Children's Home run by The Drive Care Homes Ltd in Kent

Inspection report for children's home: SC063689 1 SC063689 Registered provider: The Drive Care Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company and provides care for up to six children with learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection, five children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 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

Date of last inspection: 6 September 2022

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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: SC063689 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/09/2022 Full Good 28/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 23/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/02/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC063689 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are looked after by a warm and caring staff team that has a clear understanding of their individual needs and the good progress they are making. A social worker for one of the children told the inspector, ’The child is happy, loved and lives in a clean and organised home. He has a good relationship with his care workers, and they understand his needs.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are valued. Staff are familiar with each child’s methods of communication, and every child is encouraged to have a say in the way they are looked after, both individually and at weekly child-focused meetings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Written information for children is provided in formats that they can understand. This includes all key documents for children, such as the children’s guide, weekly event diary, individual fire escape plans and notes from children’s meetings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s plans are comprehensive and detailed. They are informed by local authority care plans, with progress clearly recorded and tracked. All children regularly attend school or college.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to achieve the goals that are important to them, and they celebrate successes. The social worker for one child said that the child had recently started accepting different food tastes and textures, which is clear and positive progress. Another social worker told the inspector that the child had made ‘amazing’ progress, that he is becoming much more independent and that his communication is improving in ‘leaps and bounds’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Working in partnership with people who are important to children is given high priority. Managers proactively seek to welcome children’s families to the home. One parent told the inspector that her child had made excellent progress in relation to his emotional well-being because he had learnt how to express himself and manage his emotions in a more positive way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

An inclusive culture that promotes equality and diversity enables children to explore their developing sense of identity. Children’s religion, faith and cultural heritage are supported and clearly recorded in plans. In one example, a child regularly attends the mosque with a senior manager.

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

Children have complex physical and emotional health needs, and their safety and well-being are priorities for staff. When children need to be cared for in hospital, Inspection report for children's home: SC063689 4 staff stay with them to offer reassurance, and they keep children’s parents informed about their progress.

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

Comprehensive plans and risk assessments reliably inform staff about how to care for children and keep them safe. They are clear and reviewed regularly.

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

The staff administer children’s medication safely, and no errors have been recorded since the last inspection. There is an effective system of accountability, and staff are clear about what to do if they have a medication concern.

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

Individual positive behaviour support plans effectively provide staff with information about how to encourage positive behaviour by reducing children’s anxieties. Children are involved in developing these plans. The plans describe the types of behaviour the child might display, along with strategies on how to manage them if they occur. These include de-escalation techniques and the use of short stories that describe social situations. Staff follow the individual plans, and as a result, there have been no incidents of physical intervention since the last inspection.

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

The processes for managing health and safety matters and maintenance tasks are thorough. As a result, repairs are completed in a timely manner, and the physical environment is safe and secure.

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

Some areas of the home and garden are in need of refurbishment. Managers have recognised this and have improvement plans in place. Children’s bedrooms would also be enhanced by personalising them with photos of family members and other significant people, where appropriate.

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

Safe recruitment practices are understood and implemented by the manager and staff responsible for this area of practice. All necessary checks are in place to reduce the risk of unsuitable people working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about their experience of working for the organisation and the support that they receive from the newly registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a clear vision for the way that the home can continually improve outcomes for children. For example, he has introduced daily training sessions for staff about how to communicate with children. Children’s records also now have clear targets with daily monitoring.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that they feel valued and respected. They say that the registered manager is open to new ideas and is quick to recognise good practice. He promotes professional development in line with individual team members’ talents and interests. Inspection report for children's home: SC063689 5 Records of staff supervision and annual performance reviews demonstrate that managers use these processes effectively to ensure that staff know how to safely care for children in line with their care plans and risk assessments.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Newly appointed staff feel well supported. They say that the induction training is helpful in preparing them for their roles. All staff receive training that is relevant to the needs of the children they are looking after. As a result, children are being cared for by knowledgeable, well-informed staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose has recently been updated. Not all staff are familiar with the content. The registered manager has plans to address this in team meetings and individual supervision sessions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Working closely with external professionals is given high priority. Other professionals spoken to during the inspection reported effective joint working. They also spoke positively about the outcomes for children. Inspection report for children's home: SC063689 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children, and that it is a homely, domestic environment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)

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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: SC063689 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Drive Care Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cyrinus House, 18 Hatherley Road, Sidcup DA14 4BG

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Inspectors

Mike Simmonds, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC063689 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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