Children's Home run by Kent County Council in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: SC403850 1 SC403850 Registered provider: Kent County 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 home is a short break service for disabled children, providing stays for up to six children at any time.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since November 2018.

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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 February 2024

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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: SC403850 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2024 Full Good 15/12/2022 Full Good 08/12/2021 Full Good 08/10/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC403850 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, forty children were being supported on a rotational basis by this short break service. Three children were staying at the home during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience high-quality care. There is a consistent focus from managers and staff on children’s well-being and best interests. Staff know children well. Staff know children’s communication needs and use a variety of methods to communicate with them. This includes extensive use of non-verbal communication techniques, for example with picture cards, story stems or electronic aids.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have good working relationships with families and professionals. Parents gave positive feedback and feel their children have very good experiences, and they value their child’s short breaks. Complaints are very infrequent, but, when made, managers have worked with children’s social workers and parents to try and resolve them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy an excellent range of things to do. Indoor spaces include a TV/cinema lounge, soft-play, and sensory, rooms. The garden is large with a vast range of play equipment and wheelchair accessible elements. Children can keep their own toys or other items at the home which are either provided by families or purchased by staff. Activities take place daily, and most children have enjoyed off-site visits to local parks, activity centres or farms, for example.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good planning takes place for new children introduced to the service. Detailed initial assessments include advice from parents and the Local Authority to build a thorough understanding of children. Staff and managers plan effective introductions, including day visits or single night stays, to ensure that children feel comfortable. Children are well matched as a group when staying for a short break, and this helps promote friendships and socialisation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The general quality of paperwork and record-keeping is good. Daily records give a good summary of each child’s day. Parents receive these after each stay. This helps parents know what is happening for their children when they stay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is purpose built and is well-equipped to meet their needs. Bedrooms are varied in style and have equipment to cater for a range of disabled children’s needs. Décor is bright and welcoming. The home is well-furnished and kept clean and tidy.

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

Staff know their safeguarding responsibilities. They have good knowledge of children’s additional vulnerabilities. They know the whistleblowing procedures. When safeguarding concerns emerge, managers respond to these robustly and promptly. Inspection report for children’s home: SC403850 4 Children who stay at the home often have complex needs. Staff comprehensively assess children’s needs. Support plans are individual to each child, with details that cover all aspects of each child’s care. This includes any diagnoses, medication requirements, dietary needs, personal care and sleeping routines. Plans and assessments are regularly monitored and reviewed. This helps children receive well-planned care that safely meets their complex health needs.

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

Staff identify targets or goals for children to help with their progress and development when they stay. There is evidence of targets being worked towards on most occasions. When children achieve or complete new things, staff always celebrate these.

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

There have been no significant incidents since the last inspection. Minor accidents, injuries and other incidents are recorded routinely when they occur. The use of physical intervention is exceptionally rare, and there have been no recorded physical interventions or restraints used since the last inspection. Staff have use approaches that de-escalate and avoid the need to restrain.

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

There have been no missing from care episodes. However, staff and managers are aware of missing protocols, and children have individual missing profiles.

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

Staff manage a large amount of medication for children, including prescribed and controlled medications. Staff follow suitable administration and auditing procedures. When errors have occurred, these have been robustly reviewed or investigated and learning has resulted in amendments to practice. This helps ensure medication is administered effectively.

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

Health and safety risks are monitored and managed effectively. Equipment used to aid or support children is well maintained. Fire and safety checks are conducted routinely. Fire drills take place regularly, and all children have personal emergency evacuation plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is highly experienced and accomplished. They have a sustained history of overseeing good standards of care for children. They are supported by an equally experienced and committed deputy manager. The manager, deputy manager and responsible individual share high expectations and aspirations for children who stay.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has an exceptionally stable staff team, with minimal turnover. Staff feedback is positive. Staff speak fondly about the children they care for. Staff value their roles and feel enthusiastic about helping children to enjoy their stays.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains good oversight of the home. Team meetings take place regularly and staff are frequently updated outside of meetings on matters arising. The manager has created good tools to ensure effective monitoring and auditing. All documents are reviewed and evaluated by the manager or a senior member of staff. This helps ensure that checks are in place to maintain a high standard of care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC403850 5 Safer recruitment processes are followed. Staff have good inductions. Managers ensure that staff have comprehensive training that is delivered both online and face to face. A broad range of training is available to staff. Additional and ongoing training takes place for staff which can be specific to the needs of the children, including twice yearly ‘practice weeks’, which further develops staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions take place regularly for all staff. Staff are positive about these. Informal ad-hoc supervision or discussions are also welcomed; the manager cultivates an ‘open door’ policy. This helps create an open and honest culture, where staff can seek support and improve their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

No requirements or recommendations were raised at this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC403850 6

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: SC403850 7

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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

Daniel Rankin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC403850 8 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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