Children's Home run by Moonreach LTD in Kent

Inspection report children‟s home: SC448997 1 SC448997 Registered provider: Moonreach Limited 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 provides accommodation for up to two children.  In its statement of purpose, the provider states that care is provided for children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.  The registered manager has been registered since April 2018. She is working towards achieving a suitable qualification.  The registered manager also manages another of the company‟s homes, which is close by.

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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 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: 18 December 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: SC448997 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/12/2017 16/08/2016 Full Full Good Good 16/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/09/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children‟s home: SC448997 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

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children‟s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, make clear on the rota which staff are employed at this home, which staff are covering from other homes and the actual rosters worked. 01/05/2019

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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 premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child‟s health. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that children are not able to access the shed, repair the hole in a child‟s bedroom door, ensure heating in all rooms, ensure that cigarette butts are removed from the front garden, consider an individual means of hand drying in the ground floor bathroom to promote good hygiene and keep all parts of the home clean. 01/05/2019

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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— 01/05/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC448997 4 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—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‟s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home‟s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure: that all staff have sufficient training in autism and epilepsy; that staff have access to expertise to help them meet a child‟s changing, challenging needs; that shift planning is reviewed; and that sufficient staff are employed.

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Recommendations

 The statement of purpose is of importance to this standard (Regulation 6(2)(a) and (b)(i)). Homes are required to develop and keep under review a “Statement of Purpose” (Regulation 16 and schedule 1). („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 14, paragraph 3.5) Specifically, make sure that the statement contains accurate information about the number of lounges and makes clear that the focus of the home is not on helping children to develop independence skills.  The registered provider should also ensure that the independent person they appoint has the skills and understanding necessary to: assess all relevant information. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 65, paragraph 15.8) Specifically, reports may benefit from being shorter, including more analysis of findings and less reporting. Inspection report children‟s home: SC448997 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children have left the home since the last inspection, two of whom experienced planned moves on to live elsewhere. One child is currently placed at the home as a lone placement. They have formed positive and nurturing relationships with staff. A teacher said that the child „has fondness for the staff and interacts with all their different personalities‟.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Educational progress is limited due to the one child‟s changing needs. However, staff do promote education. Staff work effectively with placing authorities to find suitable education placements which reflect children‟s interests and needs. Staff support visits by tutors, who work individually with one child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff place the well-being of individual children at the centre of their practice. They have helped children to feel more secure with good routines. They recognise children‟s achievements and praise their efforts.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been improvements to some aspects of one child‟s behaviour when they go out in the local community, such as an improvement in road safety skills. As a result, the child benefits from meeting other people, such as when helping staff to shop for food or when attending a youth club.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have not given up on children, regardless of the challenges presented. At times, there is progress in the child‟s own use of certain behavioural strategies, for example using an emotions thermometer to let staff know how they feel. A social worker said that the staff were „doing everything they could given the challenges‟ and that the home „had a nurturing feel‟.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to maintain their health and lifelong medical conditions. Staff provide good support and preparation for children‟s hospital admissions. They help children whose behaviour may be affected by changes in medication and seek medication reviews.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children can remain in touch with their families. Children have been supported to talk to their families by telephone and to see them, particularly for special occasions like Christmas. It is positive that some children who have moved on from the home are still in touch with staff.

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improvement to be good

A high level of staff supervision has kept children safe. Staff have tried various appropriate behaviour techniques to manage (at times) some very challenging behaviour. However, staff themselves have experienced violence, and some have been Inspection report children‟s home: SC448997 6 injured. Only sleep-in staff are employed at night. Staff experience disturbed sleep and said that they then feel tired during the next working day, which affects their performance.

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improvement to be good

A member of staff said, „I love my job, but staff morale is very low because of the injuries.‟ Staff are frustrated that they cannot bring about greater improvements to children‟s challenging behaviour(s). Staff may benefit from specialist advice as the behaviour management skills and restraint techniques that they use are not always effective in protecting them from violence.

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improvement to be good

Medication arrangements have not always been sound. Refresher training for staff and increased monitoring by management were put in place following a medication error. However, no harm was caused to the child.

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improvement to be good

The building is mostly homely. Staff are considering how to make it more autism- friendly, for example, with the use of sensory equipment. However, some aspects of the premises require improvement, for example a small hole in a bedroom door could compromise a child‟s privacy. The registered manager acted during the inspection to replace the child‟s bed which was worn.

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improvement to be good

The home‟s recruitment process is very thorough. This ensures that staff are thoroughly checked before they start working in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff skills are refreshed in safeguarding and in all current risks to children in society, for example gangs and radicalisation. The registered manager follows safeguarding procedures to protect children should there be any complaints or allegations against staff.

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

Since the last inspection, there has been almost a complete change of staff, with only one member of staff plus the registered manager remaining. Staff said that they find the registered manager and staff team „approachable‟ and „supportive‟.

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

While recruitment is ongoing, the small team is supported at times by staff from other homes. Staff feel that the long shifts are difficult to manage for just a few staff who are tired and possibly injured. The rota does not make clear which members of staff are based at this home and the actual shifts that they have worked.

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

A member of staff said, „Training has been brilliant!‟ Staff have learned new skills to meet a child‟s health and learning needs. However, some staff feel that broader and/or additional training in autism and epilepsy would be beneficial to their practice.

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

An independent person visits the home regularly. The reports of their visits meet regulation. However, they are very long and include a lot of evidence. Reports may benefit from more analysis of the visitor‟s findings, for example about the effectiveness of sanctions. Inspection report children‟s home: SC448997 7 The statement of purpose (and the home‟s name) does not reflect how the home is currently used, as the focus is not on the development of independence skills. This could be confusing to placing authorities.

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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: SC448997 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4 Dane John Works, Gordon Road, Canterbury, Kent CT1 3PP

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Inspector

Jacqueline Graves: social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC448997 9 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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