Children's Home run by Parkview Care (Broadstairs) Limited in Kent

Inspection report children’s home: 1258386 1 Registered provider: Parkview Care (Broadstairs) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by a private organisation. It provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since July 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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 14 September 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 20 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1258386 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/02/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 17/12/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 21/06/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/03/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1258386 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who live at this home make good progress. Managers and staff are committed to making sure that children are encouraged and enabled to attend full- time education. As a result, children’s life chances are improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff take pride in ensuring that well-planned key-work sessions help children to achieve meaningful goals. One child is currently working through a programme of key-work sessions about healthy relationships. The acting manager is monitoring their progress using a key-work tracker. The child’s social worker told the inspector that they were impressed by the way the key-work sessions had been adapted for the child’s specific learning needs. For example, they use pictures and task repetition. This individualised approach maximises the chance of successfully helping children to learn the skills and understanding that they need to prepare for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The progress children make in their social and emotional well-being is measured by managers using a risk management overview tool. This document provides a clear description of children’s current risks and shows how they have changed over time. There has been a significant reduction in the number of incidents involving one child. They proudly told the inspector that they are ‘more able to reflect on things and open up to people now’ because of their relationships with staff. The positive relationships that children enjoy with staff makes children feel secure and cared for, and enables them to make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Weekly meetings are a supportive forum for children to express how they are feeling and to have a say in the day-to-day running of the home. During the meetings, opportunities are also created for children to talk about a current news item. One example seen during the inspection was a discussion about the success of a teenage skateboarding athlete who was taking part in the Olympic games. The message children said they took away from the discussion was that they understand the importance of following their dreams. Meaningful opportunities to talk to staff about themselves and the world around them are empowering experiences for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is an activity planner in place which identifies a range of opportunities for children to have interesting experiences both at home and in the wider community. The planner includes event days of national celebrations and children take part in related fun activities. This creates opportunities for children to learn about equality and diversity in a way that is accessible to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers are committed to ensuring that children have placement stability. The staff team are resilient when faced with challenges and stick with children through a crisis, rather than end their placements. During the inspection, one child was not present at the home because they were staying in another location with staff. This arrangement began following a significant incident, which had an impact on all the Inspection report children’s home: 1258386 4 children. Managers told the inspector that the rationale for the break away from the home was to provide dedicated individual support the child to work through their current crisis in order to help them return home and cope better in a shared living environment. The inspector had a virtual meeting with the child, who said that they had been learning about peer pressure that day. The alternative to this time away from the home would have been for the provider to end the placement immediately

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

after the incident occurred. Managers have planned a sensitive reintroduction of the child to the home when all children are ready. This flexible approach has reduced the risk of an unplanned ending and given the children a positive experience of repairing relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Proactive steps are taken to involve children’s families in care planning. A comprehensive plan has been put in place to support a child who is soon to move back to their parents’ care. A family member of the child spoke very positively to the inspector about the effort staff are making to enable the child to have frequent home visits before the move, despite the lengthy journey. The child’s parents also described being reassured by the outreach support, which the home will offer after the child leaves. Continuity of care is promoted by working in partnership with people who are important to children.

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

Safeguarding children is a priority. Before a child moves into the home, a risk assessment is completed to consider the child’s needs alongside those of children who already live there. There is an expectation that the placing social worker, who has detailed knowledge of the child, completes part of the risk assessment document. This enables managers to undertake a well-informed assessment of the likely impact of the child moving into the home, which results in careful planning and matching.

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

Working closely with other professionals is given high priority by managers. Social workers have access to the home’s electronic files of the child they are responsible for. They can view all the information being held about the child, including daily recordings. This transparent approach demonstrates a culture of openness and enhances children’s safety.

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

Managers recognise the importance of learning from safeguarding incidents. They carry out thorough investigations, involving external safeguarding agencies when necessary. They ensure that learning is shared with the wider staff team. This responsive approach reduces the risk of harm due to a recurrence.

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

Staff receive regular supervision and good-quality training that is relevant to the needs of the children that they are looking after. However, supervision records do not demonstrate opportunities for staff to fully explore safeguarding practice within supervision. As a result, there are missed opportunities to embed learning from safeguarding training and ensure staff stay alert to signs that children are at risk of harm. Inspection report children’s home: 1258386 5 Managers encourage staff to respond to behavioural incidents in a way that promotes learning for the child. One staff member described this in practice. They said that instead of using sanctions, children are now encouraged to discuss their actions in ‘make it right’ meetings. These involve the child being helped to think empathetically about the impact of their actions on others, and what they could do to help the people who have been affected. Staff are encouraged to ensure that all

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

behavioural incidents are recorded using language that accurately reflects the situation and that considers children’s individual needs. The overall approach to supporting children to stay safe and to learn good behaviour demonstrates managers’ commitment to ensuring that children become increasingly safe while having a positive lived experience of care.

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good

There have been several changes to the management team since the last inspection and there continues to be no registered manager. In recent months, the acting manager, with support from senior leaders, has been successful in implementing changes to practice, which have improved the quality of care. The new manager recruited to be in day-to-day charge of the home has been appointed very recently and is yet to demonstrate fitness as part of the Ofsted registration process. The manager needs to apply to become registered without delay to ensure that there is more stability for children and staff.

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good

Only a small proportion of staff working at the home have the necessary qualifications as required by the children’s home regulations (2015). Managers recognise this and are seeking to address it by closely monitoring progress towards the qualification in staff supervision.

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good

Managers advocate on behalf of children when they identify shortfalls in the service they are receiving from other professionals. One child was already experiencing anxiety when managers were told that the child was soon to have a change of social worker. Managers made sure that the local authority were aware of the importance of ensuring that there was a well-planned handover, which involved the child at a pace that they would be able to manage. Proactively advocating in this way enables wraparound care for children to make sure all their needs are recognised and being met.

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good

Managers have not ensured that children are aware of the contents of their risk assessments. Seeking to read their own risk assessment when the opportunity arose created a distressing situation for one child. They did so without support from staff and learned information about themselves that they were previously unaware of. The other children told the inspector that not knowing what is being written about them bothers them. Children not being involved in making plans to reduce risk limits their effectiveness and is unsettling for children. Inspection report children’s home: 1258386 6 Leaders and managers have sound awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. There is a comprehensive service development plan in place to further improve the service. Managers demonstrate a commitment to ensuring continuous improvement to address the shortfalls that they have identified. Inspection report children’s home: 1258386 7

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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 registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is an organisation or a partnership. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the newly appointed manager must complete an application to register with Ofsted. 30 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(b)) 30 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside the home. Staff should help children to understand how to protect themselves, feel protected and be protected from significant harm. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)

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Recommendations

 Staff need the knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate a child is in any way at risk of harm. The registered person should ensure that skills in safeguarding are gained and refreshed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12) Inspection report children’s home: 1258386 8

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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: 1258386 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Parkview Care (Broadstairs) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Brentano Suite Solar House, 915 High Road, North Finchley, London N12 8QJ

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Inspector

Helen Simmons, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1258386 10 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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