Children's home run by The Drive Care Homes Ltd in Bexley

Inspection report children‟s home: SC040175 1 SC040175 Registered provider: The Drive Care Homes Ltd

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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 by a private company. Its statement of purpose specifies that it will provide care and accommodation for up to six young people, aged between eight and 18, who have mild to severe learning disabilities. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 12 to 13 November 2019

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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 good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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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: SC040175 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/06/2018 Full Good 08/01/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 22/08/2017 Full Good 29/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC040175 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 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 that staff—

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(vi)) 22/12/2019

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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—

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Requirement Due date

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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(g)(ii)) 22/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1)) 22/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23) 22/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the 29/02/2020 Inspection report children‟s home: SC040175 4 Level 3 Diploma”) or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

The relevant date is— in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (1)(4)(a)(b)(5)(a)(b)) The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that all staff, including agency staff who work regularly at the home, receive practice-related supervision. 22/12/2019

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with a core team of staff that they know well. The staff understand the children’s needs. The focus on ‘total communication’ means that the staff encourage the children to communicate using a wide range of methods. One child is now using full sentences to communicate, while others are using words instead of noises to make their needs known. As a result, the children’s communication is improving. The children are learning new skills. Staff use an ‘active encouragement’ approach to support the children to take part in daily living tasks. Some children have increased their self-care skills. One child is becoming more independent with their personal care. Others can prepare snacks and meals. A parent said that their child ‘is doing really well; they are learning new skills all the time’. New admissions to the home are carefully considered. Some children who had initially

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

had short breaks have become full-time residents. However, the compatibility and risk assessments are not always updated when such changes happen. This is a missed opportunity to consider the changing needs of the children. Children leaving the home have experienced well-planned moves that have included a gradual handing over of their care to their new carers. Consequently, the children experience well-planned care through their journey at this home. Healthy living is encouraged. The staff ensure that the children’s routine health checks take place and, where required, specialist help is sought. However, staff describe dispensing medication into a cup in one room, then to the children in their bedrooms. Although there has been no negative impact on the children, this practice is unsafe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage the children to access the community. Memory books show the Inspection report children‟s home: SC040175 5 children enjoying a wide range of activities and trips out. They also include photos from the culturally themed meals, which are a popular activity where the children and staff share foods from their own cultures. The memory books provide the children with a lovely lasting record of their time at the home.

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

A well-established safeguarding culture is understood by the staff. They are confident in raising concerns. Leaders and managers share information appropriately with the wider safeguarding network. Where there have been concerns raised regarding individual staff members, specific risk assessments and processes are activated and the manager ensures that those individual staff members do not work directly with children while investigations take place. These clear strategies promote the safety of the children. Care plans and risk assessments are clearly written. Staff demonstrate a good working knowledge of the plans, which are adapted as the children’s needs change. The staff use social stories to help the children to understand their own needs. The children’s views are regularly sought through individual meetings with their key workers and in regular house meetings. Consequently, the children’s views are included in their plans.

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

Complaints have been investigated. However, the reports do not evidence clear learning or reflection. In one example, a protracted incident had occurred. However, the provider failed to reflect that some delays were caused due to some staff being new in post and more experienced staff being slow to respond. Furthermore, detail is lacking in some reports, which may hamper future investigations. Communication within the wider network is largely positive. However, some communication difficulties were reported by one professional. In addition, not all staff who have attended meetings have given clear and professional contributions, and in other examples concerns have arisen about the individual communication style of staff. The provider is taking steps to address this through individual supervisions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is highly motivated and child-focused in his approach. He holds high aspirations for the children. The staff speak highly of him. He uses the daily group meetings to coach and mentor the staff, and to ensure that they are clear about his expectations. Frequent supervision gives the staff clear reflection and direction for their practice. However, regular agency staff are not currently supervised. This is a missed opportunity to provide these staff members with practice-related supervision. Staff speak positively about the training that they receive. Specialist training has been commissioned to give staff additional knowledge about the specific needs of the children living at the home. However, there is some drift with staff completing the level three qualification. Not all permanent staff have achieved the qualification within the required timescales. Furthermore, not all agency staff are suitably qualified to level three.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has systems in place to monitor the service. He tracks staff progress against weekly objectives to ensure that the care is being delivered in line with the home’s statement of purpose. However, the provider is not currently submitting the Inspection report children‟s home: SC040175 6 staff names and qualifications to Ofsted, as required by regulation, within this document. The physical environment of the home has significantly improved. The children’s rooms have been personalised to their specific likes. Shared areas have been redecorated. Development plans for the home include the introduction of a sensory room to provide the children with a specialist room to relax in and explore their sensory needs.

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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: SC040175 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Drive Care Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 18 Hatherley Road, SIDCUP, Kent DA14 4BG

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Inspector

Sarah Olliver, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC040175 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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