Children's home run by Kids

Inspection report children's home: SC454707 1 SC454707 Registered provider: Kids Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a charity and provides short-break care for up to seven children, aged up to 18 years, with a learning and/or physical disability. The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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

Date of last inspection: 21 October 2019

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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: SC454707 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/10/2019 Full Good 31/07/2018 Full Good 21/09/2017 Full Good 10/10/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive care from a skilled and dedicated staff team. Short-break plans are completed to a good standard and include all necessary information about children’s likes and dislikes, their routines and health needs. The manager ensures that staff attend children’s child-in-need reviews and work in partnership with parents, teachers and social workers to meet the complex needs of children in their care. However, the manager does not have a consistent process in place for reviewing and recording short-break plans. This could mean that important information about children’s needs is missed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager provides a bright and relaxed home environment for children to feel comfortable during their short-break stay. Modern furnishings and a range of toys help children to feel welcome at this home. Children enjoy a sensory garden with a variety of plants and herbs, interactive play equipment and a new accessible swing that has been bought since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to enjoy a range of creative activities in the home and in the community to develop their social skills. For example, children enjoy baking, making pizzas, playing video games and arts and crafts. Children watch films at the in-home cinema, and learn how to plant fruit and vegetables in the extensive vegetable garden, which they then use to cook with. The organisation ensures that trips to the community are paid for to enable children to access new opportunities. Recent trips include visits to local gardens and wildlife parks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of listening to children and of gathering their views about activities they enjoy. Staff use a range of methods effectively to communicate with children, including Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), providing tablets to children, and using children’s Voice Output Communication Aids (VOCAs). Consultation forms, daily records, social stories and progress reports demonstrate how important meeting children’s needs is to staff. Inspection report children's home: SC454707 3 Parents and carers did not share any concerns about the quality of care provided to children. A parent shared positive feedback, telling the inspector that, ‘he is happy with the care provided. [Name of child] enjoys it, she is a fussy eater, but staff really help her with this. She has such fun and likes the staff. I cannot praise them enough.’

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

Since the last inspection, there have been no complaints made by parents or others and no allegations made against staff. Children appear safe when staying at this home.

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

The inspector found that there has been no use of physical restraint at this home, and staff prefer to use distraction and change-of-face techniques to help care for children. Detailed behaviour management plans and risk assessments provide clear actions for staff to follow to help calm and reassure children when they are anxious or upset.

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

Staff have received a range of virtual safeguarding training during the pandemic to ensure that they are equipped to keep children safe. Additional face-to-face training about inter-agency safeguarding has been arranged. Staff have not received training about safeguarding disabled children. During this inspection, the manager booked training with the host local authority to take place in June 2021.

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

Managers ensure that safer recruitment processes are robust so that only properly checked adults can care for vulnerable children who visit this home. For example, staff references are followed up and verified, identity and disclosure and barring checks are in place, and gaps in employment are routinely checked.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is exceptionally experienced and dedicated to providing a nurturing environment for children. She is supported by an enthusiastic and caring deputy manager. Staff shared about the manager: ‘Her management style is faultless as she is supportive, understanding, trustworthy and will always make time for you’ and, ‘one of the best bosses I have worked with.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular and meaningful supervision that enables them to reflect on their practice. There are clear actions recorded so that staff can develop their skills in caring for children. The manager has oversight of all supervision records to monitor practice within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager holds monthly team meetings to share information and help staff to refresh their skills about issues such as the importance of safeguarding processes. Meetings are used as an opportunity to focus on the needs of children and to ensure Inspection report children's home: SC454707 4 there are effective handovers in place when children arrive, so that they receive effectively planned care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children receive care from an experienced and skilled staff team. Staff are up to date with their mandatory training and there are effective systems in place to review and monitor this. It is unclear from a review of staff qualifications during this inspection as to whether some staff’s qualifications are equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Social workers speak highly of the care provided at this short-break home. A social worker told the inspector: ‘I do not have any safeguarding concerns; whenever I have visited (even last minute) it has appeared that the young people are well supported and are clearly comfortable with the support staff. This is demonstrated through their body language and expression e.g. lots of smiling, laughing, and reaching out to staff.’

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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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there is a consistent process in place for the review and recording of short-break plans. 16 July 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC454707 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that an existing qualification is equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare and check whether the existing qualification has appeared in previous children’s homes legislation or national minimum standards. The registered person should keep a record of the information they have considered, to establish ‘equivalence’. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 68, paragraphs 1.1 to 1.4)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 7-9 Elliotts Place, LONDON N1 8HX

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Inspector

Anna Gravelle, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC454707 6 to 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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