Children's Home run by The Drive Care Homes Ltd in Bexley

Inspection report children's home: 2692918 1 Registered provider: The Drive Care Homes Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children's home

This privately owned home provides care for up to four children with learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children's home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in September 2022.

p.1

Information about this children's home

There were four children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 5 September 2023

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2692918 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/09/2023 Full Good 10/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2692918 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well cared for in this home. There is a stable and consistent staff team, and the atmosphere in the home is calm. All four children have lived in the home for over a year. The children benefit from having warm relationships with staff and one another. Parents and professionals praise the care that staff provide to the children. One parent described the staff as being like family to their child. They described how their child had started using public transport and had gone away on holiday for the first time. They were pleased with the progress their child has made.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met, and all the children are registered with the relevant health services. Staff make sure that children take their medication as prescribed and there is a clear record of children’s medical needs. This helps staff to safely administer children’s medication.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress with their leaning. Staff work hard to ensure that the children are in full-time education. For example, one child was supported with the transition back to school after a long break from education. All the children said that they enjoy going to school, and there are no concerns about their attendance.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are taken out on a range of activities. These are planned at weekly meetings with the children. Picture cards help the children to make decisions and communicate what activity they would like to do. Children are supported to undertake activities that they enjoy. For example, the children enjoy playing football, having pamper sessions, making henna tattoos, and they recently enjoyed a summer holiday away with staff. One child, who loves football, has joined a community football team. The child is planning to go to a Manchester United game with their key-worker. Staff have created a folder of photos for each child, so they can look back on the happy memories of living in the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time is carefully planned. Family members visit the home and spend time with the children in the community. Staff work hard to ensure children have a positive relationship with their family members.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Pictures, singing and pecs are used to aid communication. Children are asked what they would like to see improved or changed within their home during their weekly meetings. To date no suggestions have been made by the children, and the children’s input into their care planning is limited.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious; there is a large front room with games, comfortable chairs and a television. The garden has a trampoline and space for the children to play. The children’s bedrooms are roomy, and children can individualise them to their own tastes. The kitchen door is locked prohibiting children from entering on occasions; this is in contrast Inspection report children's home: 2692918 4 to the rest of the house. It is not clear what risk an open door to the kitchen would pose to each child, and this is not reviewed on an individual basis.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Goals or targets towards independence are not routinely set with the children. This means that progress cannot always be effectively monitored by managers. One child’s wish to be more independent with their self-care was only acted upon after the child raised this with the independent visitor.

p.4

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

Staff understand the children’s risks and vulnerabilities. Risk assessments are updated after incidents of concern, and this ensures that staff know how best to safeguard children.

p.4

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

The children have a clear understanding about their routine and what their day entails. Children are helped to understand the rules in the house and staff maintain consistent expectations. There is an emphasis on praise and encouragement. This provides a sense of security for the children and helps promote their wellbeing.

p.4

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

Children are helped with their understanding about personal care and supported to become more independent. Older children are not spoken to about sexual health and development. The manager plans to develop work in this area with her staff team and the children.

p.4

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

There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home. Each child has relevant information about them recorded on file should they go missing.

p.4

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

Staff are trained to restrain children safely when required. There have been no incidents of restraint being used since the last inspection.

p.4

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

Concerns about the children’s behaviour, accidents and complaints are low. When they have occurred recording does not consistently include information about who was present, a clear chronology of what happened and who was notified. It is not clear how such matters are reviewed by the management and leadership team.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced and suitably qualified manager. The manager oversees two homes.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management and leadership team have worked hard to ensure the staff team receive regular training and are skilled at working with the children in their care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management and staff team work closely with allocated social workers, health professionals, teachers and other professionals working with children. Feedback from professionals about the care provided by staff is positive. Inspection report children's home: 2692918 5 Staff at the home feel supported by colleagues and the registered manager. Regular team meetings and individual supervision provide staff with opportunities to reflect on their practice and share their views and ideas. However, the quality of performance appraisals is limited by the lack of goal setting, and feedback from external professionals and children. Inspection report children's home: 2692918 6

p.4

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, 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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the children's home's overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

p.6

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children's needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child's needs, as recorded in the child's relevant plans, taking account of the child's background;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child's relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)(vi)(ix)) 19 September 2024

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there is a record of the child's care plan which highlights their individual needs and reviews their progress. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including quality standards' page 55 paragraph 14 (b) (ii)).

p.6

Recommendations

 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 Inspection report children's home: 2692918 7 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. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including quality standards' page 15 paragraph 3.10)

p.6

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 children's home: 2692918 8

p.7

Children's home details

Registered provider: The Drive Care Homes Ltd

p.8

Children's home details

Registered provider address: Cyrinus House, 18 Hatherley Road, Sidcup, DA14 4BG

p.8

Inspectors

Matilda Clode, Social care inspector Josephine Onwubiko, Social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 2692918 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.

p.8

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9