Children's home run by Back on Track Children’s Services SE LTD in Dover

Inspection report for children's home: SC473404 1 SC473404 Registered provider: Back on Track Children’s Services SE LTD Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The home is privately owned and provides care for up to five children with learning disabilities. There are currently four children living in the home.

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Information about this children's home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 17 March 2022.

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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

Date of last inspection: 22 November 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: SC473404 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/11/2022 Full Good 30/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 06/11/2018 Full Good 13/12/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC473404 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who live in the home experience good-quality, individualised care by staff who show them love, ensure their safety and have a good understanding of their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's progress with education is evident, with the manager working closely with educational providers to promote the need for children to receive education. When children have not been able to access education, the manager attends regular meetings to advocate for them to ensure that a plan is in place to progress their education. Staff support the children to complete homework, undertake research and take the children on educational trips.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have weekly meetings for them to express their views and influence the plans for the week ahead. The manager is considering ways to make changes to these meetings to make them more engaging and enjoyable for the children. Their views are also gained through sessions with their key workers. This has resulted in trips being arranged and the redecoration of parts of the home. The children can choose how they decorate their rooms. One child was proud of their new graffiti wall, which was completed during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff plan the children’s moves in and out of the home well. Good-quality assessments are completed to consider the impact of a child moving into the home. The manager ensures that a broad range of information is collected to ensure that well-informed decisions are made. This has resulted in positive transitions for children that are adapted when needed. Staff worked closely with one child’s family and professionals to ensure that the child had a successful move out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have positive relationships with the children's families, actively promoting family time, welcoming family members into the home and arranging telephone and video calls when appropriate to do so. This supports the ethos of the home having a family feel. The reports written by staff following family time are detailed and provide an excellent overview of the time the family spend together.

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

Staff set clear boundaries for the children and respond to incidents well. The use of restraint for children is proportionate. The reports are detailed, reflective and demonstrate that restraint is used as a last resort.

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

Staff and managers work well with others to promote the safety and well-being of the children. Children are offered advocates to support them when necessary. Inspection report for children's home: SC473404 4 Staff are confident in supporting children who may harm themselves and know where the equipment is for medical treatment if necessary and the processes to follow.

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

Positive behaviour support plans are detailed, individualised and support staff in using de-escalation techniques to manage the children’s behaviour. Staff use restorative approaches to support the children to feel safe and to promote positive relationships.

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

Risk assessments are in place from when the children move into the home and are reviewed every three months or when needed, and staff are aware of the risks for children.

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

Recruitment of staff is completed by the manager and responsible individual. They did not ensure that safer recruitment checks were completed for two staff members prior to their employment. Checks have since been completed, meaning that this has not, on this occasion, impacted on the children.

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good

The manager of the home is passionate and ambitious for what the children in the home can achieve. The manager works well with professionals and family members, and professionals praise him for his calm yet proactive approach. He has a clear understanding of the children's needs and areas of progress.

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good

The manager knows and understands the home's areas of strengths and weaknesses. There have been some medication errors that have been an area of priority for the manager to address. There is clear evidence of reflectiveness, areas for learning and staff discussions to ensure that this is not an area of concern moving forward.

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good

Staff feel they are supported in their role by managers. They receive debriefs following incidents, which are conducted in a timely manner. New staff are provided with time to complete their induction, whereby they learn about the running of the home and the children's needs. However, supervision sessions are not held on a regular basis in line with the company policy, with some staff having significant gaps in the frequency of their supervision. This includes new staff who require a higher level of support and guidance through supervision as per the induction policy.

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good

Staff have access to training, which is delivered online and in person. There are gaps in mandatory training for staff that have not been monitored by leaders and managers in supervision, and the training matrix was not up to date to allow the manager to have effective oversight. This has meant that some staff have not completed mandatory training, despite being in post for more than six months, which is the specified probation period. Inspection report for children's home: SC473404 5 Management oversight on the recording of incidents is consistent and of good quality. It is reflective and analytical. However, monitoring tools need to be more effective to ensure that management oversight necessary to prevent shortfalls is not lacking. The manager has not submitted the quality of care review report to Ofsted within timescales this year, and the monitoring of the home environment and maintenance issues need to improve.

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good

Inspection report for children's home: SC473404 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, 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 recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d)) 6 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (3) (4)(a)) 6 October 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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 6 October 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC473404 7 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff training is accurately recorded and monitored.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that supervision is held within the timescales outlined in the statement of purpose and policy. 6 October 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the children's home will be a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. They will ensure that broken items are removed around the home and that children's bedrooms are checked regularly. The manager needs to ensure that the maintenance log is checked as per the log sheet. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC473404 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Back on Track Children’s Services SE LTD

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 185 Dover Road, Walmer, Deal CT14 7NB

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Campbell

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Inspector

Faye McCarthy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC473404 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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Inspector

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