Children's home run by Carlar Care Limited

Inspection report children's home: 2592030 1 Registered provider: Carlar Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to four children. The home’s statement of purpose states that it provides specialist therapeutic care for children. The manager was registered with Ofsted in June 2020.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: Not applicable Inspection report children's home: 2592030 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional, social and well-being needs are met through the provider’s therapeutic approach and model of care. Children are supported by planned individual work informed by an initial assessment. There is an ongoing professional relationship with a therapeutic service. A multi-disciplinary team of professionals provides a range of services to the home. As a result, children receive high-quality therapeutic intervention. Children have engaged well with this support, which has had a positive impact on their self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are looked after in a homely environment. Staff work hard to ensure that the home is personalised and reflects the children who live there. The size of the home allows for rooms dedicated to art and learning, as well as communal living areas. There is also a large garden and a den for outdoor play. Children use all areas of the home as there are no locked areas, such as an office. This has helped promote the sense of home for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children have detailed quality care plans that identify individual needs and how staff can best support them. While children’s progress is recorded on a weekly basis, this is not routinely reviewed. This makes it difficult to see how individual children have developed since joining the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a good variety of activities available for the children. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions, children have been able to attend clubs and go on trips to local areas.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff set clear expectations regarding educational attendance and achievement to achieve good outcomes for the children. For children who are unable to attend school full time, educational trips supplement learning opportunities. As a result, children previously unable to access education are now able to do so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers advocate strongly for children. When children’s needs are not being sufficiently met managers are persistent in securing services on their behalf. This has had a positive impact on improving children’s circumstances and has been particularly successful in relation to accessing and benefiting from educational opportunities. Through planned one-to-one work, children are encouraged to reflect on their experiences and histories, as well as what they want to achieve in the future.

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

Risks to children are identified, understood and well managed by staff. Children’s risk assessments are clear and are reviewed regularly and updated routinely by the manager. Staff ensure that these plans are followed and updated after behavioural Inspection report children's home: 2592030 3 incidents or missing-from-home episodes. Children benefit from a home where their safety is a primary concern and they feel safe as a result.

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

Episodes of children going missing are managed well. Staff are aware of their responsibilities and follow clear strategies. The manager ensures that there are clear and consistent boundaries in place. Children are involved in the review of their risk management plans and are aware of the risks in the community. This has led to a notable reduction in episodes of going missing for children in the home.

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

Health and safety issues are managed effectively. There is a clear, easy to use monitoring system to ensure that all staff know what they need to complete and within timescales that are clearly set out. Any resulting actions identified are quickly responded to by managers.

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

When children are subject to restraint, reports are completed following incidents. Records evidence that both staff and children have opportunities for a debrief. However, records fail to show that children’s experiences are always fully taken into account. Also, records do not detail actions taken by staff to de-escalate matters or the holds used during restraints. This reduces opportunities for the manager to scrutinise individual incidents effectively, to ensure staff are practising safely and to identify any patterns or themes that may require further training and/or development.

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

Electronic recording systems rely on staff to access, review and update different sections of children’s files. However, this has not happened consistently, and it is difficult to make sense of children’s progress as a result. Risk assessments and plans are not consistently updated or reviewed, which means staff are not always up to date with children’s individual needs and progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have fostered a nurturing culture in the home. Staff speak positively about working here and have a clear understanding of expectations of them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from a skilled and committed staff team who provide care and therapeutic interventions, both in planned sessions and on an informal basis. As a result, there has been a reduction in incidents and improved engagement of children in one-to-one work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported by managers. There is good-quality induction and staff receive regular supervision. This is supplemented by a comprehensive training programme that reflects the home’s model of care. Staff talk positively about the support they receive and feel listened to. Supervision records demonstrate a good balance between individual well-being and professional development. Clinical meetings take place monthly, allowing regular review and planning of children’s therapeutic engagement. Inspection report children's home: 2592030 4 The manager has an in-depth understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. The manager responds in a timely manner to any shortfalls in practice. By using a lessons-learned approach, the manager creates a culture of reflective practice. This allows staff to adapt their practice to meet the needs of individual children. However, opportunities to learn and reflect have not been

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

consistently supported by the Regulation 44 process. The independent visitor has not routinely scrutinised incidents or spoken with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have developed strong working relationships with agency professionals. Communication is effective and any changes to children’s behaviour or care plans are routinely discussed. Children’s views are sought and shared with their social worker and decision-making is collaborative.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Equality and diversity issues are responded to well when raised by the children. These discussions would benefit in being led by the staff, to allow children to have guided conversations to improve their knowledge and develop the culture of the home. Inspection report children's home: 2592030 5

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential.

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(2)(f)) 31 August 2021

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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 a description of the measure and its duration

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv)(c)) 31 August 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the manager has sufficient capacity to ensure that the quality standards are met for each child in the home. This specifically relates to ensuring that all staff consistently follow the home’s policies and procedures. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.7) Inspection report children's home: 2592030 6  The registered person should ensure that children understand what local leisure and other cultural or religious services are on offer for them and support them to participate in activities in the community and wider if appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.6)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. (‘Guide to the

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Recommendations

children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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’. Inspection report children's home: 2592030 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Carlar Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 21, 10 Churchill Square, Kings Hill, Maidstone, Kent ME19 4UY

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Inspector

Mark Newington, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2592030 8 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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