to feed back any concerns, or help to improve the service. The registered individual recognised this shortfall, and an improvement plan is in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Reports produced by the independent visitor, in line with regulation 44, are good. The registered manager, and registered individual, consult with the visitor to identify any changes needed to improve the service. The regulation 45 report is thorough, and the necessary consultations have taken place in order to ensure that it is a meaningful document.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC023651 7 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: SC023651 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Little Acorns London Beach Farm Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: c/o A1, Marquis Court, Team Valley Trading Estate, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE11 0RU

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Inspector

Suzy Lemmy, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC023651 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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