Children's home run by Moonreach LTD in Dover

Inspection report for children’s home: 1226977 1 Registered provider: Moonreach Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to two children with social and/or emotional difficulties. A private company owns and manages this home. There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 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: 1226977 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/07/2023 Full Good 12/07/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/09/2021 Full Good 04/12/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1226977 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive support from a consistent and dedicated staff team who know them well. This knowledge helps the staff to provide care that is tailored to each child’s unique needs and care plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are highly responsive to the children and show interest in their lives. As a result, the children are listened to and valued. The children describe positive relationships with staff. The children can approach staff with any worries and trust that staff will be receptive and take the necessary steps to resolve any concerns they have. One child said, ‘Everyone is lovely and so helpful.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children speak highly of the activities they have experienced. This includes fun days out, holidays and thoughtful birthday celebrations. When at home, the children enjoy spending quality time with the staff, choosing to play a game or watch a movie with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making steady progress. This is especially noticeable in relation to their emotional well-being. Staff acknowledge the children’s feelings and support them to better understand and manage their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work with education professionals to support the children to attend school and engage in learning. When the children are not able to attend mainstream education, staff help the children to learn at home until an alternative provision can be identified for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have regular conversations with the children. These happen both naturally and in planned ways. Staff routinely encourage the children to give their views on activities, meals and any planned changes to the home environment. This ensures the children are fully involved in decisions about their daily lives and the care provided to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The managers carefully consider the children’s needs before they move into the home. They assess whether the staff can meet the children’s specific needs effectively and maintain their safety. Staff visit the children before they move into the home, which helps reassure and prepare them to manage this change. The children moving on from the home do so in planned and positive ways.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children spend regular time with their families. The staff help the children to travel long distances for family visits, recognising the significance of these relationships for the children. One child’s social worker praised the staff for their efforts in supporting the children to spend time with the people who are important to them. Inspection report for children’s home: 1226977 4

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

Staff have a good understanding of the risks for the children and are proactive in their endeavours to reduce them. Staff assess the individual risks for the children and keep these under regular review to ensure they remain relevant. These assessments inform clear plans for staff to follow when responding to safeguarding concerns, including established strategies specific to each child.

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

Staff are clear on actions to take should any safeguarding incidents occur. The children rarely go missing from home. When they do, staff act quickly and take steps to help the children return. Staff ensure that the agreed professionals and family members are updated whenever a child goes missing. When the children return, staff ensure they have supportive discussions with the children. This helps to identify why they went missing and ensure no harm came to them during this time. In line with good practice, staff also request that a return interview is undertaken by the child’s allocated social worker.

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

Staff are consistent in their approach to implementing rules with the children. This sets the standard for acceptable and safe behaviour and the children are clear on what is expected of them. When consequences are required, staff ensure these are proportionate and restorative, with a focus on helping the children to understand the effect of their actions.

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

Physical interventions are rarely used. This is because staff are skilled in the use of de- escalation techniques and use other preferred strategies. On the few occasions when physical intervention has been used, this has been as a last resort and used only to safeguard the children from harm. After any such incident, the children are routinely spoken with by staff to check on their welfare. However, staff are not consistent in asking the children if they require medical attention. There has not been any negative impact on the children’s well-being because of this.

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

The manager has good oversight of all safeguarding concerns. They quickly review incident records to ensure staff practice is good. Lessons learned are typically identified during management review, however, there was one instance when a duty manager’s recommended actions were not fully followed up by the manager. However, since the main action was completed, it did not compromise the safety of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective oversight of the home. They have made improvements to the monitoring systems. This has enhanced their oversight of the home and has ensured regular monitoring of the quality of care provided to the children. The manager understands the home’s strengths and weaknesses. They value the reports completed by the home’s independent person. The manager takes on board the advice and recommendations made in these reports, to drive improvement in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 1226977 5 Staff describe a positive work environment and enjoy coming to work. They feel well supported by the management team, who are readily available to offer guidance and support when needed. Staff receive good-quality supervision where they are encouraged to discuss any concerns, while also exploring areas for professional development. Staff meetings are routinely held every month and provide a forum for staff to share

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

information and identify effective ways to support the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A thorough induction process is provided for new staff. This includes additional supervision and shadowing opportunities. All staff are up to date with mandatory training and have completed further training specific to the needs of the children. Staff speak enthusiastically about the learning opportunities they are given and identify how this supports them to carry out their roles with increased confidence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager undertakes regular reviews of the quality of care for the children. However, these reviews do not include the views of the children, external professionals or families. This is a missed opportunity to have a greater understanding of the quality of care provided to the children. The manager has recognised this as an area needing improvement and has initiated steps to address this, however, their efforts have yet to influence practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 1226977 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 registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(viii)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure staff are familiar with the organisation’s physical intervention policy. This includes staff offering medical attention to children following any use of restraint and that a record of this is held on the children’s files. 4 April 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(h)) 11 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1226977 7 In particular, the manager should ensure that actions identified in the review of safeguarding concerns are fully implemented.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure they routinely seek feedback from children, parents and professionals when carrying out a quality of care review of the home. 25 April 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: 1226977 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: 1226977 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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