Children's home run by Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited in Thanet

Inspection report for children’s home: SC065517 1 SC065517 Registered provider: Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private provider and can offer support for up to six children. According to the home’s statement of purpose, staff provide children with the consistency and structure to develop healthy and positive relationships in a warm and nurturing environment. At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

A new manager started in January 2024. They are in the process of registering.

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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: SC065517 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/03/2023 Full Good 23/03/2022 Full Good 10/03/2020 Full Good 26/02/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC065517 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last full inspection, one child has moved in, and three children have moved out. One child moved out due to staff not being able to safely manage their behaviour and relationships with other children. Since then, managers have recruited new staff and have worked hard to upskill and train what is now a cohesive and consistent staff team for the one child living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have worked hard to build positive relationships with the child. Staff enjoy spending time with them and actively listen and then pursue the child’s wishes, likes and interests. Staff are currently supporting them to plant their own herbs and vegetables and take a great interest in the child’s love for art and photography. Staff practice is helping the child to re-establish and maintain trusting relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to decorate their bedrooms and furnish them in their preferred styles. Staff have brought low-arousal lighting for the lounge and other lights for the child’s bedroom. This is helping the child to feel settled and more relaxed in the evenings. Staff support children to explore their identity through fashion, pamper evenings, dying their hair and painting their nails. This is helping to build the child’s self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time safely with their families. Staff work in partnership with family members and allocated social workers to help ensure that family time is positive. One child has recently returned to their grandparent’s home and spent time with their family dogs. In another example, staff supported one child to travel a great distance by train to see their sisters and brothers. This helps children to feel supported and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager works collaboratively with virtual schools and social workers and advocates for children to attend school in line with their abilities. An education professional said, ‘Staff act as strong advocates for this young person’s needs.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to increase their independence skills in a natural and nurturing way. Children’s targets are individually focused on developing life skills such as attending to their laundry, menu planning, cooking and budgeting. This helps children to have a good understanding of daily routines and responsibilities.

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

Staff are consistent in their approaches and work together to review the routines and structures that they provide to children. Staff provide clear boundaries for children, and these are regularly discussed in child focus meetings and staff supervisions. Inspection report for children’s home: SC065517 4 Risk assessments are good and identify individual risks to children. Strategies used by staff to support children in managing risks are clear, and they are reviewed monthly. Risks are well described in children’s placement plans, and staff actively encourage children to talk about their behaviours and emotions.

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

Staff talk to children about how they can stay safe. Discussions include topics such as road safety, stranger danger and stories from the local news. Staff positively engage children in age-appropriate discussions about online safety. This means that children are well informed.

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

Since the last full inspection, physical interventions have significantly reduced for one child. Staff use clear strategies to help children feel safe and well supported. A child’s social worker said, ‘The staff know the child well and can manage difficult situations.’

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

The manager works collaboratively with safeguarding professionals and keeps good records of safeguarding concerns, including children’s allegations against staff. The manager worked with allocated social workers and designated safeguarding officers to produce a clear joint protocol for the child. This means that there are clear and agreed responses when allegations arise, which is something that has reduced in frequency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager left the home in December 2023. A new manager was appointed in January 2024. The new manager understands her regulatory responsibilities to register with Ofsted in the required time frame.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The current manager is present in the home for three days per week and is available to senior staff as and when needed on the other days. She completes all staff supervisions regularly and has a good understanding of the current needs of the one child living in the home. There are no current plans for more children to move into the home, and therefore, at this time, current management arrangements are suitable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The current manager is experienced and regularly reviews the progress that the child is making. She considers all areas of the child’s life, contributing to a well- informed staff team and professional network.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training focuses on keeping children safe and meeting their specific needs. Most staff have completed their level 3 qualification or are working towards it. This promotes staff’s understanding of the children that they care for and the challenges that children can face living in residential care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The provider has not always worked in line with the home’s statement of purpose, nor does it always share updates of the statement of purpose with Ofsted. For example, the child that moved in was outside of the identified age range in the home’s statement of purpose. Before the child moved in, the previous manager Inspection report for children’s home: SC065517 5 completed a suitable risk assessment. This included a review of the children’s dynamics and risks. Highlighted risks filtered into individualised risk assessments for the child that were kept under regular review. These reviews show that staff experienced some difficulties in managing the children’s relationship and clearly evidence the measures put in place to seek to address these. These included increased staffing levels, redirection and positively engaging children in separate activities until one child moved on in a planned way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

However, Ofsted was not made aware of the change in the age of the children that the provider was caring for. In addition, the home’s statement of purpose had been updated to reflect the change in leadership arrangements. However, it had not been shared with the regulator before this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC065517 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

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (3)(b) (5)) 20 May 2024

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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: SC065517 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 17 Leigh Road, Ramsgate, Kent CT12 5EU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Leslie Davenport

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Inspector

Kelly Monniot, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC065517 8 regulates and inspects 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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