Children's Home run by Kent County Council in Kent

Inspection report children's home: SC403850 1 SC403850 Registered provider: Kent County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is a local authority children’s home, providing short breaks for up to six children who have severe learning difficulties and who may also have physical disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home’s manager was registered with Ofsted in November 2018.

p.1

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.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 18 February 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC403850 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/10/2019 Full Good 08/01/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 22/08/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 06/09/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: SC403850 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience well-planned short breaks and are cared for by staff who are attentive and familiar with each child’s personality and needs. Interactions between children and staff are warm and nurturing. Children have an enjoyable time at the home and are supported to make good progress towards goals which are important to them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to helping children to learn how to live as independently as possible. Each child’s care plan describes their individual targets. Providing support to children to help them to achieve their targets is embedded in staff practice. Children are carefully encouraged to help with several practical tasks, such as laying the table for dinner. Their success is celebrated and shared with their parents.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are adept at noticing and rewarding when children achieve something which may seem small, but which is significant for them. One staff member spoke with pride when they described a child’s willingness to gradually start to try different foods. Another staff member explained that two children have developed a friendship with someone other than someone at school for the first time in their lives. Staff have created an environment which enables children to expand their preferences and interests.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are familiar with each child’s methods of communication and enable children to influence decisions about the day-to-day running of the home. There is a particular focus on helping children to make choices about the food that they eat and the activities that they do. Children are treated with dignity and respect, and their views are valued.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Working in partnership with people who are important to children is given high priority. Children’s care and support plans are written collaboratively with children’s parents. The parent of two children who receive short breaks told the inspector that the staff have helped to get the children into a good morning routine. An inclusive approach supports children’s families and promotes continuity of care.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, senior leaders made the decision to accommodate two children who were admitted in an unplanned way. One of the children remained at the home full-time for five months. This had an adverse impact on other children and their families, due to their short breaks being cancelled because of the behavioural needs of the child living at the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager has a development plan to ensure that the environment continues to be maintained to a good standard and is comfortable for children. Careful planning by staff and excellent resources allow children to access a wide range of meaningful activities when they come to stay. Inspection report children's home: SC403850 4

p.3

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

Children’s safety and well-being are priorities for staff. Staff make good use of the multiple information-sharing systems in place, such as the admissions process, handovers, team meetings and the IOA (incidents, observations, and accidents) log. As a result, staff have up-to-date knowledge of children’s current risks and can make sound decisions to address safeguarding concerns. Effective and open communication with children’s parents and social workers further underpins the safeguarding culture and promotes children’s safety.

p.4

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

Staff are diligent in fulfilling their responsibilities in relation to medication administration. Consequently, medication errors are extremely rare, and those which have occurred since the last inspection have been minor.

p.4

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

High levels of staffing and good-quality training ensure that staff are attuned and responsive to the risks that are present for individual children. Staff are adept at noticing changes in children’s presentation and behaviour. They recognise changes that may indicate that children need additional support. Consequently, the use of physical intervention is very rare.

p.4

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

Managers and staff proactively advocate for children when they believe that decisions are not made with children’s best interests in mind. In a recent example, staff were concerned about the expertise of the transport staff who arrived to pick up a child and take them to school. Staff became aware that neither the driver nor the escort were trained to respond safely in the event of the child having an epileptic seizure during the journey. Staff arranged for the child to stay at the home until safe alternative transport arrangements could be made.

p.4

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

A recent incident, which led to an allegation against staff, was dealt with quickly to ensure the child’s safety. However, there was a delay in the incident being reported to external safeguarding professionals. This was a missed opportunity for timely independent scrutiny of the plans which were put in place to safeguard the child.

p.4

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

Staff recruitment files do not fully demonstrate safe recruitment practice. Managers do not explore candidates’ reasons for leaving all previous positions involving work with children and vulnerable adults. This removes an important level of scrutiny with regard to staff conduct and performance in previous relevant roles.

p.4

good

Managers have acknowledged the challenges that the home has recently faced. A child was admitted for full-time care while the registered manager was on maternity leave. This placed additional pressure on the staff and resulted in the acting manager carrying out direct work with children to support the staff. This limited the capacity of the acting manager to manage the home effectively. Inspection report children's home: SC403850 5 Managers have responded robustly to safeguarding incidents to ensure that children are kept safe. However, they have not made sure that all records clearly describe details of the incidents and the actions taken. Additionally, managers have not notified Ofsted about all serious events. This limits the regulator’s ability to monitor the management’s response to incidents.

p.4

good

Staff speak positively about the day-to-day support that they receive from managers. However, staff have not been receiving regular formal supervision. Consequently, records do not fully demonstrate how managers ensure that all staff know how to meet children’s needs safely, in line with care plans and risk assessments.

p.5

good

The independent visitor has not been providing a rigorous level of scrutiny. Independent visitor reports do not contain evaluation and analysis of the impact of the care that children receive. Managers have recognised shortfalls in the independent visitor arrangements, and they have put appropriate measures in place to improve practice. There are indications of early signs of improvement, although the measures are not yet embedded, and so the impact is not fully known.

p.5

good

Staff training is very well organised. Training weeks are arranged so that all staff receive training at the same time. The training is relevant to the needs of the children being looked after by that staff team. When staff are ready, the registered manager also creates additional, relevant development opportunities for them. As a result, children are looked after by well-informed staff who have the skills and experience to meet their needs.

p.5

good

The registered manager has now returned to her role. She has a sound understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and is passionate about ensuring continuous improvement. Inspection report children's home: SC403850 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 31 January 2022

p.6

Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

p.6

Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (4)(a)(b) (5)) 31 January 2022

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; 31 January 2022 Inspection report children's home: SC403850 7 understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

p.6

Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to ensuring that if there are concerns about a child’s welfare, external safeguarding professionals are contacted without delay.

p.7

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—

p.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

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;

p.7

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(h)) 31 January 2022

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

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) (3)(d))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should seek to verify the candidates’ reasons for leaving all previous roles involving work with children or vulnerable adults. 31 January 2022 Inspection report children's home: SC403850 8 The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.7

Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 31 January 2022

p.8

Recommendation

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, para- graph 11.4)

p.8

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: SC403850 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Kent County Council, Sessions House, County Road, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1XQ

p.9

Inspector

Helen Simmons, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC403850 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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10