Children's Home run by Kent County Council in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: SC037282 1 SC037282 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 children’s home is operated by a local authority and provides short-break care for children with learning difficulties, physical disabilities and associated complex needs. The maximum number of children who can stay at the home at any one time is seven.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since 1 October 2021. The current manager’s application to register has been received by Ofsted and will have their interview later this month.

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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 good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 24 November 2021

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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: SC037282 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/11/2021 Full Good 03/12/2019 Full Outstanding 13/03/2019 Full Outstanding 07/03/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC037282 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of recreational opportunities at the home and in the grounds outside. There is a well-equipped sensory room, open space soft play area, a music room, playroom and spa, and lots of toys, puzzles and games for children to play with. As a result, children have plentiful opportunities to explore and learn through play and fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff write child-centred plans, capturing children’s thoughts and feelings about what makes them happy and sad, and what the staff can do to make them feel better.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the value of the children’s communication aids, including having symbols on display and using short stories to help describe the function of a specific room. This gives children a better understanding of what resources are available to them and encourages them to communicate their preferences to the staff supporting them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have supported children to learn about different countries around the world this summer. They have created individual ‘passports’ for the children that show where they have visited and explored. Children have been on several trips locally, including visiting a moated castle and going on coastal walks. The evening meals have been themed, and children enjoyed a Texan dinner on the evening of the inspection, with a country and western music-themed colouring activity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager works well in partnership with relevant agencies to support the children’s needs. She is a qualified trainer in safe handling and uses this knowledge to inform staff practice. As a result, the manager can support a staff member, or the team, if handling techniques for the children need altering or reviewing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff make use of regular team meetings. Staff discussions feed into children’s care plans and managers use this platform to highlight practice and inform change. Recently, the staff discussed the language they use between one another and when supporting the children. This demonstrates continual learning, and means the children are supported by professionally developed staff.

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

Staff write informative plans, with clear strategies to help keep children safe. Staff understand the importance of following these plans and can describe in detail the measures they take. However, not all plans include how the staff would respond in an emergency. This is a missed opportunity for managers to evidence the staff competencies in managing life-threatening situations, such as a child choking or a child going missing from care. There have been no incidents of staff needing to respond to these types of situations, therefore, this omission has not impacted on the quality of care the children have received. Inspection report for children’s home: SC037282 4 There are good behavioural plans for the staff to follow when children feel upset, worried or anxious. These help to inform staff when something is not right and guide them in how they can help the child to feel better again. In addition to this,

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

these plans include guidance on how they can comfort a child after they have been upset.

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

There is good multi-agency working and support for families of children who are on a child protection plan. A detailed chronology of events, including the outcomes of any attended meetings, is well maintained.

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

The staff understand children’s individual needs and vulnerabilities and do all that they can to protect them from harm. The staff are confident in the processes that must be followed should they be concerned for a child’s safety.

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

Staff store children’s medication appropriately and records kept by the staff for the administering of the children’s medications are accurate. The staff are quick to pick up on medication discrepancies and challenge the necessary providers, to obtain the correct information before they carry out medication practices. This demonstrates their understanding of statutory and legal obligations and means the children are helped by staff to be protected from potential harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager has worked in the home for many years and has an excellent understanding of the children and staff she supports. The staff say she is approachable and knowledgeable and puts the children at the centre of her practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager sensitively and collaboratively supported one child’s move into the home during the school holiday. She liaised with the child’s social workers, parent and school to share good practice and strategies to best meet the child’s needs. Although this move was unsuccessful, the manager worked extremely hard to make arrangements safe and for the child to be as comfortable and settled as possible.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the quality of supervision and, when needed, increases frequency for staff. This helps the staff to feel valued and equips them with the necessary confidence and skills to provide a good level of care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

In December 2021, Ofsted was notified of a safeguarding concern that led to three staff being suspended. Senior leaders carried out a thorough investigation, referring and liaising with all the relevant and necessary safeguarding professionals. This investigation concluded in February 2022. Subsequently, the staff have been supported to return to work. The manager has fully embedded the learning outcomes and actions from this investigation. There have been no further child protection concerns raised with professionals since the monitoring visit in January 2022.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has met all the requirements from the last full inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC037282 5

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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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the children’s risk assessments and missing plans should be closely monitored and updated with clear strategies for staff to follow to reduce the risk of harm to children. 1 November 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: SC037282 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kent County Council

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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

Kelly Monniot, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC037282 7 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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