Children's Home run by Benecare Limited in Kent

Inspection report children’s home: SC357981 1 SC357981 Registered provider: Benecare 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 owned by a private company. The statement of purpose specifies that it will provide care and accommodation for up to four children, aged between eight and 18, who have experienced multiple rejections and can display challenging behaviours which are symptomatic of neglect, emotional, physical and/or sexual abuse.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 6 February 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 11 to 12 December 2018

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 30 October 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC357981 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/10/2017 20/10/2016 Full Full Good Good 12/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/11/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC357981 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(c)) 28/02/2019

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience warmth and attentiveness from staff who understand their complex needs and know them very well. In a stable and homely environment, staff provide nurturing care, tailored to each child’s specific needs. The children develop trust in the staff and respond to their help and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend education placements appropriate to their specific needs. Staff are committed to supporting children’s education. They are sensitive and encouraging in their support for children who have not been attending school to help them re-engage with their education and fulfil their potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s increased self-confidence, ability to manage their emotions and resilience are having a positive effect on all aspects of their lives. As they approach the time for moving from the home, staff support them to develop their independence skills to prepare them for the next stage of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to appreciate others’ differing needs. They have good relationships with each other and are sensitive and understanding when children require staff’s time to help them through their difficulties. One child stated, ‘I like living here because it’s calm and everyone gets on.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC357981 4

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

Detailed support plans and risk assessments clearly identify children’s needs and the measures to help protect them. Staff are aware of the risks associated with each child’s behaviour. They implement supportive and protective measures and help children to be aware of these risks and how to keep themselves safe.

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

Staff have a clear understanding of children’s specific needs. The support that they provide helps children settle at the home and make good progress. Relationships between the staff and the children are meaningful and sincere. One child stated that ‘staff are very caring. They give me talk-time when I am feeling stressed and that helps me feel better.’

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

Children respond positively to the consistency, stability and nurturing care provided by staff. Children are showing a marked improvement in their behaviour which previously placed them at risk of harm. Children with a history of going missing are not displaying this behaviour.

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

Detailed behaviour management plans guide the staff to provide effective support. The staff use physical intervention as a last resort to protect children and others from serious harm when their behaviour is extreme and challenging. Staff record such incidents properly and the registered manager closely scrutinises the reports to ensure safe practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has a strong commitment to providing high-quality care for the children. She leads by example and confidently models excellent relationships with the children. She knows the children very well and leads the staff team to support children to develop and have a sense of belonging in a warm and nurturing home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff appreciate the support they receive from the registered manager which, alongside training and regular supervision, enables them to provide appropriate care to meet the children’s complex needs. However, not all staff received the necessary training to meet the specific needs of a child before admission.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home recently admitted a child whose needs were not within the conditions of the home’s registration. The registered manager did not seek approval for this breach of the home’s registration before admitting the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager and the staff work constructively with other professionals. The registered manager is a strong advocate for children and challenges external professionals when decisions are not in the child’s best interests.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

With a focus on maintaining high standards of care, the registered manager monitors staff practice closely. Incidents causing concern are rigorously monitored with in-depth staff debriefs, evaluation and action to improve practice. Significant issues relating to Inspection report children’s home: SC357981 5 staff practice are referred to external agencies, thoroughly investigated and decisive action taken to ensure that staff conduct is appropriate. Taking a ‘lessons learned’ approach, the registered manager continuously focuses on improving the care provided to promote positive outcomes for children.

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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: SC357981 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 113a St Johns Hill, Sevenoaks TN13 3PE

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Stephen Richmond

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Inspector

Jan Hunnam, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC357981 7 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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