Children's Home run by The Drive Care Homes Ltd in Kent

Inspection report children's home: SC063689 1 SC063689 Registered provider: The Drive Care Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home is owned by a private company. Its statement of purpose specifies that it will provide care and accommodation for up to six children and young people, aged between eight and 18 years, who have mild to severe learning difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

This home has not had a registered manager since 10 March 2020.

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Information about this children's home

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

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Information about this children's home

Ofsted last visited this setting on 20 October 2020 to carry out a monitoring 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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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 12 February 2020

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Declined in effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children's home: SC063689 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 14/08/2019 Full Good 31/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC063689 3

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requires improvement to be good

The consistently high level of agency staff employed in the home limits the progress and experience of the children. The benefits associated with a permanent staff, such as teamworking, staff being invested in the development of the home, and consistency of care, are diluted. The opportunities for the children to build trusted and secure relationships with adults who are invested in their progress and enjoyment of life, are therefore reduced.

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requires improvement to be good

The home is spacious and clean but there are few signs that staff are working together to enhance and develop the indoor and outdoor areas to create a special space for the children where they can develop feelings of permanence, build positive memories and make the best possible progress. For instance, the garden is somewhat overgrown and flowerpots are empty.

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requires improvement to be good

Despite the limitations in staffing, the children do make progress in their health and learning and do enjoy positive relationships with some members of staff. However, few examples were found to show that the children routinely share experiences in the home, such as shared mealtimes and regular joint recreational activities. This detracts from the quality of their day-to-day experiences and reduces their opportunities to have fun and learn the social skills that shared experiences would afford them.

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requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers consider the needs and vulnerabilities of new children carefully before they move in. They will not make a decision to accept a referral until they are confident that they are equipped and ready to assume the care of a child. Plans for children's care are well formulated and are available to staff as soon as the children move in. Staff familiarise themselves with these plans and are quick to understand the immediate needs and preferences of the children. This helps children to settle and to start developing feelings of security.

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requires improvement to be good

Planning and preparation for when children move out are thorough and careful. This helps to make their next steps positive and affirming. For one young person who recently moved on, staff went to great efforts to ensure that they marked this occasion to help him celebrate his time in the home and move on positively.

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requires improvement to be good

Agency staff are not vetted to the same degree as the staff appointed permanently. Leaders and managers do not sufficiently satisfy themselves that agency staff are skilled and competent, or that they meet qualification requirements, before they start caring for the children. They also rely on agencies to carry out the required processes for safe recruitment, and do not Inspection report children's home: SC063689 4 routinely verify this themselves. Given the high levels of agency staffing, this places the children at potential risk of harm.

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requires improvement to be good

The needs and vulnerabilities of the children are, however, well understood by the staff, and the plans to guide staff in keeping them safe are clear. Staff are attentive to the children and good levels of supervision are maintained. Although situated on a busy road, the home is secure, and the children are well protected from potential threats and hazards. Good levels of support and supervision are maintained when the children travel to and from school, and when they are out in the community.

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requires improvement to be good

There has been no recorded incident of the use physical intervention during this inspection period. Staff manage behaviour incidents well and demonstrate patience and understanding to help children when they are upset. There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home.

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requires improvement to be good

Although the children are kept safe, the high levels of agency staffing do not promote feelings of security, permanence and belonging.

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be good

There has not been a registered manager in this home for the past 15 months. This has meant that there has been no clear direction for the service with regard to improving standards in order to create a home where children will thrive. A manager was appointed in December 2020 and commenced their application for registration with Ofsted in January 2021.

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be good

Interim management arrangements lack authority and vision and have focused mainly on the day-to-day operation of the home. To some extent this has been due to the impact of the pandemic, and the need to maintain sufficiency of staffing. There has, however, been an overall lack of attention to the development and improvement of the home, and to raising the quality of the care being provided to children.

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be good

Weak recruitment practice, that includes a generic advertisement for both adult and child carers, has contributed to the difficulties in establishing a permanent and cohesive staff team which is fully invested in the home and in the children who live there. Although leaders and managers recognise the weaknesses in the excessive use of agency staff, they have continued taking children in who require high staffing levels. This means that the high number of agency staff used will, if not addressed, continue to have an impact on children’s opportunities to experience consistent care and relationships.

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be good

There is a satisfactory supervision policy in place, but this is not being implemented in practice. The quality of supervision for staff is poor. For example, meetings do not take place with the agreed frequency, and there is no focus on safeguarding . All staff interviewed, however, reported feeling well Inspection report children's home: SC063689 5 supported by leaders and managers, and were positive about the training they receive.

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be good

Current disciplinary procedures are not aligned to children's residential care and do not meet requirements. For example, staff failure to report safeguarding concerns is not specified as a disciplinary offence.

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be good

The home’s statement of purpose is vague does not, for example, outline a clear ethos and approach for providing care to children.

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be good

The systems in place for management monitoring of the service are not effective. This means that managers do not systematically look at aspects of the service that may impact on the quality of care. The reports produced by the home’s independent visitor lack rigour and challenge. This undermines an important level independent scrutiny that could be used to help inform the manager of areas for service development.

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be good

Some staff who act as shift leaders are relatively inexperienced and meet the guidance as set out in the Quality Standards for this position.

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be good

Despite these identified shortfalls, leaders and managers demonstrate a strong child focus and a determination to make the required improvements. Inspection report children's home: SC063689 6

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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— ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(e)) 23 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. The registered person may only— employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— the individual is of integrity and good character;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 23 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must operate a disciplinary procedure which, in particular— 23 September Inspection report children's home: SC063689 7 provides for the suspension from work of an employee if necessary in the interests of the safety or welfare of children; and provides that the failure on the part of an employee to report an incident of abuse, or suspected abuse, whether past or present, in relation to a child to the appropriate person is a ground on which disciplinary proceedings may be instituted.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of this regulation, “the appropriate person” is the registered person, an officer of HMCI, an officer of the local authority in whose area the home is located or a police officer. (Regulation 33 (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 23 September

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Recommendations

 No more than half the staff on duty at any one time, by day or night at the home should be from an external agency. ('Guide to the children's homes regulation including the quality standards' page 54, paragraph 10.17)

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for deciding what each (regulation 45) review should focus on, based on the specific circumstances of the home at that time. Using their professional judgement, they will decide on what factors to focus on. They will also consider what information or data recorded in the home will form part of the evidence base for their analysis and conclusions. The written report will focus on where and how the quality of care can be improved and/or good standards maintained, and the actions required in the next 6 months to achieve this. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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Recommendations

 Any staff member in a deputy or supervisory role such as ‘shift leader’ should have substantial relevant experience of working in a children’s home and have successfully completed their induction for the home in which they are employed. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 54, paragraph 10.21)

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and Inspection report children's home: SC063689 8 experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. A record of supervision should be kept for staff and should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 61, paragraphs 13.2 and 13.3)

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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: SC063689 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider: The Drive Care Homes Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: The Drive Care Homes Ltd, 18 Hatherley Road, Sidcup, Kent DA14 4BG

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Inspectors:

John Pledger, Social Care Inspector Sara Stoker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC063689 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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Inspectors:

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Inspectors:

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Inspectors:

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