Children's Home run by Rocksteady Care Ltd in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 1 Registered provider: Rocksteady Care Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home is registered to care for up to three children, aged between eight and 14, who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living in the home at the time of inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since February 2023.

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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: 2644283 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by a caring staff team and are making progress in a range of ways. One child is excelling in education, while others are developing their independence and social and communication skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend clubs and fun activities that suit their individual interests, such as karate and trampolining. One child is interested in beekeeping, so staff have organised for him to meet with an expert to help him learn more and gain some experience. Children are invested in making their home a nice place to live. One child is renovating the garden with staff and had fun choosing the flowers they wish to plant.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to maintain positive links with their families, friends and loved ones. Staff work with the placing authority to ensure that children’s time spent with those who are important to them is meaningful and a key part of children’s experiences. Special occasions are also well planned and birthdays are celebrated according to children’s wishes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

External professionals say communication from staff and the registered manager is timely and regular. One child’s social worker said that staff are ‘responsive and proactive’ in their approach to meeting children’s needs. Maintaining good communication with children’s professional network enables decisions about children’s care to be shared and for children to feel there is consistency and connectedness.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, the registered manager ensures that staff and children are consulted and prepared. If required, staff receive additional training to meet the new child’s needs. The registered manager seeks information from the child’s placing authority, but there have been times when children moved into the home without all the necessary documentation to ensure that the move went as smoothly as it could.

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

Key-work sessions focus on specific areas of vulnerability for children. They are used to good effect to help children to understand how to keep themselves safe and seek support when they need it. Staff demonstrate empathy and care during these conversations and are sensitive to children’s individual communication needs.

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

Incidents of physical restraint are infrequent because staff use de-escalation techniques based on their training and knowledge of the individual child. When physical restraints do occur, records of incidents are scrutinised by the registered manager. Some incidents are lengthy, but the manager’s oversight ensures that the use of the measure is proportionate, and the rationale is clear. After the incident, conversations are held with children that are restorative in nature. Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 4 Staffing numbers are sufficient to support children safely. The use of regular agency staff is limited, well planned and structured so that experienced staff take the lead with children. This ensures that children receive consistent care from familiar staff.

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

Children know how to make a complaint and complaints are taken seriously and responded to sensitively by the registered manager. Children say that they feel comfortable speaking to staff about their concerns. There are other opportunities for children to raise worries and ‘grumbles’ less formally, during children’s meetings or in chats with trusted staff.

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

Overall, health and safety matters are managed well. However, the registered manager should ensure that they comply fully with recommendations made in the fire safety risk assessment.

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

Children sometimes make allegations against staff and there are protocols in place to ensure the safety of children. However, staff do not always demonstrate confidence in recognising allegations at the earliest opportunity so that the appropriate action can be promptly taken.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good understanding of the children and high aspirations for their futures. Children speak about the positive relationships they have with the registered manager. One child said, ‘He is nice and keeps the place running smooth.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager works with the staff team to develop their knowledge and skills. He supports staff to learn through their practice and generates reflective discussions when the team meets. These informal learning opportunities are a useful complement to formal and mandatory training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Oversight from the registered manager covers all areas of the home. Senior roles for staff are being established, which offer a clearer structure for staff and greater definition of responsibilities. This means that children have more shared time with staff. However, protocols such as those relating to responding to missing-from-care episodes and allegations about staff are not fully understood or always followed by staff in a timely manner at times when the registered manager is absent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive reflective and supportive supervision from leaders and managers, when the needs of the children are discussed. Sometimes learning and training needs are discussed but this is not consistent, and there are examples of some essential training not being completed by staff within agreed timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager offers sensitive challenge to staff and professionals when it is in children’s best interests. He has a clear vision for the home and is enthusiastic about the developments in the home that he feels are most beneficial for children, such as the new sensory room and music equipment. While the registered manager has a sound understanding of the strengths and areas for development in the home, it is not clear Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 5 how children’s feedback has been used to inform the review of care or the changes made. Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 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 requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to recognise and respond to periods of absence or episodes of children going missing, and that their training needs are reviewed during supervision. The registered manager should also seek children and stakeholders’ views to inform their review of quality of care in the home. 19 July 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any allegations made by children are recognised, recorded and reported at the earliest opportunity. Staff should report any allegation of abuse immediately to a senior manager in the home and any allegation of harm or abuse must be addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.17) Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 7  The registered person should ensure that they comply with relevant health and safety legislation, including fire safety. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that they challenge any placing authority who asks them to accept a child in the absence of a complete and current relevant plan. It is essential that homes understand what will be required of them before they accept

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Recommendations

responsibility for a child’s placement, to avoid disruption and instability for the child in future and for other children in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.5)

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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: 2644283 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Rocksteady Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 18 Wealden Avenue, Tenterden TN30 6NN

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Inspector

Tash Williams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 9 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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