Children's Home run by Kent County Council in Kent

Inspection report children’s home: SC037282 1 SC037282 Registered provider: Kent County Council

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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 children’s home is operated by a local authority and provides short-break care for children who have learning difficulties, physical disabilities and associated complex needs. The maximum number of children who can stay at the home at any time is seven.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 26 February 2016.

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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: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC037282 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/03/2019 Full Outstanding 07/03/2018 Full Outstanding 30/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/08/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC037282 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(h)) 10/01/2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC037282 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children thrive in the warm and nurturing environment created by staff. The multi- disciplinary team, including health staff, works cohesively to meet the needs of the children in their care. As a result, children are able to relax in a safe and calm environment, leading to them learning new skills and accessing activities they would not otherwise be able to. Children make excellent progress in many areas. Examples of progress include no longer needing a door gate to settle, using a standard bed instead of a safe space and improved communication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Parents are highly complimentary of the service provided. One is particularly pleased with how well staff supported their children during a particularly difficult phase, which helped to improve the children’s communication and self-care skills. Social workers echoed parents’ praise for the service, for how approachable staff are and the way in which they appropriately challenge decisions. They are pleased with the progress that children make and find the joint working between care and health staff a particular strength of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s views are held central to all planning. Displays in the dining room show what has been agreed with groups of children. These include choosing items for a picnic and ways that they will celebrate Halloween. Children choose topical activities, including holding their own ‘Bake off’ and bush tucker trials, using coloured rice and pasta as creepy crawlies. Photographs for memory books and displays show how much children enjoyed these new experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children enjoy a genuine community presence through visits to local parks, cinemas and restaurants. The service holds fundraising open days during the year, and staff and children were busy planning for the upcoming Christmas party, with colourful displays, decorations and a Makaton advent calendar. Culture and identity are held as central when considering children’s needs. Plans are highly detailed with regard to each child’s family culture, the way in which children celebrate events and their place within their family. Displays in the service celebrate as many events as possible from religious festivals to national sausage week!

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

Staff have a strong understanding of child protection and their roles in safeguarding children. They monitor changes in behaviour and share concerns with relevant partner agencies. Investigations into concerns are thorough, and lessons are learned when needed. Complacent practice is actively challenged, and staff are supported to understand what may be outdated, which results in continuous learning for the team. The manager is reflective when reviewing incidents, but records do not show the full extent of this.

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

Staff are skilled in recognising what children are communicating through their behaviour Inspection report children’s home: SC037282 5 and actions. Staff effectively use redirection and de-escalation techniques, with compassion. This helps children to manage anxiety and distress. Physical intervention is the last resort and is mostly used to redirect for short periods of time. Records are clear and show close liaison with schools to review behaviour and approaches across all settings. However, the current format does not allow space to detail what actions staff have taken to reduce the need for a physical intervention. Plans do not consistently identify which professionals have agreed to the use of equipment that physically restricts movement, such as harnesses for transport and door gates. However, plans are clear that the use is time limited, and the aim is for children to learn to manage behaviours

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

without the need for physical restrictions.

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

A new fire system is in the process of being installed in the service. This has been ongoing for several months, leaving unconnected wires hanging from various points around the building. While the wires are not live, they pose a potential risk to children who may try and grab them. The home’s managers have made the estates team aware of this, but there has been a lack of action to remedy the issue.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers have high aspirations for children and equally high expectations of the staff team. The registered manager has an intuitive knowledge of the service, recognising strengths and weaknesses and the need to constantly improve in order to provide an outstanding service to children and their families. She has strong oversight of the service and is supported to maintain high-quality standards of care by an enthusiastic and competent deputy manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The responsible individual acknowledged the need for a change in independent person to monitor and improve the quality of service provided. The manager’s monitoring report in relation to the quality of care is not sufficiently reflective or evaluative and does not therefore reflect the excellent leadership and high standards of care. The development plan for the service is ambitious and realistic, focusing on how all aspects of care can be improved for children accessing the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff said they are well supported and can approach managers and the responsible individual at any time. They said that they have the training they need to provide high- quality care and support to children. They find access to the nurse on site particularly useful. The majority of staff hold at least a level 3 qualification. New staff are enrolling onto the level 4 diploma, and senior staff are completing the level 5. This investment in staff skills and knowledge has a positive impact on their approach to care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children’s plans are clear about how to support them across the day. Goals and targets are identified in partnership with parents and other professionals in the child’s life. There are at times gaps in information across the plans due to some requiring repeated information, although this does not have an impact on the consistency and quality of care that children receive. Highly effective joint working with partner agencies and parents ensures a consistent approach to supporting children’s physical and emotional needs. The management team and staff are confident in challenging parents and partner Inspection report children’s home: SC037282 6 agencies if they do not feel that an approach to care is appropriate or if the child is not receiving the highest-quality service.

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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: SC037282 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Kent County Council, Sessions House, County Road, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1XQ

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Inspectors

Jennie Christopher, social care inspector (lead) Vevene Muhammad, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC037282 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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