Children's Home run by Fairport Care Services Ltd in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: SC066129 1 SC066129

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Registered provider: Fairport Care Services 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 provides care for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 16 July 2020 and is suitably qualified.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, there were four children and one young adult 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

Date of last inspection: 17 October 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC066129 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/10/2023 Full Outstanding 14/02/2023 Full Outstanding 26/05/2021 Full Good 12/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC066129 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a stable and experienced staff team. Staff understand children’s needs and have a nurturing approach, which supports effective and positive relationship-building. The children value relationships with dedicated members of staff and with the senior management team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making educational progress. Plans for children to access education are individualised. Staff ensure that clear boundaries are maintained and support children to maintain normal educational routines. One child has been supported to recently sit and pass their GCSEs. Staff celebrate children’s achievements. They work with children at their own pace and gradually introduce skills for independent living through the day-to-day running of the house.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff team support children to maintain positive relationships with their family members and the people who are important to them. The children’s families speak highly of the care and support provided to their children and feel part of their children’s care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are healthy, and their health needs are responded to and appropriately met. They are encouraged to eat a varied and balanced diet. They are also provided with regular meetings with a qualified therapist to help them process some of their experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is well maintained and decorated to a high standard. It is warm and welcoming and has a homely feel. Children personalise their bedrooms, and these reflect their individuality. Outside spaces are large and well maintained and provide various areas for the children to play and enjoy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staffing levels are high, which means that children can engage in dedicated time with staff as well as group activities. However, children have limited contact with the wider community. Consequently, they have fewer opportunities for socialising with peers and building new friendships locally.

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

The registered manager ensures that any safeguarding concerns are responded to swiftly and efficiently by all staff. Staff have a clear understanding of safeguarding processes. Staff understand the children and their vulnerabilities, and they keep children safe and regularly assess risk. One child stated, ‘It is the safest that I have ever felt.’

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

Staff use physical intervention on occasion to keep children safe. Staff are trained in de-escalation and physical intervention. Children and staff are offered the opportunity Inspection report for children’s home: SC066129 4 to have a debrief following any incidents. Children are supported to reflect on these incidents and repair any ruptures in relationships.

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

Children’s missing-from-home episodes have reduced due to the manager and staff’s consistent responses to these. Consequently, children rarely go missing. When they do, other professionals and family members are kept well informed.

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

The manager has ensured that staff and children understand diversity and celebrate difference. The manager has employed a diverse staff team and sourced specialist training for staff around the needs of individual children.

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

Children have a good understanding of the complaints process and know how to make a complaint. Children have access to external independent advocacy services to support them to have their voices heard. One child has been supported to maintain a relationship with an advocate for over nine years. The children are all encouraged to share their thoughts and views through regular house meetings. However, on occasion, children share some inappropriate information in these forums.

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

Managers have safer recruitment processes in place, which are generally effective. However, on one occasion, gaps in a candidate’s employment history were not sufficiently explored.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an established senior leadership team that works well together. Leaders are a regular, visible and stabilising presence in the home. Staffing numbers are sufficient and meet the needs of the children. Managers provide good support to staff. This increases staff retention, which ensures that children receive consistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals report effective, collaborative working and are complimentary of the care that the children receive. Managers escalate any concerns with placing authorities effectively. On one isolated occasion, the regulator was not informed of a serious allegation made by a child. This did not have a negative impact on the child. Appropriate action was taken, and all other professionals were informed and maintained a level of external scrutiny.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, the leadership team has good oversight of the service. In more recent weeks, some aspects of its monitoring processes have slipped. Consequently, there are inconsistencies in some staff supervision records, and the language used in some children’s records is not always child-centred. There has also been a delay in completing the most recent quality of care review. These issues have not had a negative impact on the children, and leaders had already identified them as areas to improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are generally well trained. They are well supported and offer good-quality care to children. However, some staff members have not met the expected timescale for Inspection report for children’s home: SC066129 5 completing the level 3 diploma. The manager is aware of this shortfall and is taking action to address this. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066129 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d)) 30 November

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Recommendations

 The registered person should notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a)-(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious (40(4)(e)). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)  The registered person should ensure all staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.12)  The registered person should ensure staff respect children’s privacy and support the other children living in the home to do so. This is in relation to the children’s house meetings and ensuring that discussions remain appropriate and protect the

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Recommendations

dignity of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.17)  Children should be supported to understand how to build friendships with other children. They should be able to spend time with their friends in the local community, in their home area and by having friends visit them at the home, in Inspection report for children’s home: SC066129 7 line with the child’s plans, age and understanding. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.7)  The registered person should make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring, including under regulations 44 and 45, to ensure continuous improvement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: SC066129 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Fairport Care Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bank Chambers, 1 Central Avenue ME10 4AE

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nicky Farrant-D-Wilson

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Inspectors

Emma Haskell, Social Care Regulatory Inspector (Lead) Cassie Martin, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC066129 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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