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

Inspection report for children's home: SC066185 1 SC066185 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 five children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in December 2019.

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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 outstanding

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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: SC066185 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/07/2021 Full Good 30/05/2019 Full Good 11/12/2018 Full Good 15/08/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC066185 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager carefully considers the matching of new children to the staff team’s skills and to the children already living in the home. This is followed by excellent care planning to help identify a child’s specific needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children have good school attendance. When children are struggling with the day-to-day aspects of school, changes are made to their timetable to improve participation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children in the home enjoy normal childhood experiences, such as going on holiday, having friends over and joining community groups. Children’s views are valued. Staff ensure that there is a range of forums where children can express their feelings and wishes. For example, children are able to participate in child-focused meetings and house meetings and to complete questionnaires. This information is used to develop the home, such as the purchase of a hot tub for the garden for the children to enjoy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported when they move out of the home. For example, one child was supported to return to her foster carer and another child returned to live with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a bespoke therapy assessment which identifies the right therapy to support their emotional needs. This gives children a safe space to explore and understand their past experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend routine appointments and specialist referrals are made when needed. However, records for children’s medication show gaps and omissions in offering regular and short-course medication. This means that children’s health needs are not consistently met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s progress is reflected in their care plans. For example, children who no longer require a bedroom door alarm have their views sought and when appropriate the door alarm is deactivated. This reflects the progress children have made.

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

Staff build strong relationships with children. This has led to children making safer choices and progress in areas they may have struggled with when they first arrived. For example, one child who was unable to settle at bedtime now has an established routine to provide boundaries and consistency. This has led to a decrease in incidents at bedtime.

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

The registered manager deals with allegations promptly. Staff follow children’s risk mitigation plans and ensure that plans are regularly updated following incidents. Inspection report for children's home: SC066185 4 Staff are proactive when children go missing from home. This includes looking for the child and contacting people who may know their whereabouts. When children return, they are met with a warm welcome, followed by restorative work to look at why they went missing and how they can take steps to keep themselves safer.

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

Staff use restraint for children as a last resort. Records are comprehensive and show efforts made by staff to avoid its use. Staff work well to try and de-escalate children’s behaviour and provide nurture and boundaries in their approach. This provides a positive environment for children to flourish and respect each other.

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

Sanctions are fair and proportionate for children, and are used as a learning opportunity. For example, one child’s mobile phone was taken from them and online training was completed to learn about responsible social media use. This teaches children appropriate skills to engage responsibly on social media.

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

Staff are recruited using safer recruitment practice. This ensures that staff are suitably appointed to work with children.

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

Children live in a homely environment. Children can choose personal items for their bedrooms. However, there were areas of mould in one child’s bathroom. There is a plan to improve the ventilation to address this, however, there is no timescale for this work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is committed to the children and has high ambitions for their care. The registered manager feels supported by senior leaders and has regular supervision. Development targets for the home are clearly identified and there is a vision for how this will be achieved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff supervision is regular and staff feel supported by the registered manager. One member of staff said, ‘ [Name of manager] provides regular structured and non- structured conversations to ensure my well-being is positive, which I feel allows me to provide a better quality of care to the children.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is a thorough induction into the home for staff, which is regularly reviewed to ensure that staff feel supported. Staff attend regular training and this is planned to ensure that they have the skills to meet the needs of the children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

All professionals speak of excellent communication with the registered manager. One professional said, ‘Communication between home and school is excellent.’ Another said ‘[Name of child] has made tremendous all-round progress since being placed and I am excited about her future progress at [name of children’s home].’ This demonstrates the ambitious leadership in the home and its impact on children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There are effective systems established by the registered manager to review incidents and daily records. Reviews are then used as a learning opportunity for Inspection report for children's home: SC066185 5 staff. For example, staff use role play in their team meeting around specific incidents and critique each other’s reports to enhance their skills. Consequently, the registered manager’s monitoring systems are effective in making continuous improvements in the quality of care. Inspection report for children's home: SC066185 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 registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(b)) 31 August 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children’s bathrooms have required maintenance to address mould issues. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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 for children's home: SC066185 7

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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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Inspector

Sara Stoker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC066185 8 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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