Children's Home run by Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited in Kent

Inspection report children’s home: SC023740 1 SC023740 Registered provider: Ethelbert Specialist Homes 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

This privately owned children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for a maximum of three children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. In accordance with its statement of purpose, the home specifically accommodates boys.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 25 July 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 requires improvement to be 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC023740 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/03/2018 Full Good 06/12/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 06/07/2016 Full Good 04/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC023740 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 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—

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that when arrangements are not followed by staff and children are placed at risk, that such incidents are properly reviewed and lessons learned fully. 25 January 2019

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that clear strategies are in place to manage and reduce the identified risks for each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.10)  The registered manager should ensure that the service provides a safe and stimulating environment in high-quality buildings, with spaces that support nurture and allow privacy as well as common spaces and spaces to be active. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 6, paragraph 1.10) In particular, ensure that all spaces available to the children are well organised and geared to their needs.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which details the necessary management and staffing structure, (including any staff commissioned to provide health and education), the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the homes Statement of Purpose. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8) In particular, consistently maintain the home to the standards set out in the Inspection report children’s home: SC023740 4 home’s statement of purpose.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop strong feelings of attachment and belonging; they trust the staff, who know the children well and place the children’s needs and well-being at the centre of what they do. Children feel valued by the staff, who really seek to understand children’s wishes and feelings and meet their full range of needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Because they feel secure, the children can explore and express their difficult feelings. Boundaries for behaviour are clear and are consistently maintained. Positive behaviours and achievements are consistently affirmed and celebrated when appropriate, and negative behaviours are thoughtfully sanctioned.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s feelings of belonging and being valued are also evoked by the staff team’s sensitivity and positive attitude towards their very diverse backgrounds and needs. This includes a highly individualised approach to how children’s relationships and contact with their families are supported. For some children, this has contributed to a dramatic shift towards the possibility of family reunification.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team has not always successfully encouraged children to invest in the decor, furnishings and equipment in the home, as part of children’s learning about socially acceptable and responsible behaviours. As a result, the children do not always respect and value the physical environment of the home.

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improvement to be good

Children said that they feel safe because the staff are good at looking after them. In practice, the safety and protection of the children is rooted in a team of core staff who know the children well, care about them, and are alert to circumstances of potential harm. Staff are well equipped to protect the children from the wider threats of radicalisation and exploitation. However, there is a clear dissonance between the safeguarding culture and practice in the home, and the documents that guide staff in safeguarding the children, reducing risks and increasing children’s ability to keep themselves safe. Documents relating to risk assessment and management are generally confusing, unclear and lacking in focus. This makes the children vulnerable when unforeseen circumstances arise, or when staff who are not fully familiar with the home are required to assume caring responsibilities for the children.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not ensured that learning is gained from incidents, in order to reduce the likelihood of a recurrence. For example, on one occasion a child took unattended car keys and potentially placed himself and others at risk of harm. Managers were unable to Inspection report children’s home: SC023740 5 evidence that this incident had been reviewed or reflected on to improve practice in the future.

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improvement to be good

Incidents requiring the physical intervention of staff to safeguard children and prevent harm are rare. There have been no recorded instances of complaints, bullying or children going missing from the home during this inspection period. This encouraging picture is largely the result of the positive relationships between the children and between the children and the attentive, caring staff who communicate with each other well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The cohesive and child-focused core staff team is led effectively by the dedicated manager. The team has succeeded in providing the children with good continuity of care through a recent and unusually difficult period of staffing strain, during which a high number of members of staff from sister homes were required to provide support. Plans are in place to return the staffing team to full strength.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team, small by design, provides the children with personalised care and good opportunities to build effective, supportive relationships with staff. This model is, however, vulnerable to breakdown when unplanned or unwanted staff changes occur, and children’s feelings of security and permanence are undermined. The routine upkeep, maintenance and further development of the home have been negatively affected by low staffing levels.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The monitoring of standards of care in the home is regular and close. New and better ways of understanding the impact of staff practice on children are sought by the managers. High levels of communication between the manager and placing authorities and other external agencies ensure that partners fulfil their obligations to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Minutes of regular and well-attended team meetings demonstrate a consistently high level of focus and communication around the children’s needs. Regular staff supervision is prioritised. Personnel records and discussion with a newly appointed member of staff evidence safe and appropriately targeted recruitment. Children and staff are involved in the recruitment of new staff, and the staff induction programme is well planned. Inspection report children’s home: SC023740 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: SC023740 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 17 Leigh Road, Ramsgate, Kent CT12 5EU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Leslie Davenport

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Inspector:

John Pledger, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC023740 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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