Children's home run by The Kennedy and Elliott Partnership LLP

Inspection report for children’s home: 2517054 1 Registered provider: Kennedy and Elliott Partnership LLP Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in February 2020 and is privately owned. It provides care for up to six children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 4 December 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, five children were living at 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2517054 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/08/2023 Full Good 15/11/2022 Full Good 05/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2517054 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children living in the home were spoken to by the inspectors.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a relaxed and friendly atmosphere in the home. Children are cared for by a stable and committed staff team. One child said that they always knew which staff were going to be at the home to look after them. Children benefit from a consistent routine and have trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

New children have moved into the home since the last inspection. Children spoken to said that they have been made to feel welcome and are happy living at the home. Most of the new children had an opportunity to visit the home before they moved in. There is an informative children’s guide that tells children what to expect when they move into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has recently left the home. Staff and the other children arranged a farewell party. Children care about each other. They feel comfortable to bring friends to the home. One child brought a new friend she had made at college back. Children enjoy activities together. Some of the children recently enjoyed a holiday away together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s education. Two children have recently started college together and two other children attend an education provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are registered with health professionals and are supported to attend appointments. Healthcare plans do not always set out the children’s health needs, such as their specific dietary needs or details of their prescribed medication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to see their family and friends. All the children said that they are happy to be living where they are and want to stay until they are ready to live independently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is two terraced homes joined together. There are two kitchens and two living rooms, a study room and a recording studio. The home is well decorated and kept to a good standard. Some of the children have recently changed bedrooms and are planning to redecorate them.

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

Children have a clear understanding about their routines 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 to promote their well-being. Inspection report for children’s home: 2517054 4 Staff work together well. They have a good understanding of safeguarding and the risks posed to children in the community. Staff are skilled at de-escalating tricky situations. Staff are all trained in the use of physical intervention, although this is rarely used.

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

Diversity is celebrated. The staff marked Black history week with the children by cooking diverse types of food and thinking about diverse cultures. Emphasis is placed on helping children to build on their self-confidence and resolve difficulties that they may have through open discussions with staff and each other.

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

Leaders and managers have worked hard to reduce incidents of children going missing from home. This has included working closely with professionals, families and children.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that safer recruitment policies and procedures are followed. This provides assurances that staff have been appropriately vetted before they look after children.

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

Risk assessments and care plans are not consistently recorded by staff in a way that makes it easy to track progress and to understand the children’s views. These shortfalls have not impacted on the care or safety of children, and the leadership and management team is currently implementing a plan to improve recording in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is qualified and experienced. She works hard to ensure that the children have the support they need. She is a consistent presence in the home, actively modelling the care she wants to see the staff deliver. Her commitment to the children is appreciated by the leadership and management team, the staff and the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been a few changes at the home since the last inspection. The home has expanded and there are three additional places for children. There has been a change in the responsible individual. The deputy manager moved to be the registered manager at a sister home and a new deputy has been appointed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy manager keep in close contact with the children’s social workers, school, health professionals and parents to promote an open and transparent approach to safeguarding. External feedback from professionals about the care provided to the children is positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they enjoy working at the home. There are some vacancies in the team, particularly at the weekend, and members of the leadership and management team are actively recruiting new members of staff to join. Weekly team meetings and supervision sessions provide staff with opportunities to reflect on their practice and share their views and ideas. Inspection report for children’s home: 2517054 5 The structure of the staff team and staff qualifications are not set out in the workforce development plan. How training is disseminated to staff is not consistently recorded. This makes it difficult for the members of the leadership and management team to have oversight of the staff team’s training needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2517054 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that, in consultation with children, their risk assessments are kept up to date and strategies to try and reduce the risk are clearly set out and reviewed. 22 November 2024

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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 in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 22 November 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2517054 7 In particular, the leadership and management team must ensure that care plans and health plans are updated and finalised.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should have a workforce plan that details the necessary management and staffing structure, the experience and qualifications of staff currently working in the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff to enable the delivery of the home’s statement of purpose. The plan should detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training, such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications. The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and be used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager and deputy manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: 2517054 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kennedy and Elliott Partnership LLP

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Beckwith Barn, Warren Estate, Lordship Road, Writtle, Essex CM1 3WT

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Inspectors

Matilda Clode, Social Care Inspector Ruth Okezie, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2517054 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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