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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC023739 1 SC023739 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

This home is privately operated and provides care for up to three children. It is currently being used exclusively for girls who have a history of difficult attachments and require intensive support.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2023.

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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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC023739 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/03/2022 Full Outstanding 27/09/2018 Full Good 30/08/2017 Full Good 07/02/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC023739 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good relationships with staff. Staff are nurturing, kind and playful, which creates an environment that is warm, friendly and stimulating. Staff involve children in day-to-day decisions, such as choosing meals, activities and decorating their rooms. Staff listen to children, but also ensure that boundaries are clear.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote education. One child is currently out of education and the other child attends on a part-time timetable. When children are out of school, staff encourage them to continue their learning at home. During the inspection, one child was doing their homework with staff throughout the day. Staff work well with the children to ensure that they are well prepared to return to education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are clear. The plans detail specific targets for children to achieve and make progress. The children’s journeys into care are well documented. Staff review the progress on targets monthly. The reviews make it easy for the reader to see the progress children are making. Children are developing life skills, such as cooking, road safety and laying the table.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive childhood experiences. Children enjoy festive celebrations, receive letters from the tooth fairy and engage in interests outside of the home. Children have access to board games and activities when at home. Half terms are well structured for the children, so they are never bored. Staff encourage children’s interests in diverse cultures through theme nights.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff plan well for children who move out of the home. Children who lived at the home for a long time have left since the last inspection. This was a positive experience and children received a memory book, had a leaving meal, and staff helped them to move out of the home.

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

Staff understand risks to children. Staff know how to respond to children who are missing from home and report safeguarding concerns. Managers and staff have taken prompt action to respond to concerns raised. Managers involve other agencies when needed. Children feel safe in the home and protected by staff.

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

Staff understand the risks to children online. Staff provide children with information and guidance to stay safe when using the internet. This has been effective and has helped one child to take steps to protect themself. Staff are working with the local authority and health services to reduce risks for the child.

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

There have been incidences of bullying in the home. Staff have challenged children’s behaviour and encouraged children to build relationships with each other through Inspection report for children’s home: SC023739 4 activities. Staff use children’s meetings to talk about positive behaviours towards each other. This includes the house rules, personal space and respect.

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

Behaviour support plans provide guidance to staff to support children and encourage positive behaviour. The manager reviews incidents of physical intervention and children are debriefed. Staff have used physical interventions more frequently with one child due to road safety risks. The child receives regular help from staff to learn about road safety skills.

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

The manager review’s children’s placements in the home. When one child demonstrated significant risk of harm to themself and others, the manager promptly escalated their concerns to the local authority. It was agreed that the home could not keep the child safe. Staff provided support to the child to minimise the impact to the child when they moved out.

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

One child’s missing-from-home risk management plan was not clear. The manager rectified this during the inspection. This had no impact on the child as staff knew what action to take. On one occasion, when a child returned to the home under the influence of drugs and alcohol, staff checked on the child regularly but did not seek medical advice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and senior manager work well together. The manager is experienced and is working towards her qualification. Leaders know the children well and have strong relationships with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a positive role model and supports staff with regular supervision and training. Staff talk about safeguarding in their supervision sessions and are set targets to achieve. Staff have received training to enable them to support children’s specific needs. New members of staff are well supported with well-structured inductions and frequent probation reviews.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the home. The manager has strong systems in place to monitor the quality of care provided to children. The manager often seeks the views of other professionals. The manager has a development plan in place for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are creative in promoting strong teamwork and use team meetings to encourage team building. Staff are encouraged to discuss each other’s strengths during team meetings and celebrate each other’s achievements. Staff enjoy working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has regularly notified Ofsted of serious incidents. However, on some occasions, notifications have been delayed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC023739 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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff must seek medical advice when children are known to be under the influence of drugs and alcohol. (Regulation 10 (1)(b)) 20 March 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the action that should be followed if the event arises at the weekend or on a public holiday. Notification must include details of the action taken by the home’s staff in response to the event. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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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: SC023739 6

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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

Mark Dawkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC023739 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 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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