Children's home run by Carlar Care Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2592030 1 Registered provider: Carlar Care 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 owned and provides specialist therapeutic care for up to four children. At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since 14 March 2023. A new manager has been appointed.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2592030 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2023 Full Good 26/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2592030 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop secure and trusting relationships with the staff who care for them. Staff were observed to be loving, attentive and nurturing in their approach to meeting children’s individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy activities with staff and are encouraged to pursue their individual interests. Community activities such as swimming and day trips out are a regular occurrence. Frequent therapeutic activities are also carried out, to support children’s emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since living in the home, all the children have made progress in education. Their individual educational needs are met and supported by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are sought regularly and are valued. Staff listen to the children and support them to influence the way they are cared for. Staff spend time with the children, both in groups and individual sessions, to gather their views. This means that the children feel listened to and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff with regular key-work sessions that are planned with the therapeutic practitioner in the home and link directly to the needs of the child. The staff are encouraged to reflect on the work they undertake with the children, and receive regular support from an external therapeutic organisation. This leads to children having meaningful sessions that have a positive impact on the progress they make.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s relationships with their families. Staff take the children to see their families, supervise this time when needed and support children with family phone or video calls.

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

Children receive help and support to manage their behaviour and feelings. Staff implement boundaries, which allows children to feel safe. Staff understand the risks for the children and follow the clear risk assessments in place to ensure their safety. Restraint is used as a last resort and for the least amount of time. Any physical intervention is well recorded and the views of children and staff are sought following any physical restraint used.

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

Children do not go missing from the home. However, staff have clear guidance to follow should a child go missing from home.

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

Children who live in the home generally have good relationships with one another. Difficulties between them are well managed by staff. Inspection report for children's home: 2592030 4 Following a recent safeguarding issue, children have been supported by staff to improve their knowledge about how to keep themselves safe. However, the manager and staff did not follow the safeguarding policy to get independent oversight of the situation. This was a missed opportunity to consider the long-term emotional impact on the children. However, the immediate actions taken by the manager and staff have been effective in keeping children safe.

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

The manager has started to implement strategies to improve the team’s knowledge and confidence in managing safeguarding issues. This has led to staff being more aware of safeguarding protocols, which directly impacts on children’s safety in the home.

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good

There have been management changes since the last inspection. There is a newly appointed manager in the home, who has submitted her application to register with Ofsted.

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good

Staff are positive about working in the home and are supported by the new manager. There has been positive change in the home, directly attributed to the new manager. Team morale has improved and staff supervisions are being held regularly, with reflective discussions about the quality of care the children are receiving.

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good

The manager’s monitoring and oversight have noticeably improved since the last inspection. There is clear and consistent oversight of records.

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good

Children are cared for by a range of permanent and agency staff. When agency staff are used, there is a focus on using the same people when possible to ensure that consistent care is provided to the children.

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good

Staff relationships with external professionals are generally good. However, professionals are not consistently provided with weekly updates on the children’s progress, as agreed.

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good

The manager’s record of staff training is not up to date and it is not clear what training the manager wants staff to prioritise. Staff have not completed some training that directly relates to the needs of the children.

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good

Maintenance issues in the home are not always acknowledged and logged on the recording system. This leads to a delay in repairs being carried out. Improvements have been made to the home but there remain areas where carpets are stained, paint is chipped and general repairs are needed. Inspection report for children's home: 2592030 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, The 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 prepare and implement a policy which—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children’s home from abuse or neglect. (Regulation 34 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the policies in place are implemented when necessary. 23 August 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that general maintenance issues are logged and resolved in a timely way. 23 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 23 August 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 2592030 6 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff training is accurately recorded and monitored and specific training relating to the needs of the children they care for is provided to staff.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff work in close partnership with all those who play a role in protecting and caring for the child. In particular, they should ensure that communication with external agencies is a priority. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.3)

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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: 2592030 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Carlar Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 21, 10 Churchill Square, Kings Hill, Maidstone, Kent ME19 4UY

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Inspector

Faye McCarthy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2592030 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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