Children's home run by Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited in Thanet

Inspection report for children’s home: SC023737 1 SC023737 Registered provider: Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to three children with social and emotional needs.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is currently on long-term leave. The new interim home manager was appointed in November 2024 and has made an application with Ofsted to register.

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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC023737 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/03/2024 Full Good 07/03/2023 Full Good 14/02/2022 Full Good 31/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC023737 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have an in-depth knowledge of the children’s needs and their backgrounds. The individual uniqueness of each child living in the home is fully recognised, with staff tailoring the support provided to reflect this understanding.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff give careful thought to how they support children who move into the home. This includes meetings, telephone discussions and visual tools to aid introductions. One social worker praised the planning from staff to support a child to move in. They highlighted how the support that staff provided extended to significant others in the child’s life. It is because of this thoughtfulness and attention to detail that children settle in and begin to form relationships quickly.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have moved out of the home since the last inspection. Staff ensure a careful and planned approach when supporting children to move on from the home. This includes joint working with partner agencies to encourage positive endings for children. Some children who have moved on from the home have remained in touch with staff for some time afterwards. This is testament to the relationships children and staff develop with each other.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they feel safe. They attribute this to both the home environment and the support they receive from staff. Children say the staff are helpful and that they feel confident to seek support from them whenever needed.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consistently keep relevant partner agencies up to date. This sharing of information ensures relevant professionals have a clear understanding of what is happening for the children. This joint working promotes a coordinated approach to supporting and improving outcomes for the children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children regularly spend time with the people who are important to them. Staff support the children in both the practical and emotional elements surrounding family time. This helps the children to maintain meaningful relationships regardless of distance.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to identify and be involved in hobbies and activities that reflect their individual interests. The children also attend a range of activities with staff. There is a strong focus on making positive memories in the home, with staff helping children to celebrate birthdays and special events.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with schools and education services. Staff have strong aspirations for the children and place an importance on learning. Staff advocate on children’s behalf to ensure they receive services that both meet their needs and further their learning. Inspection report for children’s home: SC023737 4

p.3

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

Staff are aware of risks for children. They take appropriate action to reduce these risks. The children have detailed individual risk assessments, which staff regularly review and update. These assessments guide staff on how to respond appropriately when safeguarding concerns arise, and they help mitigate risk for children.

p.4

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

Some children have, on occasion, gone missing from home. Staff take proactive measures to locate and support the children to return safely when this happens. Because of the relationships staff develop with them, the children often remain in contact during these times. This helps staff to understand immediate risks to the children’s welfare and their whereabouts. Staff quickly follow the procedures around reporting and updating relevant professionals. On the child’s return, staff provide opportunities for supportive discussions with them about why they have gone missing. Staff request that independent return home interviews are conducted by children’s social workers to further try to understand how children can best be kept safe.

p.4

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

Staff consistently use de-escalation approaches when managing difficult situations in the home. Physical interventions are used only as a last resort by staff and when used, are proportionate. The manager maintains good management oversight of any physical intervention and ensures that supportive conversations are routinely held with children following any incidents.

p.4

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

Allegations against staff are rare. When allegations have been made, appropriate steps have been taken to alert safeguarding agencies. Children’s concerns are listened to, and investigations undertaken are thorough. However, on one occasion, there was a lack of clarity about how a decision not to instigate an internal investigation had been reached.

p.4

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

The home is a comfortable and inviting place to live. Children have nice bedrooms and are proud of these. They are encouraged to individualise their rooms. However, some health and safety risks were not identified. For example, a suitably detailed risk assessment was not in place in respect of kitchen improvement works being undertaken. The unlocked basement contained various flammable items. As well as a fire risk, this presented potential hazards for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The current registered manager is on extended leave. A new interim manager has been appointed and has applied to register with Ofsted.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager has quickly established her role and built relationships with staff. They identify her to be a supportive and knowledgeable figure in the home. On the occasions when the manager is unavailable, staff feel well supported by senior managers. Staff speak positively of their work environment, and there is good morale among them. Inspection report for children’s home: SC023737 5 The manager has, in a short time, established a good understanding of the children’s backgrounds and care needs. Children name the manager as someone they can talk to about any concerns if needed.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision is completed regularly and is of good quality. Other forums, such as child-focused discussions and staff meetings, are routinely attended. This provides staff with opportunities to reflect on significant events for children and agree on the best approaches to support them.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff complete a wide range of training to increase their understanding and develop their skills. This includes supplementary training provided to support specific needs of the children in the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are consulted on aspects of their care, and their views are given due consideration. Children’s wishes and feelings are regularly gained through natural discussions, surveys and children’s meetings. Their views influence the day-to-day care provided and wider decisions about the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior leaders ensure that safe recruitment practices are in place to safeguard children. New staff have a detailed induction and feel well supported during this time. However, on one occasion, a new staff member was left alone on site to care for a child. They said they felt confident to do this, and management support was available if required. However, this was during their early induction to the home, when the staff member had yet to gain a suitable understanding of both their role and the child’s needs.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Systems are in place to ensure independent monitoring of the home. However, the reports provided from these visits do not always identify and drive improvement for the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC023737 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager should ensure safe storage of flammables and that effective risk assessments are in place for planned work undertaken in the home. 31 January 2024

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure the home’s record following any allegation against staff, provides a clear rationale to any decision reached not to investigate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.14)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and 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)  The registered person should ensure any staff member in a deputy or supervisory role, such as ‘shift leader’, has substantial relevant experience of working in a children’s home and has successfully completed their induction to the home in which they are employed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality

p.6

Recommendations

standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.21) Inspection report for children’s home: SC023737 7

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 for children’s home: SC023737 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 17 Leigh Road, Ramsgate, Kent CT12 5EU

p.8

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Leslie Davenport

p.8

Inspectors

Kerry Howarth, Social Care Inspector Joanna Heller, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home: SC023737 9 regulates 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.

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