Children's Home run by Tulip Care One Limited t/as TulipCare in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: SC361090 1 SC361090 Registered provider: Tulip Care One Limited t/a TulipCare Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and run by a private organisation. It provides care and accommodation for up to five children of the same gender with social and emotional difficulties. According to its statement of purpose, the home provides ‘therapeutic residential care and education for children whose emotional, social, and academic development has been severely disrupted by negative experiences throughout their lives’.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 27 January 2021 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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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC361090 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/07/2019 Full Good 01/08/2018 Full Good 09/08/2017 Full Good 09/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC361090 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The therapeutic approach to care planning for children is embedded throughout children’s journeys in this home. Observations of practice demonstrate how the staff know and respond to the children they care for. Staff are attentive to the children’s changing emotions and their approach to the children reflects this. Staff were observed responding to a child who had become upset and frustrated by using clear language, instruction and boundaries that the child responded well to. Consequently, they were able to defuse a situation quickly, resulting in minimal disruption for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s education attainment is strong and reflects the levels of staff support. When children are not attending mainstream education, there is an education plan in place for each child. One child who previously did not attend any formal education has a private tutor and is educated in the home’s learning hub on a full timetable. This includes links with the local community, such as visiting a horse-riding centre and a charity where they are currently preparing care packages for the homeless community. Feedback from another child’s school includes, ‘I have always found the manager and key worker to be very approachable and they listen and act on issues that I raise with them. It is good for [the child] to know that we all work together to get the best outcomes.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children are supported to move on in a planned way. Senior leaders, staff and the therapy team place an emphasis on moves for children being well thought out, to provide the best chance for success. One child was recently reunited with their family and still receives outreach support from the home’s therapist and registered manager. This shows the provider’s commitment and care about children’s journeys after their life in the home, and the importance of the continuation of relationships which have been a part of children’s lives growing up.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have regular meetings with their key worker to talk about topics that are important to them. This includes discussions on how recent events could be having an impact on how they feel. One record showed staff had gently addressed a child’s feelings around changes in their birth family. By addressing this delicate subject, staff are supporting this child to recognise feelings that may have contributed to a recent spike in incidents and to work together to understand and process these emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a staff team from a wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. This is shared with children through the exploration of food, celebrations and experiences. During the inspection, one child was sitting with staff using henna art to decorate their arms and hands. This was used as a therapeutic experience to aid relaxation and calm. This practice opens children up to the wider world around them and gives them the opportunity to explore the faiths and cultures of others. Inspection report for children’s home: SC361090 4

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

Staff’s responses to children who are at risk of going missing or being exploited are well planned. Staff actively look for and contact children to try and reduce the length of time and the frequency of them being missing. One child who was missing for a short period of time was supported with key-work discussions to look at stranger danger and how to keep safe, given their level of vulnerability and age. This child has not gone missing since this isolated incident.

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

Records show that physical intervention is only used when it is the most appropriate measure. However, not all records show evidence of children being spoken to about the measure or of records being scrutinised by senior leaders. This is a missed opportunity to review with children the reasons for the intervention and to provide learning opportunities for staff and managers.

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

Staff have worked well with children to reduce self-harm incidents. One child who frequently self-harmed on arrival at the home has seen an enormous decrease in this. Such a positive step for this child has contributed to a rise in their self-esteem.

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

E-safety in the home is an important factor in keeping children safe. Children have rules around safe internet practice and mobile phone use, as would be expected of any other child of their age. Restrictions are monitored and staff talk openly to children about e-safety and how to be safer online.

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good

Some areas of monitoring are not well developed. For example, inconsistent records in respect of one child’s risk management plans have gone unnoticed. Consequently, staff provide variable descriptions of what they think the arrangements are in respect of the amount of this child’s agreed free time. This inconsistency presents risks, including confusion for the child and the potential for them to be out of the home on their own beyond the agreed timeframe that is considered to be safe.

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good

Staff feel well supported by the registered manager and there are additional support mechanisms in place, such as group supervision and regular meetings with the home’s therapist. However, individual supervision arrangements for staff have lacked sufficient frequency. This restricts the staff’s opportunity for reflection, development and professional growth.

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good

Some inconsistences in the safer recruitment checks for the responsible individual were identified during the inspection and appropriate action was immediately undertaken to address this shortfall. Other than this example, the safer recruitment process for staff is routinely sound.

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good

One member of staff has not been registered on the appropriate qualification pathway for their role. This was an oversight by the provider due to this staff Inspection report for children’s home: SC361090 5 member completing a degree in social work, which they believed was deemed an equivalent qualification.

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good

The statement of purpose for the home is reviewed regularly. However, it does not provide all the required information, in accordance with the regulation.

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good

The registered manager has not consistently notified Ofsted without delay of serious events. On one occasion, they failed to submit a notification of a serious incident. These shortfalls compromise Ofsted’s ability to monitor the staff’s management of serious incidents in between inspections.

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good

The registered manager is a strong advocate for the children. When necessary, she challenges the decisions of others, such as a recent example of a placing authority’s lack of support for a child with significant welfare and exploitation risks. Inspection report for children’s home: SC361090 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—

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(h)) 25 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1)) 25 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

An individual may only carry on a children’s home if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (5).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of the matters in paragraphs 1 and 3 to 6 of Schedule 2. (Regulation 26 (1) (5)(b)) 31 December

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. 30 December Inspection report for children’s home: SC361090 7 The relevant date is—

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 25 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 28 January 2022

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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 for children’s home: SC361090 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Tulip Care One Limited t/a TulipCare

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 19-20, Bourne Court, Unity Trading Estate, Southend Road, Woodford Green, Essex IG8 8HD

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Inspector

Sara Stoker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC361090 9 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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