Children's Home run by Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: SC023744 1 SC023744 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 children’s home provides care for up to three children with social, emotional and/or mental health needs. It is privately owned and part of a larger company, which has several similar homes in the area. There were three children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager in post since April 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC023744 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/08/2022 Full Good 07/09/2021 Full Good 10/03/2020 Full Good 08/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC023744 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience nurturing and supportive care from staff who understand the children’s needs. Children make good progress in all areas of their lives. No children have moved in or out of the home since the last inspection in August 2022. The children’s needs are understood by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have worked towards having time in the community without staff supervision. When children do not return home at the agreed time, staff implement consequences and remind the children of the time they need to return home. Children do not always agree with the rules in place. However, they are effective and the children are managing their time away from the home better.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s heritage and culture. Staff support children to explore their cultures and religions in their own time. For example, they help the children to learn about their chosen religion and take part in religious festivals. The home decor reflects the diversity of the children and the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making progress with their education. When issues arise, the manager and the staff work with the children and their respective schools. Children are supported to increase their attendance at school. Staff help children who do not attend school on a full-time basis to complete schoolwork at home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s health needs are known and understood by the manager and staff. The manager and staff work with health providers to ensure that the children’s health needs are met. Children are taken to their appointments by staff, and any delays in treatment or appointments are challenged by the manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have created a safe and welcoming home for the children. The children have personalised their own rooms and have new storage furniture in their rooms. The outside space has also been renovated to make it more accessible and appealing for children to use.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to see their family and friends. Staff take the children to see their family and speak to them on the phone, and encourage children to meet friends outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with a range of activities, including going on holiday and attending different clubs and activities in the local community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been some changes in staffing since the last inspection. However, the home is now staffed with a stable and sufficient staff team. The children told the inspector that they like the staff, feel safe living in the home, and feel supported by staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC023744 4

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

Staff are responsive when children go missing from home. They follow the agreed plans in place to ensure that children return home safely. This includes reporting the children as missing from home to the police, looking for the children, and liaising with family members and other professionals in a coordinated response. Independent return-home interviews are completed with the children on their return to the home. Staff complete key-work sessions with the children to understand the reasons why they go missing from home, to help to reduce future incidents.

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

Key work is often carried out away from the home to offer children dedicated one- to-one time and attention. This is effective and allows the children the time and space that they need to share their views and talk about anything that is worrying or upsetting them.

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

Well-written and clear risk assessments are in place to support the care of the children. Staff know the risks to the children and actively support them to learn about the wider world and how to keep themselves safe.

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

Any negative behaviour by the children towards one another is quickly dealt with and discussed with the children, with increased support and supervision from staff. This has been effective, and children understand the actions that staff take to help to promote positive relationships between the children in the home.

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

The manager takes appropriate action if allegations are made about staff. These are reported to the local authority designated officer and social worker. Children are kept informed of the progress or outcome of any concerns that they have raised.

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

The use of restraint is low. Staff are utilising their training in de-escalation and following the agreed plans in place to support children and use a therapeutic approach. When a restraint takes place, children are not always debriefed by someone who was not involved in the restraint. This is a missed opportunity for the children to talk to someone independent about the incident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has been without a registered manager since April 2023. A manager has been in post since May 2023 and is in the process of registering with Ofsted. Since the manager has been appointed, he has made several positive changes to home and the quality of care provided to the children. The manager knows the children well and has high aspirations for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has increased the quality of care given to the children. This has been achieved by ensuring that all the staff have suitable training to meet the needs of the children. The manager has improved the use of de-escalation techniques to reduce the need for physical intervention. Inspection report for children’s home: SC023744 5 The staff and manager have positive relationships with external professionals and keep them updated about the children’s progress. One social worker told the inspector that the manager has had a positive impact on the home, children have made progress, and good communication aids them to understand the child’s lived experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has successfully recruited new staff to the home, which has had a positive impact on the children. The manager provides supervision to all staff on a regular basis. Supervision is of good quality, and it offers a space for reflection on practice as well as more-formal task-centred discussions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager challenges any poor practice, and this is recorded in staff supervision records. The manager does not allow drift or delay, which has a positive impact on the care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a strong advocate for the children and challenges professionals when their practice is not in the best interests of the children. The children’s guide has been updated and given to the children. Children and staff have house meetings every fortnight for the children to air their views and discuss any issues that are affecting them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has implemented a monitoring system in the home to support his oversight of key areas of the children’s lives, such as their health appointments, meetings and reviews. The monitoring systems in place support the manager to have oversight of the day-to-day running of the home. The manager has updated policies that were overdue. Inspection report for children’s home: SC023744 6

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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

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(C)) 29 September

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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: SC023744 7

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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

Jules Harrild, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC023744 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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