Children's home run by Channels and Choices Kent LLP in Dover

Inspection report for children’s home: SC062931 1 SC062931 Registered provider: Channels and Choices Kent LLP 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 is registered to provide care for up to four children. At the time of the inspection, four children were living in the home.

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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: SC062931 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2023 Full Good 22/03/2022 Full Good 31/07/2019 Full Good 06/03/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC062931 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home receive good-quality care. Staff are knowledgeable and committed. They understand each child’s experiences and support them to grow in confidence and make progress. Children’s spaces are personalised, and staff ensure that they are clean and comfortable. One child said, ‘I am happy here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are enabled to express their views. Staff have creative ways to capture these. Children have expressed what they want the basement and garden areas to look like and are involved in daily meetings, the incentives scheme and their positive support plans. Children are listened to, which enables them to feel valued and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are offered an array of activities. One child attends a weekly youth club and other children enjoy going to the cinema, soft-play centre, trampoline and scooter parks. During the summer, children were taken on holiday and enjoyable memories were made. Each child has an individual weekly planner, which gives them a sense of reassurance about what will be happening in the week. This reduces their anxieties as they know what to expect.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to therapists who support them with their emotional needs and literacy. When children want a break from therapy, their wishes are respected. Staff are also supported to meet children’s emotional needs by a therapist linked to the home. This enables them to consult on therapeutic approaches to use with the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children in the home are supported to attend school. They have individual goals that are appropriately reviewed. When behavioural challenges arise with children in school, the home is quick to look at approaches to address these. One child is on a reduced timetable and receives one-to-one support from staff to attend school. A social worker said, ‘I am impressed with the level of support [name of child] receives to access education and am hopeful that [name of child] can increase to full-time hours.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to see their families. Staff assist with travel and the supervision of this time. This is significant as children maintain and strengthen relationships that are important to them.

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

Children’s risk assessments are individual to each child and are regularly updated. Children are encouraged to understand their vulnerabilities and are consulted about their individual support plans. Children are individually spoken to about the use of non-intrusive door alarms in the home. Appropriate levels of supervision are in place, which is reassuring for each child. Inspection report for children’s home: SC062931 4 Staff are consistent in managing each child’s behaviour through a restorative approach. Reflective tools are used to help children to think about their behaviour and the impact on others. This supports children to develop empathy rather than feel shame.

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

It is rare for the current children in the home to go missing. On the one occasion that a child went missing, staff responded well. This ensured that the child returned home safely.

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

Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding practice. When incidents occur, de-escalation strategies are used to reduce the need for physical interventions. These strategies are effective as interventions in the home are reducing with some children. Children feel safe because of the clear boundaries and expectations that staff put in place.

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

Safer recruitment practices are good. This ensures that appropriate individuals are recruited to work with the children. When allegations arise, leaders deal with these appropriately. Learning is identified, and clear action plans are put in place when required.

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

The manager and staff respond to incidents in line with the ethos of the home. Staff and children learn from incidents through discussions. Positive steps are taken to reduce the risk of future occurrence. Staff value ‘therapeutic thinking time’ with the linked therapist as it helps them to better understand children and their behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is enthusiastic and knows the strengths and weaknesses of the home. He has a child-centred approach and seeks children’s views to inform decisions. The registered manager has clear action plans that describe how he will further improve the home. For example, life-story work is being further developed to support children to understand their life histories.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff have a good understanding of children’s lived experiences and needs. They are committed to supporting children to continue to make good progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff are invested in attaining positive outcomes for children, and this is modelled by the registered manager. Children are encouraged to demonstrate respect and care for others. They have also taken part in fundraising for various national charities. This helps them to make a positive contribution.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good working relationships with other professionals. An independent reviewing officer said that the registered manager has brought good suggestions to professional meetings about how to gently reinstate dialogue between a child and their parent. Inspection report for children’s home: SC062931 5 Supervision for staff is specific, timely and reflective. Staff feel well supported by the registered manager. Training supports staff’s personal development and growth and equips with them with the skills that they need to care for children. However, some refresher training is overdue for several staff, and the training log is not kept up to date. This hinders the manager’s oversight in this area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Diversity is embraced at this home, and children are well supported to share their views and participate. Inspection report for children’s home: SC062931 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that records demonstrate that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and that the registered manager understands their key role in the training and development of staff in the home. Staff should complete refresher training when due, and training records should be kept up to date. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: SC062931 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Channels and Choices Kent LLP

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Atlas Chambers, 33 West Street, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 2RE

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Inspector

Karen Flanagan de Martinez, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC062931 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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