Children's Home run by Moonreach LTD in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: 2523034 1 Registered provider: Moonreach LTD Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home can provide care for up to three children with social and emotional needs. It is operated by a private company, which has other similar homes in the area.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 1 December 2022 and is suitably qualified.

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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: 14 December 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: 2523034 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/12/2022 Full Good 08/02/2022 Full Good 11/02/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2523034 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who live in the home are well cared for, with individualised support provided to them to meet their needs. Staff are establishing positive relationships with the children, promoting the development of their interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making excellent progress with their engagement in education. All children attend school and the manager liaises with professionals to ensure that their education is a priority. Children show aspirational thinking for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported to develop their independence skills. Staff complete a good standard of planning with them to achieve this. The children are given responsibilities, such as independent cooking, budgeting, and caring for pets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are sought regularly. Their views influence the development of their home, such as choosing furniture, décor and activities they wish to participate in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health is promoted, and support for their mental health is an area of strength. Alternative therapies were explored for one child to meet their needs. This was given great consideration by the manager and has meant that the child has engaged well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have established good relationships with the children’s professional networks, who have praised them on their good communication skills and actively advocating for the best interests of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have developed good relationships the children’s wider families, and support them to maintain communication and visit them, regardless of the distance. However, they are not maintaining good communication with the children’s parents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that there are rigorous plans and ongoing communication with professionals when planning for children to live in or leave the home. Children are well prepared, and effort is made to understand their needs and wants. Children are kept in contact when they leave the home. However, there is not a thorough analysis when considering the impact of risk between the child moving in to the home and the children already living there.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the risks to children. These risks are managed well. Staff know and understand their care plans, which ensures that children are kept safe.

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

Safeguarding children is a priority for staff. They have regular conversations in supervision, team meetings, and with the children about how to keep the children Inspection report for children’s home: 2523034 4 safe from a range of risks. Online safety is a particular area of focus. This has been effectively monitored and progress has been made, with children knowing and understanding the risks that are present online.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. When they do, staff are proactive in their approach and liaise well with others, following their policies and risk assessments to ensure that children return to the home safely.

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

The use of restraint is infrequent. Effective behaviour management is used and positive relationships are established between staff and the children. When there are incidents requiring the use of restraint, these are proportionate and recorded well.

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

When children have made allegations against staff, these have been handled well by the senior managers. Allegations have been thoroughly explored, with clear records of the action taken. Feedback is shared with the children.

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

The recruitment of staff is completed with detail, scrutiny and curiosity. Children are involved with the recruitment of new staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a high level of expectation for the care that is provided to the children and leads by example to ensure that staff are confident in managing the needs of the children. Staff are well supported by the manager, encouraged to reflect on their own practice, and effectively challenged when necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. They have developed a clear action plan to manage any weaknesses, which is reviewed to ensure continued development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with a good induction and increased supervision when they join the team. The manager is aware of the impact of new staff working in the home and arranged a team building day to aid with staff morale and team bonding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with training that ensures that they can meet the needs of the children. Training is discussed with the staff to ensure that they have developed a good understanding of their learning. There are opportunities for staff to refresh and revisit training when needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s oversight of significant incidents is good and consistently shows that she is considering the needs of the children and ways to develop the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has established good relationships with other professionals and shows good insight into what is needed to form these relationships. However, feedback is rarely sought from others to inform the development of the overall service. Inspection report for children’s home: 2523034 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should oversee the welfare of the children in their care through engagement with each child’s parents, where appropriate, by maintaining contact with them regularly. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of the information by gaining regular feedback from the wider network for the children to ensure continuous improvement. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that they have fully considered and recorded the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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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: 2523034 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4 Dane John Works, Gordon Road, Canterbury CT1 3PP

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Inspector

Faye McCarthy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2523034 7 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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