Children's home run by Acorn Homes (UK) Ltd in Thanet

Inspection report children’s home: SC478616 1 SC478616 Registered provider: Acorn Homes (UK) Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a private company which has similar homes in the area. It is registered to accommodate up to four young people who may display challenging behaviour and experience difficulties in forming and sustaining relationships. The company also has a school which young people may attend.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a permanent manager who is in the process of registration with Ofsted.

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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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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC478616 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/03/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 21/11/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/05/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC478616 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

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the mechanisms used for identifying children’s full range of needs are effective. 15/09/18

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the recording of plans makes them clear and accessible to all staff. 15/09/18

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm 15/09/18 Inspection report children’s home: SC478616 4 to the child. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that assessments are clearly recorded and that arrangements for reducing risks are clear and accessible to all staff.

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Recommendation

 The registered person must provide a welcoming, nurturing and supportive environment. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7) In particular, develop the outdoor area to further improve and expand the living area of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children become emotionally invested in the home and develop a sense of belonging. They are able to form attachments to staff because staff are consistent and reliable. The children’s feelings of security and well-being strengthen and they are able to express their feelings. When this expression lacks adequate control, staff respond with confidence and consistency. This provides the children with opportunities to learn about reasonable boundaries and the rules of acceptable behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The care of the children is highly individualised, and their strengths and abilities are emphasised. They are supported to develop their talents and interests through a wide range of activities inside and outside the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s education and vocational development is championed by the staff, who maintain a close working relationship with their schools. Children’s views and opinions are valued by staff and they are meaningfully involved in assessing the suitability of new staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The members of the staff team are focused on achieving children’s best possible transitions out of the home and are their strong and persistent advocates when the performance of external agencies is insufficient in supporting these plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained and provides a homely atmosphere. Good use is made of a large public park across the road from the home, for recreation and exercise. However, the home’s own outdoor area is under-developed and under-utilised, and the children currently lack a comfortable outside space of their own.

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

Inspection report children’s home: SC478616 5 The children are kept safe and helped to address behaviours that place them at risk, by a staff team that is clearly focused on their protection and well-being. The staff are equally committed to equipping the children to deal with everyday hazards and enabling them to protect themselves. However, formal plans to reduce identified risks are sometimes lacking in clarity and detail. Staff expertise in understanding complex behaviours as they happen, and taking steps to address their associated risks, also requires further development.

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

When children display behaviour that is becoming increasingly unsafe, and planned strategies to avert this have been unsuccessful, staff respond with confidence and care. Physical interventions are proportionate to the circumstances and do not last longer than is necessary. Records of these events are detailed and clear and reflect the necessity of the action and the care that staff have taken to safeguard the child.

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

The staff team’s approach to keeping the children safe and promoting their well-being is underpinned by a display of real care and interest in them. This approach is supported by a good standard of mandatory safeguarding training, as well as training in specialist areas such as online safety, exploitation and extremism.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A focused and energetic manager leads a dedicated and committed team of staff who hold high aspirations for the progress and achievements of the children. The communication between staff is strong but is currently too reliant on verbal exchanges and handover information. This is, to some extent, a result of the documents being used for recording and planning the care of the children not being effective. Documents lack focus and clarity in guiding staff to work together in targeting key areas of risk and need. This also inhibits the monitoring of children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The methods used for properly understanding the needs of children and their associated risks, and matching of these to staff expertise before they move in, are not sufficiently robust and do not always support good admission practice and the meeting of the care planning standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The good care and progress of the children is underpinned by the staff team’s effective communication with external agencies and the maintenance of positive working relationships. A placing social worker spoke highly of staff’s understanding of and commitment to the children, the effective sharing of key information and responsiveness to enquiries.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The overall quality of the children’s care and progress is supported by sound recruitment practice that is able, with the involvement of the children, to identify those who are suitable to provide for their care. Staff feel supported through regular supervision and staff meetings. This enables them to focus on the needs of the children and work together as a team. The manager displays good awareness of the strengths of the home as well as the areas requiring further development. Inspection report children’s home: SC478616 6

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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: SC478616 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Acorn Homes (UK) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 424 Margate Road, Ramsgate, CT12 6SJ

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Inspector:

John Pledger, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC478616 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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

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