Children's home run by Carlar Care Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2592030 1 Registered provider: Carlar Care Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides specialist therapeutic care for up to four children.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in December 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: 2592030 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/07/2023 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Good 26/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2592030 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is very warm and welcoming. Some of the staff bring their dogs into the home and the children really enjoy having them around and like to spend time with them. Bedrooms have been personalised to individual children’s tastes and are very spacious. The home has a large outdoor space for the children to enjoy, which includes areas for planting vegetables.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are very settled in the home and feel safe around the staff working with them. The children ooze confidence. Staff have built strong, trusting and safe relationships with the children and give them a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are gathered in a variety of ways, including during monthly consultations with the registered manager, as well as through day-to-day practice. Staff understand children’s preferred methods of communication and consistently support children to participate fully in their daily lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a range of social, educational and recreational opportunities, tailored to their abilities. Children participate in community-based activities as well as going on day trips and holidays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager ensures that when a child moves in or out of the home, the transition is planned well, and the child is given the time that they need to adjust. The needs and feelings of children already living in the home are also considered. Staff remain in contact with children when they move on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop their independence safely, according to their individual needs. The manager is a ferocious advocate for the children and challenges other professionals if there are concerns about future planning for children, including the timing of when they will leave the home. This advocacy is a particular strength of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to attend school and are progressing well, taking into account their individual starting points. When a school place has not yet been identified for a child, staff are proactive in supporting educational activities while vociferously advocating for a return to full-time education as soon as possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their health needs and ensure that they have access to local health services. Staff liaise well with health professionals to ensure that children have the best healthcare available. Inspection report for children's home: 2592030 4

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

Children live in a safe environment. Health and safety procedures are effective. Any maintenance requirements are quickly resolved, and the manager ensures that the home is maintained to a high standard. Regular fire drills and checks are undertaken by staff. However, some staff have not kept their fire-safety training up to date. Despite this, staff and children know what is expected in an emergency to keep themselves and others safe. Managers have reviewed the use of the home’s alarms on the front and back doors, in relation to helping to keep children safe, however, their use is not regularly reviewed with the children’s placing authority.

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

Staff understand the risks and vulnerabilities of the children and respond to any concerns swiftly. Children’s plans and risk assessments are comprehensive and give a great insight into their needs and risks and how these are to be managed to ensure their safety and well-being. Staff work in line with safeguarding policies and procedures and escalate concerns to other professionals when required, including the police and health colleagues.

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

Knowledgeable staff can explain the processes and procedures when a child discloses a concern or makes an allegation. All necessary action and appropriate steps are taken in a child-focused and timely manner.

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

Incidents are well managed. Staff appropriately attempt to de-escalate situations through a patient approach. They use verbal reassurance and distraction techniques. Physical intervention is only ever used as a last resort to ensure the safety of children and/or others. The manager’s review of incidents is reflective, takes account of potential triggers for children, and provides guidance to staff on adapting their approach in the future.

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

Children are happy living in the home and rarely go missing. When children do go missing, staff take effective action to ensure that they return safely. They liaise effectively with the police and social workers and discuss these incidents with children to better understand how to support them to make positive decisions and stay safe.

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

Children are protected from online risks in the home and are provided with supervised access to the internet, appropriate to their individual ages.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an extremely ambitious manager who strives to provide children with the best possible care. The manager is supported by a proactive responsible individual who knows the home’s strengths and the areas of practice that can be improved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Reflective group sessions are provided for staff and supported by an external child psychotherapist. The home has an in-house therapeutic lead who provides advice, guidance and support on therapeutic parenting. Staff are able to incorporate this Inspection report for children's home: 2592030 5 knowledge into daily practice. This is a real asset to the home and ensures that children are cared for consistently by experienced and well-informed staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive good-quality practice-related supervision. However, not all staff have received an annual appraisal, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. However, the manager is proactive in encouraging and educating staff on good practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are some gaps in staff training. The manager has ensured that improvements have been made in terms of specific training required to meet children’s individual needs. However, some mandatory training, such as health and safety and fire safety, has not been completed or refreshed by all the team within the provider’s own timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the children very well and has a range of monitoring systems that effectively identify the home’s strengths and the improvements needed. The manager has a clear understanding of every aspect of the children’s lives and has high expectations for the children to make significant progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual also understands the children’s backgrounds well and the progress that they have made. She has formed positive relationships with the children and is passionate about them being well cared for. Inspection report for children's home: 2592030 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) 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. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff training is reviewed and refreshed regularly to ensure that staff knowledge and skills remain relevant and up to date. 31 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(c) 31 July 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that just as in a family home, children should be able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each child in the home (regulation 21(c)(i)). Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home, must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. This is in relation to the use of the door alarms and keeping them under regular review with the placing authority. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10) Inspection report for children's home: 2592030 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: 2592030 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Carlar Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 23 St Leonards Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex TN40 1HH

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Inspector

Emma Haskell, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2592030 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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