Children's Home run by Moonreach LTD in Kent

Inspection report for children's home: 1258463 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

This privately owned home is registered to provide care for one child who experiences social and/or emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since 3 July 2023. The manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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: 13 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: 1258463 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/09/2022 Full Good 24/05/2022 Full Inadequate 02/08/2021 Full Good 11/12/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1258463 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff who promote the ethos of the home, which is to build positive and secure relationships. Staff do this by quickly gaining an understanding of children’s interests and considering ways to promote these. For example, following a child’s suggestion, staff arranged an evening of games and films where they and the childwore matching pyjamas.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have supportive relationships with staff and they are encouraged to express their needs and wishes. Children are supported to raise concerns and these are taken seriously and investigated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have engaging conversations with staff about their interests and the support they need to remain safe while away from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to become independent and to develop valuable life skills. Children learn how to cook and develop budgeting skills to aid their transition towards adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a variety of health professionals to meet their needs and staff encourage them to attend health appointments. Staff help children understand their emotions and mental health needs, through key-work sessions and discussions. Staff liaise with specialist professionals to share information to ensure consistent approaches to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children move on from the home in a well-planned way and have positive outcomes. One child benefited from staff support when they moved into their own flat and another child has maintained regular positive communication with staff. The manager has good oversight of plans, to ensure that the needs of children moving into the home are carefully considered.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and promote children’s education. For one child, a school place was identified before they came to live in the home. The manager maintained good communication with the child’s network to ensure that they had a positive experience when starting school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children maintain good relationships with their families. Staff support children to see their families and encourage families to visit the home when appropriate. One parent praised staff for the positive relationship established with them and the close communication they have with staff about the needs of their child.

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

Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and there are good safety plans in place to help children to become safer. Inspection report for children's home: 1258463 4 Children who go missing from home are supported to return home safely by staff who show care and concern. Staff liaise with the required professionals during this time and ensure that missing-from-home protocols are followed. Staff carry out work with children to try and help them understand the risks to themselves and are clear throughout that they are cared for. This is effective and the risks associated with children going missing from home reduce as children gain an insight into the dangers.

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

Allegations against staff are made rarely but when they are made, they are taken seriously. Appropriate action is taken to share the information with relevant agencies and the investigations are managed well.

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

Staff provide a good level of support to children who harm themselves, and they understand their risks. Children are responded to with warmth, with safety as a priority. Staff help children to develop their own understanding of the risks associated with self-harm.

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

Staff support children who are anxious and upset by using techniques which work for that child, such as humour, allowing the child time and space to think and by providing consistency in responses. This is supported with effective and well-written behaviour support plans which clearly outline the individual needs of the child. Incidents are reported in a timely way to the wider professional network.

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

Restraint is rarely used. Staff use alternative ways to work with children. They focus on building positive relationships and have regular and honest conversations with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in post since August 2023 and has submitted his application to register with Ofsted. He has good oversight of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and has high aspirations for its development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has ensured that plans for children are individualised to their needs and any associated learning for staff is implemented before children move into the home. Staff are encouraged to consider ways of building relationships with children through fun activities such as cooking.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly and offer a space for staff to have reflective discussions which are child-focused and consider ways of working with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External professionals praised the staff and manager for maintaining good communication and building positive relationships with children and their efforts to keep children safe. However, there is a lack of evidence that external feedback is sought to inform the needs and development of the service. Inspection report for children's home: 1258463 5 There is a small core team of staff, who feel supported by the manager and head of care. Supervisions have generally been held regularly. However, one member of staff did not have supervision in line with his supervision agreement and company policy at the start of his employment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been three managers at the home since the last inspection in September 2022. During the periods between managers, senior management oversight of external monitoring and support was not as robust as it should have been. The quality of care report was not submitted to Ofsted and the independent visitor reports were of poor quality. The impact of this has been minimised as a new and experienced manager has been appointed and has quickly provided effective oversight. Senior managers have worked to improve the quality of reports but this is not yet embedded. Inspection report for children's home: 1258463 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, managers at all levels must ensure that reports that must be submitted to Ofsted under regulations 44 and 45 are of a good standard and submitted in a timely fashion, in line with guidance. 29 December

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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)  The registered person should ensure that they maintain good employment practice. They should ensure that staff supervision safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them, by providing new staff with supervision which matches the frequency outlined in their own policies. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) Inspection report for children's home: 1258463 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 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: 1258463 8

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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: 1258463 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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