Children's Home run by Benecare Limited in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: SC357981 1 SC357981 Registered provider: Benecare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by a private organisation. It provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since February 2024. The manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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: SC357981 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/10/2023 Full Good 19/07/2022 Full Good 10/01/2022 Full Good 09/07/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC357981 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children were observed to be relaxed and happy, and they say that they like living in the home. Children benefit from a high standard of individualised care, and this helps them to make good progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to pursue their hobbies and interests. The strong relationships enjoyed between children and staff help to ensure that activity planning is proactive and child focused. As a result, children stay positively engaged with the home and with the local community. In one example, careful support from staff to help a child to remain focused on their hobbies has led to a reduction in risk-taking behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to regularly have positive experiences with people who are important to them. This includes overnight stays with families, previous carers and friends. Maintaining important positive long-term relationships contributes to a sense of belonging and security for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into and out of the home are well planned. Children experience positive endings and improved outcomes because of the progress they make. For example, since the last inspection, one child has been able to move into foster care, and another has moved on to independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

None of the children are enrolled in full-time education. Managers are appropriately advocating for children and challenging external professionals to reach a resolution. In the meantime, staff are not providing children with opportunities for learning or encouraging them to engage in the education offer that is in place. As a result, there are missed opportunities to ensure that children are engaging and achieving in education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are empowered to have a say in the way they are looked after. Staff acknowledge and respond to children’s wishes and feelings. Children know how to make complaints and can be confident that their voices will be heard.

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

The positive relationships enjoyed between children and staff enable staff to make sound decisions to ensure children’s safety and well-being.

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

There are clear plans in place that describe to staff how to respond to children’s known risks. This includes what to do if children go missing from the home. Incidents of children going missing no longer occur because of the proactive steps staff have taken in response to missing-from-care incidents. Inspection report for children’s home: SC357981 4 Positive behaviour is noticed and rewarded. Staff receive good-quality training about how to manage behavioural incidents. As a result, there have been no incidents that require physical restraint.

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

External professionals are kept informed about children’s progress and made aware of any significant incidents and safeguarding concerns. When safeguarding concerns arise, managers respond swiftly to ensure children’s safety. Managers ensure that staff are well informed and equipped to support children to become increasingly safe. For example, good use is made of child sexual exploitation toolkits.

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

Overall, the home is bright, tidy and clean. Some refurbishment and redecoration are underway to freshen up the communal areas. Children’s bedrooms have personal items that reflect their interests and identity. However, children’s bedrooms are not routinely checked for cleanliness or to ensure that there are no hazardous items. This has the potential to put children at risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been several changes to the make-up of the management team since the last inspection. Managers have ensured that this has not had a negative impact on the standard of care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers strive for positive outcomes for children. They make sure that children are consulted about changes and developments that affect them. This makes managers good role models for the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about the support that they receive from managers. The induction process for new staff equips them to understand and meet children’s needs and ensures that children experience a consistent approach to their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive meaningful supervision, and the records of these sessions are of very good quality. The records demonstrate that discussions are reflective and relevant to the roles that staff fulfil. However, supervision does not always take place at the intervals set by the organisation. This shortfall means that assessment of staff performance is not as regular as it could be.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training that is relevant to the needs of the children they are looking after. However, not enough staff have received first-aid training to ensure that at least one person on duty holds a first-aid qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers make good use of internal monitoring. If something has not gone to plan, they investigate and write detailed reports that include the actions they intend to take in response. However, the records do not demonstrate how learning will be shared with individual staff or the whole staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: SC357981 5

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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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(b)) 2 December 2024

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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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d)) 2 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the employment of any person on a temporary basis at the children’s home does not prevent children from receiving such continuity of care as is reasonable to meet their needs.

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Requirement Due date

at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification. (Regulation 31 (1) (2)(a)) 2 December 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— 2 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC357981 6 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) (2)(h))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that there are systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: SC357981 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Thatch Vine Farm, Stockers Hill, Boughton-under- Blean, Faversham, Kent ME13 9AB

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Inspectors

Sonata Brisley, Social Care Inspector Georgia Carty, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC357981 8 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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