Children's Home run by Independence-Development Ltd in Medway

Inspection report for children’s home: 2781121 1 Registered provider: INDEPENDENCE-DEVELOPMENT 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 home is privately owned and provides care and support for up to five children. The home cares for children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties linked to past trauma. There was one child living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection after registration in February 2025.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2781121 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is making progress and is building positive relationships with staff. The child can identify staff who they would approach with worries or concerns, and will actively seek out specific members of staff for support when they need it. As a result, the child trusts staff and feels safe living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure the health and well-being needs for the child are met. Staff promptly ensured that some unmet health needs prior to moving into the home were met. The child is registered with a GP, dentist and optician, and staff help the child to attend all their appointments. The organisation has access to therapists who are available to help the children when they are ready to address their previous experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child happily engages in a variety of activities offered to them by staff. The child has enjoyed an escape room and trips to a theme park. Staff encourage the child to pursue their passions and interests. As a result, the child has participated in dance classes and boxing sessions. Staff are creating an achievement wall for the child and subsequent children. This includes photos and certificates to help children celebrate their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are confident in discussing sensitive subjects with the child. Recent discussions with the child include staying safe and managing positive relationships. These conversations help the child to build on their understanding of their own feelings and behaviours, strengthen their self-esteem and understand what healthy relationships with others look like.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to share their views, wishes and feelings. The child can have their say on meals, activities and the presentation of the home. The child is keen to view their documents, and staff ensure that the child’s views are recorded in relevant plans. These records are further evidence of the progress that the child is making.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is now engaging with a tutor and is completing education and homework. However, staff are not promoting an education routine for the child. This effects the child’s preparation to engage in regular education and achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some areas of the home create a homely feel. However, parts of the home appear institutionalised. The children’s bedrooms have clinical flooring, which makes the rooms feel cold and uninviting. The manager acknowledges that some areas of the home are clinical in appearance.

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

Incidents of the children going missing from home are infrequent. However, when the children have gone missing, they have experienced well-coordinated responses from Inspection report for children’s home: 2781121 3 staff. Staff look for the child when they are missing from home and ensure their safe return home. The children have access to independent professionals when they return home and are offered opportunities to explore why they went missing.

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

Staff keep the use of physical intervention to a minimum and only use it when it is necessary to keep the children safe. Staff can reflect on incidents with the manager to explore if there are any lessons that can be learned. The children are given the opportunity to talk openly about their feelings after incidents and explore other ways to express their emotions.

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

The manager ensures that only suitable individuals are recruited to care for the child. Applicants receive a telephone screening interview prior to an in-person interview, which strengthens the safer recruitment process.

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

Safeguarding concerns are responded to promptly by the manager and staff. The children are well supported when safeguarding concerns are raised. All staff have attended safeguarding training and understand their responsibilities in raising and reporting any safeguarding concerns. This enhances the safety and well-being of the children.

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

Staff understand the child’s risk and vulnerabilities, and plans for the child are thorough. However, some documents are overloaded, with information that is duplicated in other documents. This has the potential to affect the care that the child receives as it is difficult for staff to locate important information in the plans for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is passionate in her efforts to be a trusted figure for the child and is building a good relationship with them. This makes her a strong role model for the staff. The manager has a good understanding of the child’s strengths and vulnerabilities and is committed to ensuring that they receive good-quality care. Professionals and the child’s family are positive about the care that the child receives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Morale in the staff team is high. Staff speak positively about the manager and the support that she provides to them. Staff describe learning a lot from just watching the manager interact with the child. Staff benefit from good inductions, reflective supervisions and constructive team meetings. These opportunities help to embed staff into their roles and improve their professional practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is aware of the home’s strengths and weaknesses and has plans to address these shortfalls. The manager is committed to her own professional development and regularly liaises with other registered managers for support and ideas. The manager also works closely with an external consultant who provides guidance to her in her role. The manager is developing arrangements for the consultant to attend staff meetings and provide advice and training to staff. The manager has described this support and guidance as invaluable. Inspection report for children’s home: 2781121 4 The manager is developing monitoring and reviewing systems. These systems allow her to have good oversight of what is happening in the home. However, some documents written by staff contain uncaring or clinical language, which the manager is aware of but has not challenged. This has the potential to negatively affect the child’s well-being if

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

they choose to read their paperwork. The manager has not ensured that the workforce development plans or the home’s statement of purpose are kept up to date.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager thought about the presenting needs of the child already living in the home when considering another child moving in. The new child’s needs were not fully shared with the manager when considering these needs. As a result, the new child only had a short period of time in the home before moving out at short notice. The manager has not kept the admissions and discharge register up to date. Staff are not aware of the child’s moving on address and no goodbyes with the child were attempted. This meant that staff were not fully able to explain the reasons for the move to the child, to enable a positive ending. Inspection report for children’s home: 2781121 5

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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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all children have positive endings to their time in the home, and help children to understand why they have moved out at short notice. 1 August 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 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

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 person must ensure that language used in children’s documents is child centred.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that workforce development plans are up to date, and staffing information included in those plans reflects the staffing information included in the statement of purpose. 1 August 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— 1 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2781121 6 keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b))

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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. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)) 1 August 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to be engaged in suitable structured activities that promote an education routine. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a well-maintained, homely environment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2781121 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: INDEPENDENCE-DEVELOPMENT LTD

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4 Blenheim Avenue, Ilford IG2 6JG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michael Olyedemi

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Inspector

Louise Webling, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2781121 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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