Kef Kids Ltd

Inspection report for residential holiday scheme for disabled children: Kef Kids Ltd 1 Kef Kids Limited Kef Kids Limited Arbiter House, Wilberforce Road, West Hendon, London NW9 6AX Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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disabled children

Kef Kids is a Jewish, London-based charity supporting the lives of children and young adults who have physical and learning disabilities, and their families. The organisation has been holding camps since 2006. Kef provides a range of residential camps throughout the year for children aged four upwards. Separate camps are held for different ages and gender groups.

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disabled children

At the camp inspected, 45 children and nine young adults were attending. They were supported by 120 volunteers.

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disabled children

The holiday scheme registered with Ofsted in July 2020. The registered manager registered with Ofsted in May 2021.

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Overall experience 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 good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The residential holiday scheme for disabled children provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the residential holiday scheme contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people.

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outstanding

Date of previous inspection: 10 August 2022

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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 residential holiday scheme for disabled children: Kef Kids Ltd 2

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outstanding

All children observed and spoken with during the inspection indicated that they were having and enjoying exceptional experiences while at the camp. Children take part in a wide range of creative and innovative experiences that they are unlikely to have access to outside of their residential holiday camp experience.

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outstanding

For example, on the day of the inspection, in line with this summer’s camp theme of transport and speed, some children had on that morning been on a speed boat trip. A child told the inspector, ‘It was the best! So much fun. The boat was fast and I was a little scared, but I held my best friend’s hand, and I was OK.’ Later in the day, children had pony rides, or could help lead the ponies. Children take part in other innovative activities such as ice skating for wheelchair users and tobogganing.

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outstanding

The quality of relationships between children and volunteers is excellent. Children were observed happily engaged in activities supported by volunteers. Children who spoke with the inspector consistently said that those looking after them were ‘amazing’. These sentiments are shared by volunteers, who talk about having a sense of honour and immense reward as a result of working with the children. A volunteer said, ‘It truly is a privilege to be involved with such an inspirational organisation. I feel that I gain a lot more than I give. The atmosphere is magical, the children’s smiles light up the room. The children’s enthusiasm for life and joy is inspirational to all of us.’ Volunteers clearly place the well-being of children at the centre of their practice.

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outstanding

The relationships between parents, carers, children and professionals are excellent. Parents receive comprehensive information about the camp prior to children’s arrival. The parents’ handbook prepares parents well for how their children will be cared for and how the camp is managed. A parent said, ‘My child loves camp. This is our third, possibly fourth camp. It’s amazing from start to finish. They are organised, professional and brilliant with everything.’ Children receive a creative guide, available in the written word and pictorial form. This contains useful information about the camp and what to expect. Key professionals involved in children’s lives are contacted to exchange information. Typically, these include school and medical personnel.

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outstanding

Children benefit from managers’ robust referral procedures, which ensure that volunteers receive accurate information about children’s needs, wishes and preferences. This helps the registered manager to devise effective care plans that establish children’s medical and communication needs and routines. The holiday scheme’s chef ensures that children’s dietary needs are strictly met. This includes meals for children who have special dietary needs. Typically, this is including accounting for children’s allergies, particular palates, pureed/food consistencies and specified preferences. Inspection report for residential holiday scheme for disabled children: Kef Kids Ltd 3 Children benefit from being cared for by volunteers who are largely already known to them. The vast majority of volunteers have volunteered as camp counsellors and other roles for several consecutive years. They therefore have good insight about

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outstanding

how individual children communicate, their behavioural patterns and medical needs. Children’s care is highly personalised and tailored to meet children’s individual and diverse needs.

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outstanding

Children are treated with dignity and respect and their identity needs are expertly met. The residential holiday scheme provides a camp experience to children who are of the Jewish Orthodox faith. Religious customs, festivals and celebrations are observed in strict accordance with this faith. Parents and children appreciate that the holiday scheme cares for children culturally and in a manner that they are accustomed to. For example, all meals are kosher and, on Saturdays, Sabbath customs are observed.

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outstanding

Children receive high-quality care which means that their physical and emotional health needs are expertly met. Care provided to children is person-centred and tailored to meet their identified needs. The holiday scheme doctor completes home visits to children who have very complex medical needs. Care plans are explicit in providing comprehensive guidance about children’s treatment plans and how children are to be cared for safely.

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outstanding

A division head nurse is assigned to oversee the medical care of children with the most profound disabilities. Volunteers receive clear guidance and training about children’s medical conditions. This includes, for example, the action to take if a child has a seizure, first-aid procedures and manual handling training. Volunteers also receive training in alternative methods of communication. This helps them to develop skills in understanding children’s wishes, and to interpret if they are sad, in discomfort or are unhappy.

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

Children feel protected and are protected from harm, including neglect, abuse, accidents and bullying. Volunteers work hard to ensure that children are safe. The volunteers’ vigilance and supervision of children are excellent. Children benefit from 1:1 ratio to volunteers; this is increased in line with children’s identified needs, and the nature of the activity to be undertaken.

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

As a feature of volunteers’ induction, they complete an extensive range of relevant training. This equips them to care safely for disabled children who have very diverse needs. The supervision of children is effective. This means that incidents of a safeguarding nature do not happen. There have been no allegations against volunteers, no incidents of exploitation and no incidents of children getting lost or going missing from the scheme. In the event that a child is missing, there are good protocols in place with the local police team.

