Children's home run by Acorn Homes (UK) Ltd in Thanet

Inspection report for children’s home: SC023646 1 SC023646 Registered provider: Acorn Homes (UK) Ltd 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 registered to accommodate and provide care for up to seven children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2007.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 6 December 2021

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC023646 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/12/2021 Full Outstanding 28/01/2020 Full Outstanding 06/03/2019 Full Outstanding 05/12/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC023646 3

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outstanding

Children receive exceptional support from a dedicated and skilled staff team. Staff and children share warm, affectionate and trusting relationships. From this stable base, children achieve outstanding outcomes and make significant progress from their starting points. Children and staff talk positively about their experiences of living and working in the environment, frequently using words such as ‘family’ and ‘home’ to describe what it is like to be there.

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outstanding

Staff provide highly effective one-to-one support based around well-developed and individualised care plans. Staff track children’s progress closely against all elements of the child’s care plan, including risk, health, education and emotional and social development. This enables staff to focus on what really matters for each individual child and adapt quickly to new areas of need as they arise.

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outstanding

Staff create an extremely safe space where children know that they can share anything with staff, including their worries, concerns, fears and anxieties. One way in which they do this is by adopting a principle that ‘no conversation is off limits’. This helps to create a culture of openness, honesty and transparency.

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outstanding

Children who have previously struggled to make progress in education are now engaged and enjoying learning. Staff advocate effectively to ensure that every child finds the best possible school setting in which to maximise their potential.

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outstanding

Staff make good use of and contribute effectively to the multi-agency networks around children. Staff are proactive, ensuring that the networks around the child are working coherently and effectively together. This ensures that children’s needs remain central to care planning and that they get the support and resources they need.

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outstanding

Staff are acutely aware of the current pressures that are affecting access to some support services for children. In some cases, staff have arranged private healthcare and mental healthcare to prevent children from experiencing unnecessary waiting times.

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outstanding

Staff attribute the effectiveness of safeguarding in the home to the quality and strength of partnerships with senior leaders within the organisation and external partners involved in the safeguarding of children.

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outstanding

The safety and well-being of children are prioritised throughout the referral and assessment process. The registered manager places great emphasis on the effective Inspection report for children’s home: SC023646 4 matching of children who are coming to live at the home. She will confidently challenge professionals if she has any doubts about referral decisions.

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outstanding

Staff demonstrate a depth of safeguarding knowledge and experience. There is always someone available with the knowledge and experience required to make effective safeguarding decisions.

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outstanding

Staff carefully review any incidents at the home. They are able to step back and review decisions and outcomes, and take prompt action when there is room to improve practice.

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outstanding

Staff nurture highly developed relationships between the local safeguarding partnership and the missing persons team, which help to ensure that the number of missing incidents is very low. The manager has also been asked by the local missing persons team to contribute advice and guidance to other organisations on effective missing persons strategies.

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outstanding

Children seldom go missing because the home is their safe space and this makes children want to spend time there. Staff deliver proactive responses to children who do go missing, and always make sure that children experience a loving and caring return to home.

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outstanding

Staff allow children to take positive risks and recognise that sometimes they make mistakes. However, staff support children to learn and grow from this process.

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outstanding

Staff ensure that children are at the centre of their own safety and risk management planning. Children take an active role in defining what they need to do to keep themselves safe.

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outstanding

The registered manager encourages staff to use up-to-date research and guidance to enhance their practice. A recent initiative included using a staff member’s expertise around gaming, technology and social media to review and enhance online safety practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has high expectations for children and the staff team. She explains the staff role as ‘to meet and exceed the expectation of a good parent’. Leaders hold themselves and the staff to extremely high standards and expect total dedication to the children at all times.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

In turn, staff have high levels of confidence and trust in the leadership of the home. Leaders display immense pride in their team and, through effective supervision and training, have created a staff team that demonstrates high levels of autonomy and confidence. Inspection report for children’s home: SC023646 5 Leaders have remained in post at the home for several years, providing consistency and stability for children. As a result of their experience, leaders have a comprehensive knowledge of the children and staff whom they support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff and children feel valued and invested in. They have a strong voice in day-to- day decision-making. Staff say that they have opportunities to challenge constructively and share their views. Leaders always approach this dialogue in a reflective and open manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders are not complacent and are driven to continually improve the quality of care and support at the home. They are keen to explore new ideas and everyone, children and staff alike, feel involved in this process. This sense of inclusion engenders a real sense of pride in the home for all who live and work there.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders use effective systems for monitoring the home to create ambitious development plans. Leaders are very clear about what works well, but they are always willing to adapt to new ideas if they improve the quality of children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders have created a strong and positive culture at the home. They work collaboratively with children, staff and wider professional networks, keeping children at the heart of everything they do. As a result, children say that they ‘love’ being at the home, and they are achieving excellent outcomes. Inspection report for children’s home: SC023646 6

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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: SC023646 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Acorn Homes (UK) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 73 And 74 Maple Leaf Business Park, Manston, Ramsgate CT12 5GD

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Inspector

Peter Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC023646 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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Inspector

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