Children's Home run by The Caldecott Foundation Limited in Kent

Inspection report children’s home: SC037309 1 SC037309 Registered provider: The Caldecott Foundation 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 home is owned and run by a private organisation. It provides care and accommodation for up to nine children. The aim of the home is to provide a homely environment for children to thrive both physically and emotionally.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a manager who was registered with Ofsted in April 2012.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC037309 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/06/2018 Full Outstanding 22/08/2017 Full Outstanding 01/03/2017 Full Outstanding 04/10/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC037309 3

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

 As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) This relates to including the months, as well as the years, for staff’s employment history.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff create a nurturing environment where children flourish and thrive. All children are confident in their surroundings. Children seek out the staff and the managers whenever they want to, to show off new magic tricks that they have learned, to play games, and to share their views and ideas. Children enjoy staff giving them their undivided attention, for example by brushing their hair, admiring their new clothes and making a positive fuss of them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children who live in the home have all remained in placement for over a year. The excellent progress they have made in developing their self-worth and understanding their identity is clear to see. Children have learned to self-regulate their emotions. They continue to develop good social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have a collective feeling that this is their home, and they have a strong sense of belonging. Staff support children to make sure their voice is heard, and advocate strongly for them. In one example, staff successfully challenged a placing authority over a child’s right to ensure that she was included in her dance troupe photograph.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

All children attend mainstream schools in the community. This is a major achievement for the children, some of whom had been out of education for an extended period of time. They have all formed positive friendships, attending sleepovers, parties and some residential school trips. The staff have worked exceptionally hard to support the children Inspection report children’s home: SC037309 4 and to prepare them for school. Close working with the different schools has been key to the success of the placements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children talk enthusiastically of the activities that they do in addition to their formal education. Staff are keen to note the changes in children’s presentation, confidence and skills that they gain through group activities such as dance and team sports. Children can choose the activities they wish, but staff are also therapeutically directive in suggesting activities. For example, a child who struggles with the need to be in control has learned to share more through being involved in team sports; another has increased her confidence through dance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Physical and emotional well-being are central to all planning for children. Children learn to understand what is healthy for them as individuals. Meals are prepared with fresh ingredients, and children are encouraged to broaden their palate. Effective joint working with the organisation’s therapy team leads to children benefiting from a wraparound service, including individual work with the therapeutic team, and staff being supported to use therapeutic approaches in their day-to-day care of the children.

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

Children are confident in their home, and all identify staff they can go to with any issues or concerns. Staff have an excellent understanding of each child’s vulnerabilities and presentation, noticing nuanced changes in behaviour and supporting children to understand how their actions link to their emotions. For example, a child who was in physical pain was able to say that the pain was likely to be a way of expressing her anxiety about seeing a family member. Staff used this understanding to give her plenty of time to process how she was feeling. Regular mentalisation sessions provide a reflective space for staff to genuinely recognise how their actions can emotionally impact the children they care for. This provides a safe space for them to process their emotional responses to working with the children. This creates a healthy and reflective environment.

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

Staff actions and language in relation to supporting behaviour, including physical intervention, reflect their skill and their understanding that behaviour is a form of communication. Debriefs and reflections with children use the term ‘insulate’ in relation to working with the child. This ensures that children are emotionally safe before staff embark on the reflection with a child.

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

Staff are acutely aware of risks and how to best support children to take positive risk in line with their age and abilities. The information that staff hold in their minds is not always recorded in documents. For example, the assessment for a day trip to France did not state how staff would respond if a child became separated from the group, or if staff were considering driving in another country. In practice, staff knew what steps to take to keep each child safe in these circumstances.

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

The fabric of the home has been significantly improved in the last year. The installation of new windows and doors creates a less institutional appearance to the exterior of the Inspection report children’s home: SC037309 5 home. Inside, all areas have been decorated, bathrooms have been replaced, and the children’s bedrooms reflect their likes and personalities. Homely touches include children’s school photographs displayed in the lounge, giving a genuine feel of a family home. The home provides a physically safe space for children to work through their feelings and to relax and play.

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

Children are protected from preventable risks through thorough checks of the home and grounds. An issue with a fire door was rectified on the day, and the responsible individual took urgent steps to ensure that organisation-wide monitoring will reduce the risk of this hazard reoccurring. Recruitment follows safe practice guidance, including checking all previous employment where the applicant has worked with vulnerable people or children. One employment history did not contain months, just years, but again this oversight was rectified immediately by the registered manager and passed on to the organisation’s recruitment team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed effectively by a suitably qualified registered manager and a team of three deputy managers. Staff work consistently towards the aims and ethos as detailed in the home’s statement of purpose. They are able to explain how they do this in their own words, and demonstrate a genuine understanding of their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff say they are well supported and have access to managers at all times. Staff are particularly positive about the process of supervision, which is reflective and challenging while being child centred. Children’s engagement in annual appraisals is also deemed to be extremely challenging and useful in staff development. Staff find training effective and make good use of the therapeutic workshops to increase their skills in supporting and understanding each child. The staff mentoring scheme to support newer staff, which is provided by a team which includes a manager and senior member of staff, is particularly noteworthy. New starters and less experienced staff have found this invaluable for their learning and development, saying they ‘learn by doing’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The leaders and managers in the home are passionate about their work, and they work tirelessly to ensure that children have the best opportunities possible. Clear reviews of goals and targets ensure that even the slightest progress is recorded and celebrated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Effective joint working with partner agencies ensures consistency in approach towards meeting each child’s placement objectives. All staff identify the key qualities that they bring to the team and to the children’s care. They use this knowledge to inform thinking about the children and how this links to the desirable characteristics for future foster carers. This helps the professional network to identify foster care placements that have the best chance of meeting each child’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers are appropriately reflective and evaluative of the service provided. A range of monitoring tools are utilised effectively to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the home. The manager’s review of the quality of care provided to children is particularly evaluative and aspirational, and links to the home’s development plan. Children produce Inspection report children’s home: SC037309 6 their own home development plan, which has clear success criteria and completion dates for actions. In addition, children have been involved in creating ‘what makes a good key worker’ sessions. The home has used these sessions to improve practice.

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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: SC037309 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, Hythe Road, Smeeth, Ashford, Kent TN25 6SP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nicholas Barnett

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Inspector

Jennie Christopher, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC037309 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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