Children's home run by Moonreach LTD in Dover

Inspection report for children's home: SC460671 1 SC460671 Registered provider: Moonreach Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to two children aged between seven and 18 years with social and emotional difficulties. There were two children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since November 2024 and has an application in progress to manage another of the company’s homes located nearby.

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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

Date of last inspection: 27 September 2023

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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: SC460671 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/09/2023 Full Good 01/11/2022 Full Good 05/10/2021 Full Good 14/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC460671 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A total of three children have moved into the home since the last inspection. Children moving into the home have done so in urgent circumstances, where there has been limited time for planning. Staff have, on these occasions, worked creatively to ensure that children have information about the home ahead of their move, including photos and welcoming gifts. Children told the inspector that staff make them feel welcome and help them to settle in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in all areas, and this is a result of the support that they receive from staff. There is a strong focus from staff on the importance of building secure and supportive relationships for children, with staff believing this to be the foundation of all care provided.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals from other agencies speak highly of the support provided to children and the positive influence that this has on the progress they make while living at the home. An independent reviewing officer for one child detailed how this is the most settled they have known the child to be. They said that they would ‘replicate the home and staff’ if they could, so that other children could experience this same level of care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to engage in a range of activities that reflect their personal interests. As a result, children get to learn new skills and develop a sense of achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained and provides a homely environment. Children take pride in their large bedrooms and are encouraged to personalise them. One child’s bedroom was being decorated during the time of the inspection, with the child having full say in this project. Staff take steps to make sure that children do activities together in the home and have made adaptations to the home layout to ensure maximum opportunities to socialise.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children living in the home are engaging in education. One child, who had previously struggled to attend school, is now attending and making academic progress. Another child, who is not currently able to attend school, is supported by staff to engage with online learning. Staff are mindful of the possible disadvantages for children of not attending school and are proactive in replicating benefits such as routine and exercise. Staff place importance on children attending school when possible and act as advocates for children regarding their future education planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff go to great efforts to mark special days for children and are creative in their approach to celebrating events such as birthdays and Christmas. On these occasions, personalised activities and gifts are arranged that reflect the individuality of each child. This helps children to feel special and cared for. Inspection report for children's home: SC460671 4 Children are supported to spend time and maintain relationships with the people who are important to them. When appropriate, staff work with children’s families, providing them with regular updates on children’s progress. One parent said, ‘Staff will happily do anything to support our time together and do whatever is needed.’

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

Children report feeling safe where they live. They are confident when raising any concerns and name staff among the people they would approach if they had any worries.

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

Staff are knowledgeable when assessing the risks that children face and are clear about the steps required of them when managing safeguarding concerns. Professionals from partner agencies praised staff for their skill in keeping children safe and their ability to recognise the influence that children’s past experiences have on some of their behaviours.

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

Staff are consistent when implementing boundaries for children, and children are clear about the house rules and expectations of them. This supports children to feel cared for and safe. Consequences are rarely used, with staff preferring positive reinforcements, praise and incentives to manage behaviour. The use of physical intervention by staff is limited and is only used as a last resort to safeguard children. There is good management oversight of physical interventions, and supportive debriefs are held routinely with children following any use of restraint.

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

Risks are carefully considered ahead of children moving into the home, and all children have detailed risk assessments and support plans. There are, however, some inconsistencies around the updating of children’s files. While managers are taking steps to improve these shortfalls, these have not yet been fully embedded into practice.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home, but when they do, staff respond quickly and take proactive measures to support children’s return. Risk assessments and support plans for children who go missing from the home are regularly updated and help to reduce missing-from-home episodes. On one occasion, a scoring matrix on a risk assessment had not been updated to reflect an increase in risk for a child. This did not, however, impact on the child’s welfare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there has been a change in registered manager. Both staff and professionals from partner agencies speak encouragingly of the influence the new manager has had on the day-to-day running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by both the manager and the senior management team. Staff report that managers are available and responsive to any queries or concerns that they have. Inspection report for children's home: SC460671 5 Staff describe a positive working environment where they enjoy coming to work. They take pride in the work that they do and have a genuine desire to make a positive difference for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are robust recruitment processes in place to ensure that staff are suitable and capable of caring for children. New staff receive an appropriate induction. As a result of shadowing opportunities, management support and training undertaken, staff feel knowledgeable and confident when working with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s views are routinely gained through both everyday discussions and planned meetings. Children feel that their views are listened to and acted on and describe how changes are made that take into account their wishes and feelings. Children are made aware of the complaints process and said that they would feel confident to make a complaint should they need to do so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team has a good understanding of both the strengths and areas for improvement for the home. Managers make good use of independent monitoring visits to identify and drive development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular, good-quality supervision. This provides staff with opportunities to reflect on both personal issues and significant events for children. There are, however, some shortfalls around the recording of supervision, with this not being completed within expected timeframes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Information in the home is not always stored correctly, with managers struggling at times to locate important documents. Inspection report for children's home: SC460671 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)) 31 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

securely in the children’s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there; and

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Requirement Due date

in a secure place after the child has ceased to be accommodated in the home. (Regulation 36 (1)(b) (2)(c)(d)) 31 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)) 31 January 2025 Inspection report for children's home: SC460671 7 In particular, a record to capture the details of each child who moves into and on from the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that supervision records are kept for staff, including the manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)  The registered person should ensure that staff actively encourage children to read their records and to add further information to them. Children should be regularly reminded of their rights to see information kept about them and be given information about how they might be supported to access their records in later life. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.6)

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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: SC460671 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4 Dane John Works, Gordon Road, Canterbury CT1 3PP

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Inspector

Kerry Howarth, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC460671 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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