Children's home run by Kent County Council in Ashford

Inspection report for children’s home: SC368763 1 SC368763 Registered provider: Kent County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This short break service is jointly funded by the health authority and the local authority. The home provides short breaks for up to six children who have physical disabilities and/or learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in September 2021.

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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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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC368763 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/03/2020 Full Outstanding 08/01/2019 Full Outstanding 16/01/2018 Full Outstanding 07/09/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC368763 3

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improvement to be good

The overall progress and experiences of the children are significantly undermined by the repeated failure of leaders and managers in the wider organisation to respond appropriately to repair and maintenance needs that arise in the spaces and equipment used by the children. Extremely slow and poor responses have led to facilities being shut down and equipment required for some children not being used.

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improvement to be good

The indoor spa, which had become a key feature of the service, has been shut since June 2021, and there is currently no indication as to when this will be brought back into service. This has led to significant disappointment for many children and has a negative impact on the quality of their stay at the home.

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improvement to be good

Despite the many setbacks presented by the maintenance failures, staff have remained single-minded in their focus on the needs and well-being of the children and are doing whatever they can to provide them with fun, safe and enriching stays.

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improvement to be good

Parents and carers speak very highly of the staff, and of the open lines of communication that are maintained before, during and following the children’s stays. This provides parents and carers with confidence and peace of mind about the positive and safe care that their children are enjoying, and enables whole families to benefit from the service.

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improvement to be good

The staff team remains committed and motivated to continue to provide safe and good-quality stays for the children, but their efforts are severely hampered by the maintenance and repair issues.

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improvement to be good

The staff know and understand the complex needs and risks associated with each child. They are skilled at keeping the children safe, without unnecessarily impeding their fun or limiting their opportunities for new and enriching experiences. Staff are vigilant and respond immediately to equipment failures and to any health and safety risks that arise. The in-house caretaking staff are highly effective at taking any steps within their remit to maintain a safe environment for the children. This approach by staff has enabled the children to continue with their stays.

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improvement to be good

The staff have learned to be creative and inventive in overcoming circumstances that could compromise the safety and well-being of the children. A recent failure in the electronic door-locking system left staff unable to access the children’s medication. Although this was reported, no maintenance staff could attend on that Inspection report for children’s home: SC368763 4 day, so the manager activated the fire alarm, which released the door. This enabled the children at the home to continue with their break.

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improvement to be good

Currently, the staff team actively manages the risks that have arisen due to failures in repair and maintenance. There are, however, several fire doors that are damaged and do not meet required specifications, and there are still outstanding actions following the fire safety risk assessment carried out in January 2021. These have been escalated by the new registered manager.

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improvement to be good

Exceptional efforts by dedicated staff have provided a safe enough environment for children’s stays to continue, despite the on-going failures by the wider organisation to carry out repairs and maintenance.

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good

Weak and ineffective leadership and management within the wider organisation have led to a range of shortfalls and failures in this setting.

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good

The service was without a registered manger for a ten-month period, ending in September 2021. Interim management arrangements during this period were weak and led to shortfalls in escalation and follow-through on issues of maintenance and the meeting of health and safety requirements.

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good

There was no planned induction process for the current registered manager, and in the critical early stages of her tenure, she did not receive regular or good-quality supervision. Poor planning and oversight led to the pivotal senior administrative position not being filled before the departure of the long-standing postholder, despite a five-month notice period. This has resulted in avoidable additional burdens being placed on the leadership team, and has diluted their core focus on providing safe, high-quality stays for the children.

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good

Recently, the registered manager was requested by the wider organisation to provide ongoing care for a child for several months, and to facilitate his transition to adult care. Although executed to an exceptional standard, this was an onerous task, which consumed considerable resources, and distracted from the core service as outlined in the statement of purpose.

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good

Considerable time and energy are expended by the leadership team in their attempts to ensure that the physical environment of the service is consistently maintained to a good and safe standard. The registered manager reports being repeatedly side-tracked from priorities that she has identified for building the staff team and further improving the service. Monitoring of the service and quality of care reviews do not currently meet requirements, and staff supervision is not regular. Poorly attended staff meetings are not currently effective in promoting teamworking and communicating key leadership messages. The identified failures of the wider leadership have become a significant obstacle to the staff team in achieving the stated aims of the service. Inspection report for children’s home: SC368763 5 Despite the organisational challenges that they face, the leadership team in the home remains determined and ambitious to provide a high-quality service, together

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good

with the highly dedicated and committed core staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: SC368763 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health.

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b)) 2 March 2022

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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)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to ensuring that supervision is regular. 2 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction. (Regulation 33 (1)(a)) 2 March 2022

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: SC368763 7 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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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: SC368763 8

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector:

John Pledger, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC368763 9 regulates and inspects 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:

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

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