Children's home run by The Caldecott Foundation Limited in Ashford

Inspection report children’s home: SC064081 1 SC064081 Registered provider: The Caldecott Foundation Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care, accommodation and education for up to seven children. It is part of a charity that has other homes and a school in the local area.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2014.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 14 to 15 February 2019

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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 good

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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: sustained effectiveness

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC064081 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/03/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/10/2017 Full Outstanding 27/03/2017 Full Requires improvement 17/10/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC064081 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 particularly to the maintenance and decor of the home and ensuring that the fire risk assessment is suitable and reflective of the home’s needs.  The registered person is responsible for ensuring that each child’s day to day health and well-being needs are met. Staff should work to make the children’s home an environment that supports children’s physical, mental and emotional health, in line with the approach set out in the home’s Statement of Purpose.

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Recommendations

(‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3) In particular, ensure that any emergency medication is also made available to the child’s school.  Children must be listened to and enabled to report any allegations at the earliest opportunity. Staff should report any allegation of abuse immediately to a senior manager within the home. Any allegation of harm or abuse must be addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.17) Specifically, ensure that children are not asked to repeat their disclosure more than necessary, prior to reporting concerns to partner agencies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children thrive while living in the home. Staff build and sustain warm and nurturing relationships with the children. All children have made measurable progress since living in the home, such as increasing in confidence and self-esteem, while learning new responses to challenges and developing their own identity. Each child has a communication passport to ensure that all those who support them are aware what they are saying or doing and what their communication means. This helps staff to understand children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Key workers have an excellent understanding of the child whom they are responsible for. Staff have access to the therapy team in the wider organisation and consider children’s needs using group mentalisation, ensuring a consistent approach. This has helped to support children through approaches such as the use of a ‘transitional teddy’ to aid a Inspection report children’s home: SC064081 4 child with both simple and complex changes. Children are supported to acknowledge ‘funny feelings’ so they can better convey when they are feeling upset or anxious, ensuring that staff can direct them in how to manage in these instances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children attend schools in the local community or in the organisation. Attendance is excellent, with the reward of a trip to Butlin’s for good attendance. Close liaison with schools ensures that children’s needs are fully understood by school staff, leading to the high level of engagement. Those children who are past the age of compulsory education'have opportunities to attend local colleges or engage in training such as the Prince’s Trust. All have friends in the community and attend clubs and activities, such as scouts, performing arts and swimming. One child was particularly excited about her ‘pamper’ birthday party, to be held in the home with friends whom she had invited from school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s physical and emotional health needs are well met. Children attend therapy in line with their assessed needs, including the home facilitating independent assessments to avoid delays in accessing appropriate support. There are strong links with the children and adolescent mental health services and local health professionals. When there are delays in accessing services, the home works proactively to ensure that the child’s needs are met. This includes advocating for a child to have a hearing aid when previously this had not been prescribed. Medication is stored and administered effectively. However, it was noted that an emergency medication had not been made available to a child’s school.

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

Children say that they feel safe in their home, and their actions and demeanour confirm this. Staff have an excellent understanding of each child’s vulnerabilities. They are confident in how to respond and are proactive, should they be concerned for a child’s safety or welfare. If a child retracts a disclosure, they are sensitive in determining that they are doing this for the correct reasons and not because they are anxious or scared about the consequences. It is noted, though, that on occasions children may have been asked to repeat their disclosure more than necessary to gain facts prior to reporting the concerns to partner agencies.

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

Children do not raise bullying as a concern. Staff are acutely aware of children’s interactions and monitor any relationships which may have aspects of control. Staff support children to develop better ways of interacting and managing friendships and relationships.

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

Staff are skilled in recognising how children express anxiety or distress through behaviours which are challenging. Children’s plans are explicitly clear and combine both behaviour support techniques and risk assessments to demonstrate a rounded approach to meeting children’s needs rather than highlighting risks as a problem to be managed. Children feel supported and staff help them to learn how to regulate their emotions. All physical interventions are monitored, with full debriefings for both staff and child. Inspection report children’s home: SC064081 5 Careful scrutiny of incidents ensures that both staff and children can learn from incidents and consider how best to respond in the future. Episodes of children being missing and self-harming have been significantly reduced in recent months. Children have been supported to share their feelings with their families in order to help to reduce their anxiety about how they are perceived. This has helped to

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

reduce some children’s risky responses to distress. Joint working with partner agencies has been key in supporting children who have been at risk in the community, resulting in very few incidents compared to a similar period last year.

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

The home is a large, purpose-built house, which is mostly warm and welcoming. However, the maintenance and decor of the home, including the kitchen and hallway, are not acceptable. The registered manager is aware of this issue. Children are protected from avoidable hazards and are aware how to respond in the event of a fire. The health and safety coordinator for the organisation carries out the fire risk assessment. It would be prudent to assess if this is suitable and reflective of the home’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has extremely high aspirations for all children who live in the home. All staff, equally, have high standards for themselves and each other. Staff are positive about their roles and recognise the importance of working to the best of their abilities to ensure that children have the best possible care and outcomes. Staff’s commitment to children is exceptional, and all say that morale is high. The registered manager is keen to ensure that staff have autonomy. She empowers staff and delegates effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff say that they find supervision a useful process in which they are suitably challenged and able to learn and grow. Records are concise and demonstrate consideration of staff’s training needs, as well as giving clear responses to practice issues. In addition, they have the training that they require to meet the children’s needs. Staff are encouraged to identity further learning opportunities, should they be interested in a specific aspect of childcare. Experienced newly appointed staff commented that they were attracted to the organisation because of the training and development opportunities provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children’s records are regularly monitored by the senior staff and management team to ensure that they contain all relevant information and monitor progress. Targets are clear, and the systems in use measure the smallest positive steps that children make. Children’s voices are evident throughout the plans, showing a genuine collaborative approach to care. There are strong links between the teams in the organisation to ensure consistency and high-quality care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers in the home are confident in challenging both partner agencies and their own organisation if they feel that a child’s needs are not being met. Equally, they give praise when services are of a high standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers are constantly seeking to develop and learn in order to improve experiences Inspection report children’s home: SC064081 6 for children. They keep abreast of changes in practice and guidance, both locally and nationally, ensuring that they are ready to adapt and develop the service in the best interests of the 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 difference 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: SC064081 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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Inspectors

Jennie Christopher, social care inspector Joe Davys, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC064081 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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