Children's home run by Kent County Council in Ashford

Inspection report children’s home: SC439282 1 SC439282 Registered provider: Kent County Council

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This short-break service is run by the local authority. The service also provides a day- care service during some school holidays. It offers a service for children who have a physical and/or learning disability. The maximum number of children who can stay at the home at any time is four.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 2 May 2018.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC439282 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/03/2019 Full Good 21/03/2017 Full Outstanding 24/05/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/12/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC439282 3

p.2

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.

p.3

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—

p.3

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.3

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h)) 31/03/2020

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.3

Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 31/03/2020

p.3

Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

p.3

Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

p.3

Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

p.3

Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(ii)(iv)(v)) 31/03/2020

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months. 31/03/2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC439282 4 In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

p.3

Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

p.4

Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

p.4

Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c))

p.4

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) Specifically, staff should frequently review risk assessments and record that this has been done to show that they have reassessed any known risks.  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph

p.4

Recommendations

10.11) Specifically, leaders and managers should annually refresh the whole staff team’s training for managing epilepsy. Inspection report children’s home: SC439282 5

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build very good relationships with staff who are attentive and have a genuine passion for caring for the children staying at the home. The relationships between staff and parents are strong and allow for the easy communication of key information.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s voice is promoted by the staff team and has had an impact on the service delivery. For example, there are now plans in place to decorate one of the bedrooms with a space theme. This idea came from suggestions from the children. Over the summer months, children were given the opportunity to make activity suggestions that led to enjoyable experiences. These included trips to a zoo, a castle, the cinema and the park.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged, and supported, to make friends with each other when they stay at the home. Staff are attentive to these friendships and consider the mix of children. This means that friendships are developed and can flourish. A good example of this was observed by the inspector during the inspection.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Target-setting focuses on independence tasks and children make progress in respect of their starting points. For example, one child is now able to make and strip their own bed, a task they were previously unable to do. The home provides ample opportunity for children to experience play and sensory stimulation. New sensory and play equipment has been purchased for the garden following the recommendation from the last inspection. This makes stays at the home more enjoyable and expands on play opportunities.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from an onsite practice educator who supports staff in delivering the healthcare tasks that are required to keep the children safe and well.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience well-planned transitions when leaving the service. Staff share information regarding the new service with the children. The new service also visits the child while they are accessing the home. This has helped to reduce anxieties the children may have about accessing a new service.

p.5

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

Staff work in accordance with the local safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures. The priority that safeguarding is given ensures that all children are safe, and their well-being is promoted.

p.5

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

There is now a safeguarding chronology in place which clearly details concerns from the point of identification to outcome. This makes it easier for managers to monitor these incidents effectively and for key information to be located when required. Inspection report children’s home: SC439282 6 The detail of the information recorded in the physical intervention records is not sufficient. The lack of information means that managers are unable to make a clear assessment of whether or not an intervention was appropriate.

p.5

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

Although individual risk assessments are in place, there are occasions where these have not been formally reviewed for an extended period of time. However, staff are aware of the risks and vulnerabilities presented by children who are due to stay. Skilled de- escalation and a calm approach mean that staff manage behaviour well and sanctions are infrequent. Where they are used, they are low-level and short-lived and focused on children being able to continue with their activities and progress.

p.6

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

The home is well maintained and free from any avoidable hazards. However, there have been times since the last inspection when the weekly fire safety checks have not been completed consistently. This has not been identified by leaders and managers. It is noted that the appropriate checks have been completed more recently. Frequent fire drills are completed to ensure that the plans in place for evacuation are effective in practice.

p.6

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

Leaders and managers can talk at length about the individual children, their progress and any current concerns. This means that they are able to ensure that the right support is being accessed by the children. They are passionate about the service and have engaged well in recent months with the independent visitor, who has made recommendations for improvement that are being acted on and taken seriously. However, there are still shortfalls.

p.6

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

Despite some progress since the last inspection, there remain shortfalls in how the home is managed. For example, the manager’s own monitoring systems are failing to identify shortfalls, and the requirement, relating to regulation 45, from the last inspection has not been met. This lack of monitoring and review means that there is insufficient improvement in the home.

p.6

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

Supervision frequency is not in line with what is recorded in the home’s statement of purpose. There have been significant gaps in supervision. For example, new members of staff have not received supervision in line with what is agreed in the supervision agreements. This is particularly important for new members of staff, who would benefit from additional support during their probation period. Although staff told the inspector they feel well supported, this is a missed opportunity to formally meet with staff and discuss role-related themes.

p.6

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

Although staff training is, on the whole, up to date and of a good standard, some staff have not received refresher training in managing epilepsy. This is, however, being addressed by managers and refresher training is being arranged for the staff that require it. Inspection report children’s home: SC439282 7

p.6

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.

p.7

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: SC439282 8

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Inspector

Daniel Healy, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC439282 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9