Children's Home run by Institute of Integrated Systemic Therapy in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: 2641682 1 Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a charitable organisation. It is registered to provide care and support for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties. There were four children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since September and has submitted their application to register with Ofsted. The previous manager left in August 2024.

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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: 2641682 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/03/2024 Full Good 07/02/2023 Full Good 15/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2641682 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff build positive and supportive relationships with the children. Consequently, the children trust them. One child said, ‘You can talk to anyone if you have any worries or concerns.’ These strong relationships underpin the progress that children make. Communication flows freely, and the staff and children engage in a relaxed and natural way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children feel consulted and valued by the staff. Staff encourage the children to share their views, wishes and feelings through informal and planned conversations as well as regular children’s meetings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained and has a warm, homely feel. Children are involved in the decoration of their bedrooms. Consequently, these reflect their individual personalities and interests. Children’s achievements are celebrated and their photos are on display. They each have personalised placemats to promote feelings of personal value and inclusivity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy playing on the various play equipment in the large garden. The children, with staff’s support, grow herbs and vegetables and care for their two guinea pigs. One child has really enjoyed developing their DIY skills by building a shed. They stated, ‘This is one of my favourite memories from being in the home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff register the children with local health services. They ensure that they attend necessary and routine health appointments to maintain good health and well- being. Children are well supported to manage any particular health conditions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that any moves in and out of the home are well planned. Children that are moving in or out receive tailored support to meet their needs. Staff advocate with partner agencies to ensure that the children continue to receive the support they need when they move on. The manager is developing a process across the home to maintain consistency of practice in developing children’s skills for independence. This is in response to the ages of children who live there.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to maintain relationships with those important to them. Staff help them maintain regular phone contact and take them to see their families. One family member said, ‘Staff have been fantastic; I have no concerns whatsoever.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that the children are in school, and staff support them to do their best. When children are not yet in school, there are clear plans for admission to local educational provisions. However, staff do not consistently explore alternative learning opportunities or structured activities for those children who are out of school. There are missed opportunities to creatively engage children’s learning and development and reintroduce them to the joy of learning. Inspection report for children’s home: 2641682 4

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

The home is settled, and serious incidents are few. There have been no allegations, complaints or incidents of bullying.

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

Staff have developed strong relationships with the children. They help them develop the skills to manage their emotions and difficult feelings. They are skilled at preventing and de-escalating difficult situations. Consequently, staff have not used any physical intervention since the last inspection.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. There has been one missing-from-home incident. Staff appropriately responded to this and ensured the child’s safe return. Staff completed follow-up work with the child to explore why they went missing and the risks associated with going missing. The child now has a better understanding of how to keep safe, and the potential of further incidents occurring has reduced. Staff continue to work with the child’s social worker around the management of this risk.

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

The manager ensures that suitable safer recruitment practices are followed and that clear staff recruitment records are maintained. This helps to ensure that only appropriate adults work with the children.

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

The manager and staff ensure that the building and grounds are safe. Effective monitoring and maintenance ensure ongoing safety.

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

Door alarms are in place for each child living in the home. The setting of these alarms each night is routine. There is written consent in place for their use. However, the use of the alarms is not individual to the needs of each child and is not kept under regular review. For example, the alarms have been used for one child for over three years, but it was not clear why and no review has taken place. Staff are unclear on the necessity of these alarms.

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

Children’s individual risk assessments in respect of them self-harming are not always reviewed and updated swiftly following serious incidents. Consequently, these do not always provide staff with clear guidance on how to manage, reduce or respond to the current risks children face

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The previous registered manager left in August. The new manager took up post in September and has submitted an application to register. The new manager has a clear vision for the home and how to achieve this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are motivated and morale is high. They are complimentary about the home, the manager and the wider organisation. They feel that they receive good-quality support that meets their needs. One staff said the manager ‘has only been with us a Inspection report for children’s home: 2641682 5 very short amount of time. However, during this time she has already made such a positive impact’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that there is a reflective learning culture. Staff attend regular team meetings and reflective practice discussions to continually improve practice. Staff complete relevant and helpful training that helps them meet the needs of the children. Staff have access to an additional wide range of e-courses alongside core training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff ensure effective communication and develop collaborative working relationships with partner professionals. These professionals are very positive about the care and support that the staff provide to the children. They comment that staff understand the children’s needs and are responsive to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision generally takes place regularly. However, there are sometimes delays in these records being written up and shared with the supervisee. This means staff do not always have the opportunity to regularly reflect on their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is in the process of transitioning case recording from being paper-based to an online system. Both systems continue to be used, which is causing difficulty. As a result, some important records are difficult to locate, are missing or are not accessible. Inspection report for children’s home: 2641682 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should, when children are not participating in education, support them to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that a record of supervision is kept for staff. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with

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Recommendations

regulation. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)  The registered person should ensure that all children’s case records are kept up to date and stored securely while they remain in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that monitoring equipment, such as door alarms, is used only to support the safeguarding of the children and that the use of such alarms is kept under regular review for each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)

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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: 2641682 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Institute of Integrated Systemic Therapy, 210 Borough High Street, London SE1 1JX

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Inspector

Cassie Martin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2641682 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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