Children's Home run by The Drive Care Homes Ltd in Kent

Inspection report for children's home: SC063689 1 SC063689 Registered provider: The Drive Care Homes Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company and provides care for up to six children with learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection, six children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2023.

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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: 5 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: SC063689 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/09/2023 Full Good 06/09/2022 Full Good 28/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 23/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC063689 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive individualised care from a dedicated, skilled and knowledgeable staff team. The children require a variety of support in terms of physical support, personal care needs and preferred communication methods. Staff demonstrate an exemplary knowledge of these differences and ensure that the children are well cared for, in line with their individual care plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the children’s views are paramount in both their day-to-day care and the overall running of the home. Staff use a variety of methods, such as individual conversations, questionnaires and weekly house meetings, to give the children an opportunity to raise their views. These are always recorded using pictorial symbols so that the children can review these and be reminded of what has been previously discussed. Weekly meetings allow the children to make regular choices, as well as opportunity for feedback and education on specific areas. Staff make changes to plans for the children following these meetings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, staff have been using more sensory participation activities. This helps the children with reducing anxiety and in developing coping skills. Staff are confident in leading these activities daily with the children and the children truly enjoy this. Alongside this, staff provide children with a series of activities. They take children out in the local community for walks and to visit shops, and on more significant regular trips to local theme parks and golf courses and on holidays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are supported to engage in education. For one child who has not had an identified school placement, leaders appropriately challenged to try and resolve this. Until this could be resolved, staff used creative strategies to recreate school for them in the home. They gave them a clear timetable for their day and provided educational activities. The children do make progress, however, it is difficult to assess how much and where their individual starting points are. When staff capture the children’s progress, this is often duplicated through review reports. The targets that are set are not as aspirational as the staff and children are.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop independence skills and take age-appropriate independence steps. This ranges from tidying their bedrooms and helping do the laundry to assisting with making dinners and sometimes buying food. These tasks happen daily to ensure the learning for the children is well embedded.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The knowledgeable staff understand the children’s complex health needs. Staff recognise any emerging health concerns and respond immediately, ensuring that the children remain in good health. To support staff in this, detailed care plans have comprehensive information on how to manage health needs effectively. Inspection report for children's home: SC063689 4

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

Staff follow detailed care plans when supporting the children. Given the vulnerability of the children, these plans are exceptionally detailed and cover all aspects of the children’s care, from personal care through to spending time away from the home. Staff review the plans following any change in behaviour, and changes are immediately shared with all staff to ensure they are following up-to-date plans. The children’s communication preferences are highlighted in the plans. This means anyone helping the children, including staff or external professionals, knows how best to support them.

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

Staff provide consistent boundaries and help children to understand their feelings. Because of this, there have been no incidents of physical intervention or children going missing. Staff respond well to the children when they are distressed, placing emphasis on preserving the children’s dignity. Staff keep good records of incidents. Managers have a good understanding of the children’s behaviour when they upset and are clear of the actions that staff have taken to manage and reduce this.

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

Managers manage allegations against staff effectively. They act immediately to keep the children safe. Managers consult with external safeguarding professionals in a timely way and swift investigations take place. While these have been conducted effectively, there has been no feedback to the children about the outcome of their complaint about staff. This does not allow the children to fully understand what has happened about the complaint they have made.

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

Managers ensure the home is safe, both in the physical environment and the suitability of staff. Rigorous health and safety checks are carried out and when any external checks are undertaken, such as the annual fire risk assessment, identified actions are immediately completed. Managers have also ensured through detailed recruitment checks that staff are suitable to work with their children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are ambitious and proud of the staff team’s care of their children. Through regular team meetings, supervisions and daily planning meetings, managers are visible and help support the staff to provide consistent care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff talk positively about their managers. They describe managers having an open-door policy where staff know they can get support. Managers always check in after incidents or difficult shifts. They lead staff meetings in the morning, meaning they are always contactable and available.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers understand the progress the children make, however, they are not able to demonstrate this. The children appear to be making progress in several areas such as education, independence, behaviour responses and reactions to sensory achievements, however, this is not captured well. This does not allow managers or staff to understand the impact of the care they provide, or to think about what may need to change to further increase progress for the children. Inspection report for children's home: SC063689 5 Managers help the staff to develop their practice, through regular and effective supervision and comprehensive training. Managers provide feedback and guidance at every opportunity. Staff use frequent supervisions to discuss the individual children and to reflect on their own well-being. Managers provide staff with a wide range of training to ensure they are as skilled as possible in meeting the needs of the children. Staff talk

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

positively of the training and see it as an opportunity for them to continue to grow.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have been proactive in their challenge to external professionals. When one child was not in education, managers were relentless in their challenge to education professionals about the child’s needs and their right to education. As a result, an education placement was identified for this child. Inspection report for children's home: SC063689 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 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 promotes their welfare.

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)) 30 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (1) (3))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that following any complaint or safeguarding allegation there is a system in place to feed back the outcome to the child involved. 30 June 2025

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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: SC063689 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Drive Care Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Drive Care Homes Ltd, 18 Hatherley Road, Sidcup DA14 4BG

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Inspector

Mark Newington, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC063689 8 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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