Children's Home run by The Caldecott Foundation Limited in Kent

Inspection report children’s home: SC037309 1 SC037309 Registered provider: The Caldecott Foundation Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to nine children and young people.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since April 2012.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC037309 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/08/2017 Full Outstanding 01/03/2017 Full Outstanding 04/10/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC037309 3

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) This relates to the decor and maintenance of the exterior of the home.  As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) This relates to having

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Recommendations

a formal risk assessment for those staff who have positive information contained within their DBS check.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children thrive as a result of warm and nurturing relationships with staff. Interactions are genuinely caring and consistent across the staff team. Staff are demonstrably caring towards each child, including physical affection. They have created a culture of an extended family within the home. Children regard it as their home. Professionals are consistently positive about their working relationships with staff and comment on how well children have progressed while living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s views are integral to the running of the home. They are actively engaged in weekly house meetings, where their ideas are shared with staff. The meetings have a clear decision-making process. Children are also fully engaged in the processes that are used to plan their care. They share their views in statutory reviews and have their own in-house care plans in a child-friendly format, including pictures. Additionally, each child has a memory book completed by their key worker, with photographs, tickets to the cinema or theme parks they have visited and comments about how much they enjoyed their day and when they have tried a new activity or experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Each child’s culture is accepted and explored with them. Coats of arms for each local authority that children are from are displayed with key information about their home area, and photographs of each child’s first day at school hang proudly in the hallway. Children’s records include what they enjoy and are interested in, how they like to dress and who is important to them, ensuring that their past and cultural identity are well Inspection report children’s home: SC037309 4 known to staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

All children attend education, either in the local community or through the organisation’s school. All are achieving well, and most attend mainstream education, including those who have missed significant periods of school. Staff have an excellent understanding of what may be barriers to learning for each child, and work effectively with education staff to maintain attendance, including providing training and guidance to school staff and supporting children in the classroom if needed. Bespoke packages of therapy, education and activities are provided for those who struggle in the classroom environment, with great success. In addition, children attend various clubs and activities in the local area to increase their confidence and form friendships. All children commented that they enjoy their own cook night, when they make meals for themselves or the group.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The organisation’s therapy team provides tailored services to each child in the home. In addition, the team meets with staff to consider how it can better support children with engrained or newly emerging patterns of behaviour. Staff also reflect on their relationships with children and each other, to assess the impact they may have and how to work more effectively as a team to provide continued positive outcomes for children.

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

Children’s actions and demeanour show how safe they feel in the home. All were able to approach staff at any time. The majority of children here are of primary school age, and staff are skilled in managing the difference in their vulnerabilities, compared to those of the eldest member of the group, who is approaching adulthood.

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

Child protection and safeguarding concerns are managed robustly. They are reported to partner agencies whenever needed, and fully investigated. Monthly audits by the quality team ensure that responses are effective. Staff know their responsibility to report any concerns, including when to escalate their concerns outside the organisation.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home, but if they do, each has an individual response plan. Proactive responses by the home ensure that children at risk of exploitation in any form are protected. This includes comprehensive key-work sessions and commendable joint working with the local college concerning financial, sexual or gang-related exploitation. Any intelligence is shared among all homes in the organisation via the exploitation lead.

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

Personal care plans, agreed with the child and their social workers, are in place for those who continue to struggle with their personal care due to their age and/or experiences. Selected members of staff undertake these roles, to promote children’s concept of privacy.

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

Staff are highly skilled in managing negative and harmful behaviours. Trends and patterns of self injury are analysed effectively to ensure that children have the right support around them at all times; they all have the opportunity to be settled by staff of Inspection report children’s home: SC037309 5 their choice at night. Transitions, be it from the home to school or on to a new placement, are meticulously planned and this reduces children’s anxiety. Each child has a communication passport identifying what they may be expressing or how they are acting, and what this actually means.

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

Bullying is not tolerated, and children are supported to learn how to form positive relationships, including how to make a friendship and then sustain it. Children respond to staff direction and even when children’s emotions are heightened and they are excited, staff remain in control in a natural and caring manner. Disagreements among the group are managed in a way for children to learn, rather than be chastised. An older child in the group will support those younger than her in their relationships, advising them to listen to staff, reflecting the older sister role.

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

Children are protected from inappropriate people working in the home through robust pre-employment checks, and staff observations of their practice on taster shifts. Information is interrogated for those who have positive information on their Disclosure and Barring Service check. However, this is not linked into a formal risk assessment, despite the process having been carried out by the recruitment team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is run by an enthusiastic and experienced registered manager and team of deputies and senior staff. All have high aspirations for the children they care for and expect the same commitment from staff. Staff are consistently positive about their roles, and enjoy coming to work, likening it to their extended family. The team is mixed in age and experience, and, through their regular meetings with the organisation’s therapist, work cohesively as a team to deliver high-quality care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff say that they work in a supportive and open environment. They find supervisions reflective and useful. They have access to all the training they require to meet the children’s needs and are particularly enthusiastic about the sessions with the therapist to reflect on children’s development and how best to continue to help them progress emotionally and socially.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children’s progress is clearly measured and tracked through a range of tools, including monthly reports, key-worker team meetings and the manager’s regular evaluation of the service. Should there be any concerns, the team supporting the child meets with therapists and external professionals to consider how best to meet the child’s needs. Professionals are particularly complimentary of the joint working within the home to improve children’s outcomes, with one describing staff as ‘professional to an extent that is quite rare’. There were observations by inspectors of senior staff assertively challenging partner agencies to gain the best possible services for those they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is acutely aware of the home’s strengths and weaknesses and constantly strives for excellent outcomes for children, while recognising that maintaining an outstanding service is a continuous task. She is constantly evaluating the home and seeking new ways in which to enrich children’s lives and improve staff skills. The Inspection report children’s home: SC037309 6 modernisation of the home has been central to making it feel homely, and she acknowledges that the exterior now requires updating to maintain the homely environment.

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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: SC037309 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Caldecott Foundation Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Caldecott House, Smeeth, Ashford TN25 6SP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nicholas Barnett

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Inspector

Jennie Christopher, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC037309 8 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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