Children's home run by Kent County Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2536967 1 Registered provider: Kent County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home cares for three children with learning difficulties. The home is currently part of a partnership with the NHS. The home provides specialist support and intervention for children with complex needs for up to 12 weeks.

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Information about this children’s home

One child has lived in the home since it reopened. At the time of the inspection, no children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered in December 2019. The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2024 and is suitably qualified.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: requires improvement to be good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following a monitoring visit in January 2022, the home was made subject to a condition requiring them to give three months’ notice prior to the admission of a child. A further Inspection report for children’s home: 2536967 2 monitoring visit took place in September 2023 when the home was deemed ready to become operational and the condition was removed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2536967 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/08/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2536967 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child received individualised, tailored care while living in the home and made significant progress from their individual starting points. For example, the child was gradually able to develop their confidence to explore the outdoor space and community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff took the time to get to know the child and understand their needs. This helped the child to build positive relationships with staff and enabled them to share personal experiences for the first time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s social worker gave positive feedback about the home. They said that the staff made significant efforts to ensure that the child’s voice was heard. The staff ensured that the professional network understood the child’s wishes and feelings and that these were taken into account.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff recognised that for the child to feel secure, it was important for them to understand their daily routines and plans. The staff worked together with the teams around the child to make sure that the child was informed of, and understood in advance, the plans for each day. Through establishing a routine and maintaining boundaries, the child was able to engage more with the care and support provided by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensured that the child had positive experiences while living in the home. They celebrated achievements with stickers and rewards. Activities were centred around the child’s interests, such as arts and crafts and baking. These were activities that the child had not experienced for some time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff assisted the child to maintain good health and attend routine appointments. They engaged with health professionals to ensure that the child received the specialist therapeutic support that they needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, the home was temporarily closed due to an unforeseen problem with the building. However, the house is generally well maintained and adapted to meet children’s needs. It is bespoke, ensuring that children are safe while providing a warm and welcoming environment. Children can personalise their bedrooms to reflect their individuality. The furnishings in the bedrooms are thoughtfully designed to meet the specific needs of the children that the home can care for.

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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2536967 5 Managers and staff consistently took appropriate steps to protect the child from harm as much as possible. Staff recognised the child’s risks and understood them well. They provided bespoke support to the child and engaged with the wider network to identify patterns and themes of risk. This approach helped to lower the particular risks for the child. Weekly staff meetings provided a platform to discuss the child’s progress and staff practices to identify any concerns or changes needed.

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

Due to the support provided by staff, the frequency and length of physical interventions for the child reduced while they lived in the home. Physical interventions were necessary and proportionate to keep the child safe. All staff received bespoke training in physical intervention that was specific to the needs of the child. Staff implemented effective behaviour support plans and tools identified by the network professionals. Staff encouraged the child to talk about incidents of physical intervention, and the child was able to do so. The ability of the staff to engage the child in discussion resulted in fewer incidents taking place.

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

Staff built positive relationships with the child. This helped them find ways to enable the child to safely take appropriate risks with newfound freedom and support. In turn this helped the child have positive experiences and build on them.

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

The registered manager has good oversight of staff recruitment. Consequently, staff recruitment practices have improved since the last inspection. When using agency staff, the registered manager ensures that the agency has followed safer recruitment practices.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that staff work closely with partner professionals. They keep the professional network updated. Wraparound care was in place for the child. The manager advocated for the child to ensure that the child’s needs were fully understood and met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

Due to the nature of the service being provided, and the infancy of the partnership, there were challenges identified at this inspection. However, considering the child’s starting points and the wraparound care provided, the child made good progress and the impact of shortfalls in leadership was limited.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

Senior managers admitted a child in urgent circumstances without fully considering the registered manager’s concerns about the ability of the staff team to meet the child’s particular and complex needs. At the time, there were not enough substantive staff in place, and staff did not have the training that they required to meet the child’s needs. This led to the use of specialist workers employed by an agency. However, the agency workers had previously worked with the child and knew them well. This provided consistency for the child. The agency also provided training for permanent staff, and other training was provided shortly after the child arrived. Inspection report for children’s home: 2536967 6 The registered manager had full oversight of the agency workers and supervised them. Agency staff were included and treated as part of the team. Weekly meetings took place with managers of the agency to talk about staff practice. Agency staff attended team

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

meetings to ensure that the staff were working in a consistent way with the child and providing stable care. Agency staff were well trained to care for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

However, leaders and managers did not challenge some of the agency’s working practices effectively. For example, the agency insisted on the use of surveillance cameras during restraint incidents. Although the registered manager did not agree with this, they were unable to resolve this issue to create a more positive environment for the child. Furthermore, this area is not sufficiently detailed in the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

The home’s statement of purpose defines the home’s role as providing short-term intervention. Due to the short-term nature of the placement, leaders, managers and staff tried to prepare the child for moving on throughout their time in the home. However, when it came to the end of the placement, the multi-agency planning for the child was unclear and led to an abrupt ending.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

Staff, including agency staff, speak highly of leaders and managers and feel well supported. As a result, staff morale is good. Even though staff work in challenging circumstances, they say that they enjoy working at the home and receive regular and effective supervision. During the child’s stay, this was offered more frequently than usual to ensure that staff felt supported and could reflect on the impact of their work. Staff said that the registered manager was committed to ensuring that they were supported to care for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

Professionals and parents praised the registered manager and the whole team for their support. They noted that the registered manager offered the child new experiences and consistently advocated for them. Furthermore, everyone observed the child’s progress while living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2536967 7

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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 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that the home is prepared and able to meet the needs of children they admit. 31 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance; 31 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2536967 8 so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must clearly outline the use of monitoring and surveillance in the statement of purpose, providing a detailed explanation of the practice and its underlying reasons.

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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: 2536967 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kent County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Kent County Council, Sessions House, County Road, Maidstone ME14 1XQ

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Inspector

Jo Tarbie, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2536967 10 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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