Children's home run by Kent County Council in Ashford

Inspection report children’s home: SC368763 1 SC368763 Registered provider: Kent County Council

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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 jointly funded by the health authority and the local authority. The home provides six short-break care residential places for children who have physical disabilities and/or learning difficulties. The manager, registered since September 2015, also retains management responsibility for the resource centre attached to the premises.

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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 good

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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

Date of last inspection: 16 January 2018

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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: SC368763 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/01/2018 Full Outstanding 07/09/2016 Full Outstanding 02/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 03/06/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC368763 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) The registered manager should seek ways in which to enhance the physical environment to increase the homely and domestic feel of the home, in particular, the sleeping area.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Ensure that the registered manager continues to seek ways in which the regulation 44 and 45 processes can be used to provide the most useful data that can be meaningfully analysed to inform further improvements to the service.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs19 and 20) The plan should: • detail 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; • detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training (such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications); • detail the process for managing and improving poor performance; • detail the process and timescales for supervision of practice (see regulation 33 (4) (b)) and keep appropriate records for staff in the home. The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications

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Recommendations

completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality Inspection report children’s home: SC368763 4 standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children with complex needs are introduced to this service with great care. The highly committed staff collaborate closely with parents and carers and make substantial efforts to develop effective ways to communicate with the children and to understand their needs. The staff’s approach to the care of the children is nuanced and finely tuned to the children’s individual differences, interests and preferences. Children develop feelings of trust and security and they engage in activities, relax and have fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff have high aspirations for what the children can experience and achieve. They are adventurous and creative in planning activities. This approach helps the children to expand their experience of the world, build confidence and increase their independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff go to great lengths to find and improve ways of ascertaining the wishes and feelings of the children and increasing their sense of investment in, and ownership of, the service. This also contributes to feelings of being valued and respected. This approach is also extended to the parents and carers, whose views, opinions and contributions are regarded as integral to the running and further development of the service.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Parents, carers and social workers are overwhelmingly positive about the high standard of care and quality of children’s short-stay experiences. This appreciation, combined with high levels of communication by staff, enables parents and carers to enjoy peace of mind during children’s stays and maximise the benefits of respite.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Leaders and managers are committed to integrating the service with the local community, and involvement with various cultural groupings has significantly increased during this inspection period. This expands the children’s life experiences, reduces feelings of isolation and increases confidence.

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

The main protective factor for the children who attend the service is the approach of the staff team. This has, at its core, value, respect and affection for each child, together with a strong investment in their progress and positive experience of the world.

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

A meticulous approach to fully understanding the current, specialised care needs of children, before they stay, ensures that they receive consistently safe and high levels of care. The staff team recognises and embraces its unique position in being able to regularly review the well-being and safety of each child. This is reflected in detailed recording and systematic review of all information that could raise concerns. Inspection report children’s home: SC368763 5 Explanations are sought, and appropriate action taken, for any concerns that may arise.

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

The heightened vulnerabilities of the children who stay are well understood by staff and, through further training, they are also alert to specialised areas of risk such as exploitation, online activities and radicalisation.

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

Any challenging behaviour is met with concern and a desire to understand any anxieties that might underpin this. All physical restriction is done with care and only aimed at preventing or reducing harm.

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

All staff are selected using the highest standards of safer recruitment, and great care is taken to assess the suitability of candidates who will support and nurture children who have complex needs. Maintaining the high-quality building and facilities is embedded in the routine of the home, and high standards of health and safety practice are consistently met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The service is led by a competent, confident and inspirational leadership group that is committed to continue improving and further developing the service. This stems from an internal drive to find ways of further enhancing the experiences of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring systems are implemented regularly but these are not always conducted with sufficient focus or analysis. Regulation 44 reports have lacked sufficient challenge. This leaves the provider and registered manager without the necessary layer of independent scrutiny. Internal monitoring shortfalls leave the service development plan without clear and measurable targets. This combination risks drift and delay in terms of continuing service development and improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The dedicated staff teams for each short-stay group display high levels of teamwork and commitment and show initiative and confidence in their approach to the children’s care and y experiences. Staff are supported in their work through regular, child-focused team meetings, individual supervision and regular training. The high standards of recruitment are matched by well-planned induction, effectively managed probation periods and meaningful annual appraisals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership team has made significant contributions to the wider organisation’s improvements to the planning and management of transitions from children’s to adult services. This contributes to the positive experience of young people when they make this transition.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This is a service with sound leadership, well-developed systems and a motivated and dedicated staff team. It provides a resilient and reliable service that can competently respond to urgent and unexpected demands, and does so, with vigour and enthusiasm.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children’s home: SC368763 6 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: SC368763 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Kent County Council, Sessions House, County Road, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1XQ

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Inspector:

John Pledger, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC368763 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:

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