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

The registered manager and division heads carefully consider the matching of children’s groupings. This is primarily determined by children’s ages. Volunteers are Inspection report for residential holiday scheme for disabled children: Kef Kids Ltd 4 aware of the impact of children’s disability, including children’s behavioural patterns and triggers. Senior volunteers complete comprehensive behavioural support plans. These offer volunteers guidance about triggers for children’s behaviour, and strategies to help them to manage any challenging behaviour. Volunteers do not restrain children.

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

Volunteers embrace the residential holiday scheme’s ethos of promoting children’s positive behaviour. Children’s achievements are publicised and are widely celebrated. During the inspection, a child showed the inspector the medal he received at the scheme’s ‘Medal Time’. This is a daily event. The child explained that he had been awarded the medal for ‘using kind words’.

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

Children’s plans identify behaviour that is to be promoted and discouraged. Parents receive daily updates of their children’s activities and achievements via a confidential social media platform. The holiday scheme operates strict rules about confidentiality. This prohibits the sharing of children’s photographs unless parents have given their consent.

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

The registered manager completes children’s risk assessments. These are detailed and person-centred. Risk assessments inform volunteers of known and anticipated risks and of the action to take to reduce or eliminate risks to children. These are updated as required.

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

The recruitment and vetting of volunteers are safe and in line with safe recruitment practices. Each year the residential holiday scheme is run, volunteers, including those who have volunteered at the holiday scheme previously, are interviewed. Managers complete all required vetting checks. This confirms that volunteers are suitable to work with children. The holiday scheme has received no complaints from children, parents or others.

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

The physical environment of the holiday scheme is safe, and protects children from harm. The premises is a school/college for disabled children and is very well suited to accommodating disabled children. Adapted equipment such as hoists, adapted beds and safe space sleeping enclosures are either rented or purchased by the provider, made available by the school building owners, or provided by parents for their children to use.

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

Sleeping arrangements are appropriate. There are sleep-in and waking night volunteers on shift to ensure that children are safe during the night. The kitchen and dining areas are well organised, safe and well equipped. The registered manager ensures the completion of building and activity risk assessments, and that all health and safety guidance is adhered to. Fire prevention precautions are effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The leadership and management of the residential holiday scheme is strong and consistently effective. The registered manager has excellent experience, qualifications and skills to manager a residential holiday scheme for disabled Inspection report for residential holiday scheme for disabled children: Kef Kids Ltd 5 children. The holiday scheme is meeting the aims and objectives as stated in the statement of purpose. No areas for improvement were noted at the last inspection and none are identified at this inspection. The leadership of the holiday scheme is characterised by high expectations and aspirations for all children. This is well evidenced in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The needs of children are central to all that the holiday scheme seeks to achieve. Managers’ planning for the holiday scheme is meticulous and the camp’s organisation is exemplary. There is a great focus on providing exceptional care to children who attend. The registered manager is able to discuss with confidence how the holiday scheme is meeting each child’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers ensure that volunteers receive comprehensive induction, training, and preparation to ensure that they provide safe care to children. One volunteer explained that as feature of her manual handling training, she was required to be hoisted. This is so that volunteers have an acute understanding of what the experience is actually like and that they develop an appreciation of the importance of safe, sensitive care and offering reassurance when using hoists with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers are passionate and committed to the further improvement of the holiday scheme. Managers ensure that monitoring systems are effective in highlighting the strengths and areas identified for improvement. Managers encourage volunteers and all stakeholders, including children, to share their views about the future development of the holiday scheme. For example, the camp has a suggestion box for new ideas to be shared. Managers are proactive in seeking feedback from all stakeholders at the end of each camp session to help inform developments for future residential holiday schemes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

This is well demonstrated by changes to this year’s transport arrangements for children’s arrival at camp. A parent had suggested this change. This year also saw the development of a service designed to meet the needs of children who have profound disabilities and multiple complex medical needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders identified that, to meet the needs of these children effectively, there was a need to identify an experienced, specialist volunteer group, unique play and sensory experiences, designated sleeping space and activities and trips arranged specifically for the group. Children in the group are able to participate in general on- and off- camp activities, if it is safe for them to do so. Volunteers encourage the development of friendships beyond this peer group alone. The service has been implemented at this year’s holiday scheme and appears to have been a hugely successful development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers and division heads provide exemplary support to volunteers. A volunteer said, ‘The heads of camp are the most incredible team. They give us so much love and support and make sure each night to check in that we are okay. We have a group debrief each night where we run through the day, and afterwards we are able Inspection report for residential holiday scheme for disabled children: Kef Kids Ltd 6 to privately and confidentially discuss our day with the heads. The heads really look out for us and ensure that our well-being is ok.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The effectiveness of managers and volunteers is valued beyond parents and those caring for children at the residential holiday scheme. A manager of a community- based activity centre said, ‘Today we had the absolute pleasure of hosting a jump session for Kef Kids and I wanted to personally email in to express what an amazing group of carers you have. They are above and beyond amazing with the children and it was so wonderful to watch the session today and see just how much they all enjoyed their time with us. I can honestly say hand on heart that you have the best team of carers I have ever seen. You are all inspiring individuals whom I feel very privileged to meet. Keep up the fantastic work you do.’ Inspection report for residential holiday scheme for disabled children: Kef Kids Ltd 7

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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 Residential Holiday Schemes for Disabled Children (England) Regulations 2013 and the national minimum standards. Inspection report for residential holiday scheme for disabled children: Kef Kids Ltd 8

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Residential holiday scheme for disabled children details

Registered provider address: Arbiter House, Wilberforce Road, West Hendon, London NW9 6AX Responsible individual: Shelley Groszman Registered manager: Adina Morris

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Inspector

Sandra Jacobs-Walls, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential holiday scheme for disabled children: Kef Kids Ltd 9 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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