Children's Home run by Bay Tree House Higham Ltd in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: 2684211 1 Registered provider: Bay Tree House Higham Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered in August 2022. It provides residential therapeutic care for up to six children aged between eight and 17. The home’s statement of purpose describes the home as specialising in working with adolescents and providing nurturing care for children with a range of difficulties, including behavioural and learning difficulties, language and communication difficulties and autism spectrum disorder.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a separate annex that can accommodate up to two children. This was not in use at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in the home at the time of this inspection

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 2022.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2684211 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A dedicated staff team, led by an effective manager, provides thoughtful and nurturing care to children. Children enjoy living in the home and make good progress from their starting points. The home has been operating for a relatively short length of time. A small core team of staff are working hard, alongside the manager, to create a positive environment for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child, who lives in the home part time as a shared care arrangement with their parent, has found it hard to settle. Staff have worked closely alongside the child’s social worker and parent to try to help the child permanently settle into the home. Unfortunately, this plan was not successful and the child will have to leave the placement as they are unable to safely meet her needs. Staff have been resilient in the face of significant challenges. The child’s social worker said she feels that staff have done all they can to keep this child in the home and to avoid an unplanned ending.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the challenges, staff have been able to build positive relationships with this child. She has engaged in a range of constructive activities in the home and made good progress in developing skills to become more independent. She has enjoyed producing some great art and craft work and really enjoys cooking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A particular strength of care practice in this home is the way that staff engage with parents and carers. This helps children to maintain important relationships and ensures that staff understand the children’s histories and know them well. Placement moves are generally well planned. There is a real focus to ensure that children experience consistency of care and remain connected with their previous carers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to succeed in education. One child attends full time at the school he was in prior to moving into the home. Staff make sure that his home routines prepare him well for learning and they liaise closely with school staff to make sure that he is doing well. The manager advocates strongly with the professional network to secure suitable education provision for children when this is not in place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well presented and spacious. There are excellent facilities and resources available for children, including a therapy room, pool table and music room, good garden space, a quiet reading area and lots of art and craft equipment. Children make good use of these resources. One child is a keen drummer and has access to a drum kit. Inspection report for children’s home: 2684211 3 Children are supported effectively by staff to access health resources when they need them and to attend routine optician and dental appointments. Children are also supported to access specialist therapeutic services when necessary.

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

Children’s needs and vulnerabilities are well known by staff and there are good arrangements in place to reduce risks to children in the home and in the community. However, written guidance for staff in relation to responding to self-injurious behaviours lacks clarity. It does not specify when to escalate concerns beyond first aid and internal monitoring. In practice, staff are providing good care and support and no harm has occurred because of this shortfall.

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

Children are supervised at all times in the community and there have been no instances where children have been missing from the home. Staff make good assessments in relation to children taking acceptable risks to be able to play and develop their independence. When staff must keep children under very close monitoring, they do this by being alongside them and participating in activities with them. This helps to avoid a situation where the need to monitor feels unnatural, unnecessarily invades children’s privacy or is unduly restrictive for them.

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

Children are generally well behaved. Staff use their trusting relationships with children to help guide and support them to make positive choices and to stick to reasonable boundaries. Children respond well to this.

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

Staff reflect on incidents where challenging behaviours have been a cause for concern to try to understand, from the child’s perspective, what may have led to the incident. The manager has good oversight of all incidents of concern and staff communicate well with families and the professional network to ensure that there is a shared understanding of children’s needs.

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

Social workers comment positively about being kept informed of all relevant information about the children. There have been no significant safeguarding incidents or allegations, and children report feeling safe in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager provides clear leadership and direction to ensure high standards of care for children. He manages the home well and has good oversight of care practice. He ensures that the best interests of children remain at the heart of decision-making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager pays close attention to how children experience care in the home. He regularly consults with them and ensures that they are involved in important decisions about their care. He knows the children well and makes adjustments to ensure that they are happy, safe and making progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2684211 4 External professionals and children’s family members praise the way that the registered manager advocates for children. He demonstrates commitment, competence and professionalism when working with them to support children to make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff appreciate the support provided to them by the registered manager. He is visible and accessible in the home and models good practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a clear vision to further develop the service. He is mindful with regards to the pace of service development to ensure that high standards of care are maintained. For example, due to challenges recruiting staff, he has not admitted more children to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have received core training in key areas, such as safeguarding. However, some aspects of the home’s therapeutic approach, as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose, are not yet in place. For example, not all staff have received training in the therapeutic principles of the home, and regular reflective meetings where staff can consult with therapeutic specialists are not yet in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A recommendation by the independent visitor to ensure that there is a clear plan to support a child to evacuate the building in the event of a fire has not yet been addressed. Due to care practices and staffing levels, this has not impacted on the safety of the child. Apart from this omission, the registered manager makes good use of the home’s independent visitor and is responsive to her recommendations to make improvements to the service. Inspection report for children’s home: 2684211 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)(i)) 10 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)) 10 April 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will Inspection report for children’s home: 2684211 6 take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. This refers to the need to ensure that evacuation plans in the event of a fire are in place for children who need them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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: 2684211 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bay Tree House Higham Limited

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Inspector

Lee Kirwin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2684211 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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