Children's home run by Medway Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2571557 1 Registered provider: Medway Council

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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 local authority children’s home provides short breaks for up to five children aged from five to 18 years with a diagnosed learning disability or a learning and physical disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 10 May 2022. This manager has been on long-term sick leave since January 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

Another manager was dually registered with Ofsted on 18 December 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 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2571557 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/05/2023 Full Good 20/06/2022 Full Good 28/03/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 09/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2571557 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff demonstrate a thorough understanding of children in their care, which is evident through the children’s smiles, laughter and positive interactions. These well- established and purposeful relationships help to ensure that children feel happy, secure and relaxed when staying away from home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a clear understanding of each child’s individual targets and recognise their role in supporting children to achieve them. They apply this knowledge effectively in practice, providing meaningful support that helps children work towards their goals. This consistent, collaborative approach promotes children’s independence and enables them to make sustained progress across the different settings they access. For example, one child, who was previously incontinent, is now successfully using the toilet.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The building is well equipped with a wide range of high-quality resources, including appropriate toys and interactive games designed to meet the needs and interests of children. A newly installed sensory room features state-of-the-art equipment, providing valuable opportunities for sensory exploration and meaningful experiences. This environment promotes stimulating and engaging activities while also supporting the development of positive relationships between children and staff who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The employed cooks provide healthy and nutritious meals for children. Every effort is made to understand each child’s dietary, cultural and personal food preferences, with creative methods such as blitzing and blending vegetables used to support a balanced diet. Recognising the high cost of specialist dietary foods, the cooks prepare home-made alternatives. While this takes more time, it ensures that children benefit from high-quality, child-centred meals and snacks. Notably, one child now requests the cook’s home-made food, which is an encouraging sign of progress as the child’s parents previously provided meals from home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take care to create informative and engaging display boards for the children. These boards include a child-friendly guide to the service, celebrations of children’s ‘wow’ moments and achievements, as well as key information such as an easy-read food menu. These displays serve a purposeful role in helping children to understand, engage with and reflect on their experiences during their stay.

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

Staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities and demonstrate a clear awareness of the procedures in place to protect children. Following a safeguarding investigation in December 2024, there has been a strengthened focus on safeguarding practice and policy and leadership oversight of staff training. The new Inspection report for children’s home: 2571557 4 responsible individual has taken steps to address shortfalls identified from investigations, particularly around the timeliness of referrals to child protection services and notifications to the regulator. As a result, there has been a noticeable improvement in information-sharing and transparent practice, contributing to a stronger and healthier safeguarding culture for both children and staff.

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

Leaders and staff are committed to reducing unnecessary restrictions for children and regularly review these as part of children’s ongoing care planning. Staff introduce audio and visual monitoring devices for some children to help safeguard their health, safety and welfare. Staff individually assess the need for such measures through risk assessments to ensure their ongoing use is proportionate and tailored to each child’s needs. However, for one child, staff were unable to provide written parental consent for the overnight use of visual monitoring in the child’s bedroom. The absence of formal agreement with parents results in reduced clarity around the suitability of these arrangements.

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

Staff receive specialist training to safely and confidently deliver delegated health tasks, including emergency rescue medications. Managers keep clear training records, and staff report that training is of good quality and tailored to children’s individual needs. During the inspection, managers and staff were unable to locate the seizure management plan for one child. The child was not resident at the time and the plan was later provided to the inspector and made available to staff ahead of the child’s next overnight stay. This shortfall highlights the need for strong management oversight to ensure that essential healthcare plans for children are consistently in place and accessible to staff, in helping to support children’s safety and well-being.

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

One child has recently returned to short breaks following major surgery. The local authority’s occupational therapist visited the service and provided guidance on updates to the child’s hoist use and personal care routines. However, not all the child’s relevant documents, including their moving and handling plan, were updated to reflect these changes. Although staff were knowledgeable about the adjustments needed and were safely supporting the child in practice, the lack of professional oversight and formal documentation of these updates was not fully robust. The registered manager took appropriate action to update the documents and secure parental consent before the child’s return to the service.

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good

Since January 2024, the service has experienced significant changes in leadership. The registered manager has been on long-term sick leave, and in May, senior leaders appointed an interim manager, who subsequently left the service in August due to health reasons. A new manager was appointed in September and became registered with Ofsted in December. Additionally, a new responsible individual was appointed in February 2024. These frequent changes in management have led to periods of Inspection report for children’s home: 2571557 5 instability and inconsistency in managerial oversight and staff support, which has, in turn, affected overall confidence in the strength and stability of leadership.

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good

Most staff report feeling well supported by the new registered manager and deputy manager. All staff confirmed they receive regular supervision, and the majority feel professionally and personally supported. However, some staff have raised grievances regarding leadership approach and the support they receive. These concerns have been appropriately documented and are being managed in line with the local authority’s policies and procedures.

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good

Staff supervisions are carried out regularly and in a timely manner. These sessions provide valuable reflective spaces to discuss the needs of the children, team dynamics and the management of agreed actions, such as tracking progress on individual responsibilities, following up on tasks and addressing any emerging issues.

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good

The responsible individual has created a service development plan that provides oversight of key areas, including collaboration with multi-agency partners, the quality and review of children’s care plans and the implementation of policy and practice, such as staff supervision. This plan is regularly monitored through management meetings and oversight visits, ensuring that progress is reviewed and actions are updated as needed. Early indications show that the development plan is beginning to strengthen practice, promote greater consistency and support ongoing improvements across the service.

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good

Senior leaders commissioned an external fire safety audit in June 2024. This identified a medium-level action regarding the position of a hoist track, which affected the fire safety seal of a bedroom door. In response, the local authority’s building safety officer visited the service and confirmed that appropriate measures had been put in place to address the issue. On the day of the inspection, the building safety officer advised that these arrangements had also been checked and confirmed by a fire safety officer. This provides reassurance that the immediate fire safety concern has been addressed. However, clearer documentation of the steps taken would further strengthen oversight and help demonstrate how leaders assure themselves of the home’s ongoing fire safety arrangements.

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good

One member of staff said, ‘The responsible individual has empowered us and given us our voices back.’ This reflects a growing sense of confidence and inclusion within the team. Staff describe feeling more heard and valued under the current leadership, with increased opportunities to contribute their ideas and feedback about the running of the service. This has helped to create a more open and collaborative working environment, where staff feel supported to raise concerns, share good practice and play an active role in decision-making to improve the quality of care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2571557 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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being need of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

help each child to achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered managers must work collaboratively with health professionals to develop healthcare plans for children who require them and ensure that these plans are readily accessible to staff. This includes, for example, access to seizure management plans. 20 May 2025

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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— 20 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2571557 7 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must demonstrate the actions taken to reduce fire risks following the fire safety audit in June 2024 and have strengthened oversight of children’s care planning documents.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home; and

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children’s plans, including moving and handling plans, must be reviewed and updated when they return to the service following surgery, and where necessary, to ensure that their individual needs continue to be met. 20 May 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that there is a written policy describing how the use of CCTV or other monitoring equipment will support the safeguarding and well-being of those living and working in the home in accordance with regulation 24. They must gain consent to any monitoring or surveillance by the placing authority and parent in writing at the time of placement. (‘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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2571557 8 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: 2571557 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham ME4 4TR

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Caren Smith, Elisha Kemsley

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Inspector

Kelly Monniot, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2571557 10 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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