Children's home run by Kent County Council in Ashford

Inspection report for children’s home: SC439282 1 SC439282 Registered provider: Kent County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This short-breaks service is jointly funded by the health authority and the local authority. The home provides short breaks for up to three children with physical disabilities and/or learning disabilities. There is also a day-care service which runs in some school holidays.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children staying at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 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 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: SC439282 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/08/2022 Full Good 02/12/2021 Full Good 07/01/2020 Full Good 06/03/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC439282 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are looked after by staff who know them well. Relationships between children and staff are strong and often long-standing. Staff are committed to ensuring that children’s dignity is upheld and that they have enjoyable experiences during their stays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work collaboratively with children’s parents and carers and they are responsive and adaptable to children’s individual needs. Family members say that children enjoy their stays and that they are safe and happy at the home. One parent told inspectors that their child’s care ‘has been managed beautifully and we have all worked as a team.’ Another described the support their child has received as ‘immeasurable’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff creatively support children to have a meaningful contribution in children’s meetings and often choose a theme for discussion to promote learning and independence. Recent examples include children giving their views about road safety and kindness, and opportunities for children to choose activities they would like to do during their stays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s achievements are celebrated by staff and examples of their accomplishments can be seen displayed throughout the home. These are also recorded in memory photo books, which children can access and have as a record of their experiences and progress when they leave the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff proactively engage in multi-agency working and frequently facilitate children’s review meetings at the home. Collaboration with wider support networks was highlighted as an area of good practice by several external professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand how difficult it can be for some children to navigate changes to their usual routine and to move between activities. They sensitively support children using grounding techniques. The quality of the children’s experiences is clearly evidenced throughout the home with lovely photo displays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to be part of the community. During the inspection, children enjoyed a trip to the local shops to buy ingredients for a baking activity. Children are also supported with faith-based activities, such as arts and crafts to decorate the home for Christmas. Despite care plans clearly describing the children’s ethnicity and religion, they lack explicit detail how children’s culture can be promoted at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC439282 4

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

Incidents in which children are at risk of harm are rare. There are clear protocols for recording accidents and incidents, which are analysed on a quarterly basis to identify themes and learning. Management auditing processes are effective and provide an additional layer of scrutiny.

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

Physical restraint has not been used since the last inspection. Records show that this is because staff use redirection, distraction and other de-escalation techniques to good effect. Their knowledge of children enables staff to employ prompt support and intervention to children when required.

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

Children are supported to understand their own risks and vulnerabilities. One member of staff takes the lead on supporting children to understand thematic safety messages, such as road safety and online safety. The home is proactive at protecting children from being in unsafe situations.

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

Comprehensive multidisciplinary assessments take place when children need specialist equipment to keep them safe. Some equipment restricts children’s movement and plans demonstrate that the use of the equipment is kept under close review. Two children have progressed to no longer needing restrictive equipment. Managers are responsive to children’s changing needs and feedback from parents about their preferred support for their children.

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

Children’s healthcare needs are managed very well, with clear documentation to ensure that children’s medication is administered safely. Staff are supported by healthcare professionals to ensure that they remain competent and confident to carry out delegated health tasks.

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

When new children start to use the service, managers ensure that staff have the correct training to meet their needs. Careful planning takes place so that groups of children staying together are compatible, depending on children’s preferences, abilities and areas of risk. This gives the best chance of short breaks being enjoyable and successful for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new registered manager was appointed soon after the last inspection and he steers the service with a caring and amenable approach. The registered manager is well supported by senior members of the team, who have high aspirations and good insight into the needs of the home and the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff team meetings are regular and well attended. Leaders ensure that learning and updates are discussed, with clear actions for staff to continually improve their practice and the care they provide. There is some evidence of reflection in these sessions, which has a positive impact on the care children receive. Inspection report for children’s home: SC439282 5 The process for recording children’s progress has improved since the last inspection. There are ambitions evident within the manager’s development plans to improve these further. Efforts are being made by leaders to ensure that changes made are in keeping with the home’s ethos and are appropriate for the children they provide a service for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have been responsive to previous requirements made at the last inspection and have successfully addressed most of the shortfalls identified. There is still some work to do on the identification of serious incidents and ensuring that these are reported to the regulator.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records are sensitively written with children in mind. The manager ensures that his reviews of children’s meetings are addressed directly to the children and are personalised, fun and engaging.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recruitment processes are mainly of a good standard and in keeping with regulatory requirements. However, in the recruitment record of one staff member, the relevant checks are not clearly documented. The registered manager confirmed that the recruitment record template will be amended prior to the next round of recruitment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff retention and consistency are relatively good, despite some recent challenges. The leadership team works hard to ensure that there is flexibility around their availability and support offered to make sure that children receive a service from a familiar and skilled workforce.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision is regular, and staff are supervised by suitably qualified individuals. Where there are improvements to practice required, support is offered and there is good management oversight of this. Inspection report for children’s home: SC439282 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 notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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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

The requirements are that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d)) 1 February 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered manager should ensure that children’s care plans describe how to meet their cultural needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2)

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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: SC439282 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kent County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sessions House, County Road, Maidstone ME14 1XQ

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Inspectors

Tash Williams, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Emma Haskell, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC439282 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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Inspectors

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