Children's home run by Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited in Thanet

Inspection report children’s home: SC023736 1 SC023736 Registered provider: Ethelbert Specialist Homes 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 who have experienced some form of loss, neglect, trauma or rejection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 22 March 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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 2 February 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 children’s home: SC023736 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/10/2019 Full Good 21/08/2018 Full Good 31/01/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 26/07/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC023736 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide consistently good-quality care and support to children. As a result, children make progress. Close relationships between children and staff enable the children to confidently seek help, advice and support from staff who they know well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to by an attentive staff team. The children feel able to raise any concerns they have. Regular children’s meetings take place where children are encouraged to contribute their ideas about how the home is run. The staff use these meetings to educate the children about safety and to form positive relationships with each other. The children are prepared well for other children moving into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

External professionals, such as speech and language therapists, attend staff meetings to discuss the children’s needs. The staff adapt their approach in response to this intervention. This is effective in guiding staff about the best way to communicate with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff help children to reach their academic potential by working closely with teaching staff at the organisation’s school. All the children attend full-time school. One child, who previously struggled to read, has increased in confidence and can now read aloud in front of his class.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly reward children for meeting their agreed goals. They talk about the children’s achievements with pride.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported to engage in a range of activities of their choice. Many of the opportunities within the community were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The staff have encouraged children to re-engage with their interests. The staff accompany children, or stay within the area, to be available for children if they struggle. As a result, the children feel safe and secure.

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

Managers and staff respond in a timely manner to safeguarding concerns by reporting and referring them to the relevant safeguarding agencies. The manager discusses safeguarding scenarios in staff meetings to ensure that the policies and procedures are at the forefront of staff’s practice. The recommendation from the last inspection has been met.

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

One child reported an incident that occurred within the community which made him feel unsafe. This matter was reported to the police. Direct work with him, and the use of research, was effective in helping him to regain his confidence.

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

Managers and staff are trained in the home’s preferred method of behaviour management. The use of physical interventions has significantly reduced. When Inspection report children’s home: SC023736 4 incidents do occur, staff explain the lead up to the incident and de-escalation methods used. The staff are given time to reflect, and children’s views are sought. The manager analyses the incidents for trends and implements any learning.

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

Direct work with children is meaningful, well recorded and helpful. The children understand how to keep themselves safe online. There is no formal agreement with children about the use of mobile phones and other internet-enabled devices. This means that there is the potential for children to not fully understand the boundaries or agreed use of this equipment.

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

The area manager and independent visitor undertake targeted work with children when there is a risk of the placement ending. This has been effective for one child, for whom there has been a reduction in threats to make false allegations.

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good

Leaders and managers agreed risk management strategies when a child moved into the home. These strategies were agreed with the child’s placing authority. However, staff practice has now changed and is not in line with these agreed strategies. The manager acknowledges that the timing of the child’s admission, and her own absence from the home, has meant that the detail of expected supervision levels lacked clarity. Senior managers have not given the staff the necessary leadership to guide them to prevent this occurring.

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good

In addition, a lone working risk assessment was not appropriately completed. This document does not make clear how or why it was appropriate to have one member of staff working alone with three children. Two of the children needed close supervision. However, the assessment lacked detail regarding how this might be achieved. The children’s social workers were not made aware of this situation. This is a serious omission which prevents professionals involved in the children’s care from being able to ensure that children are safe and that their needs are met.

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good

An informative location review includes consultation with external agencies. Staff use this reliable knowledge of the risks posed to the children by the local area in their care planning.

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good

Team meetings are held regularly and are child focused. These meetings also cover improvements required to the running of the home. Staff report that the manager has helped them to develop, and they value her experience and knowledge. Staff morale is high. They work together to provide consistent care for the children.

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good

Most of the staff’s training is up to date. Nearly all staff have the required level 3 qualification and one staff member is working towards this. Some disruption to training occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders and managers have plans in place to address any shortfalls in staff knowledge or skills due to this disruption. Inspection report children’s home: SC023736 5 Leaders and managers develop the service. An external auditor recommends areas of improvement, which are addressed. A workforce plan is kept up to date and shows an effective review of the knowledge, skills and experience of the staff. Inspection report children’s home: SC023736 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there is clarity about supervision levels for children. 2 May 2022

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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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s care plans are followed and updated in the registered manager’s absence. 2 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 2 May 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC023736 7 that arrangements are in place to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff meet the children’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would. Staff should recognise that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met. In particular, the registered person should ensure that bedrooms are redecorated following incidents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that children feel safe and are safe. Staff should support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside of the home to the extent that any good parent would. In particular, the registered person should ensure that children sign contracts around the use of mobile phones and games consoles. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)

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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: SC023736 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited, 17 Leigh Road, Ramsgate, Kent CT12 5EU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Leslie Davenport

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Elizabeth Wynne-Thomas

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Inspector

Suzy Lemmy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC023736 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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