Bridge End

Inspection report children‟s home: SC368637 1 SC368637 Registered provider: Channels and Choices Kent LLP

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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 registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children aged between eight and 17 years old on admission. The home is operated by a private organisation. According to the statement of purpose, the home caters for children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 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 outstanding

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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

Date of last inspection: 26 February 2019

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC368637 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/02/2019 Full Good 07/11/2017 Full Outstanding 06/12/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 26/05/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children‟s home: SC368637 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 independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person‟s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person‟s opinion as to whether— children are effectively safeguarded; and the conduct of the home promotes children‟s well-being. (Regulation 44 (4)(a)(b)) 20/09/2019

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Adults go to great lengths to support the children, who have often experienced frequent disruptions in their lives. Children are afforded stability, understanding and the confidence to achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The therapeutic culture of the home creates an environment in which the children can begin to recover from past traumas. An independent reviewing officer described an „impression of calm‟ within the home. The children‟s well-being is at the forefront of adult practice. Consequently, children develop a sense of safety and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

School attendance and academic progress are excellent. A school leader commented on children arriving in the mornings as being „school-ready‟. Children are well rested, smart and with the right equipment to start their day. This is a positive achievement, as the children struggled to engage with their education before moving to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The registered manager‟s, and the adults‟, planning around beginnings and endings of placements is exemplary. They take great care to ensure that a child‟s first welcome to the home is a positive experience, including visits and overnight stays. For one child, a personalised welcome book was made, with space for him to write down any questions that he might have, but might not want to ask. When children leave, well-planned measures are put in place, such as later life letters, memory albums and meaningful gifts. This sensitive approach helps reduce the children‟s anxieties around transitions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

A strength of the organisation is the priority given to the emotional healthcare needs of the children. The joined-up approach between home, school and the in-house therapy Inspection report children‟s home: SC368637 4 team means that children experience consistently attuned interactions. Consequently, the children become more emotionally aware, and gain confidence to express their hopes and dreams.

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

Adult‟s practice relating to the protection of the children is highly effective. Timely and robust action taken by the adults and leaders reduces the potential for the children to come to harm.

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

Risk assessments and placement plans are of excellent quality and detailed. As a result, the adults have an excellent understanding of the children‟s individual vulnerabilities, risks and strengths. Detailed records are kept of all actions taken in response to safeguarding matters.

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

Risk management strategies are highly effective, as are the direct work sessions that help the children to understand and reflect on their behaviours. Adults strike the right balance between keeping the children safe and supporting them to take measured risks. This enables the children to develop decision-making skills.

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

Adults respond to the children with clear boundaries about what is safe and acceptable. Creative direct work is undertaken with the children, geared at interests that will engage them. For example, a role-playing exercise with a favourite teddy helped one child practise different problem-solving scenarios. This proved effective in helping him understand personal boundaries.

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

Children are supported to understand their life story at a pace and level that is right for them. This often involves joined-up working between the adults, therapists, families and the children‟s social worker. Adults recognise that life-story work is an important way of helping the children to integrate their past into the present, in order to help them to move into the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is ambitious and confident. Her enthusiasm inspires the adults, who share her passion for achieving the best possible outcomes for the children. Excellent working relationships with partner agencies ensure that the children receive the support they need to progress, with an ultimate aim of ensuring long-term permanence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Adults place a strong emphasis on kindness, tolerance and respect, and model this behaviour with each other, and the children. Children‟s relationships with each other are good, and the adults deal with any issues that may arise.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is a strong reflective and learning culture at the home. Adults, including the registered manager, receive frequent and effective supervision. Yearly appraisals are developmental and include the children‟s views. Supervision is supplemented with Inspection report children‟s home: SC368637 5 monthly team and therapeutic child-focused meetings. Adults feel supported, valued and appropriately challenged.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager takes effective steps to ensure that plans for individual children identify their needs, and take into account the placing authority‟s care plan for the children. When children are not settling, leaders and the registered manager take action, to ensure that plans are reviewed, to consider the best way forward.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Internal and external monitoring have successfully established a culture that promotes and drives continuous improvement. There is good management oversight of all care plans and records about the care of the children. However, there is a weakness in the independent visitor reports, which do not set out specifically that children are safeguarded, and they have not consistently been received by Ofsted within reasonable time frames.

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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: SC368637 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Channels and Choices Kent LLP

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Camburgh House, 27 New Dover Road, Canterbury, Kent CT1 3DN

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Inspector

Anne-Marie Davies, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC368637 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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