Children's Home run by Rocksteady Care Ltd in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 1 Registered provider: Rocksteady Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home is registered to provide care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection there were two children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has applied to be registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

A monitoring visit was undertaken on 8 April 2025. The purpose of this visit was to explore information received by the regulator that indicated there was instability within the leadership of the service. During the visit, it was determined that there were regulatory breaches, but no enforcement action was required.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/04/2024 Full Good 30/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 3

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improvement to be good

Preparation for children moving into the home is not always well-planned. At the point of admission for both children currently living in the home, staffing levels and stability were not sufficient to support the emergency placements of the children. Furthermore, prior to children moving into the home, leaders had not suitably assured themselves that the staff team could meet the children’s needs. Information that would help with this decision making was sought by the manager after the children had moved in, thereby limiting the manager’s ability to ensure that staff could support children to make progress and live together harmoniously.

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improvement to be good

When there is disharmony between the children, staff intervene appropriately and give children space from one another. There have been occasions where there hasn’t been a proactive enough response to resolving ongoing conflicts. This has resulted in children feeling unsafe and has had a negative impact on their willingness to spend time in communal areas of the home.

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improvement to be good

Neither of the children currently living in the home are receiving sufficient education or undertaking structured activities. Staff understand the importance of supporting children’s learning and one key worker has explored a child’s barriers to education to help other staff work with him more effectively. However, there is not enough planning or action to ensure that progress is made in a timelier way.

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improvement to be good

Children are beginning to develop positive relationships with staff and feel comfortable to share their views about the care that they receive. Feedback from professionals positively recognises the good communication from staff and their keen efforts to support the wellbeing of children. One social worker said that staff, ‘Respond with positivity’ towards children.

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improvement to be good

The language used in children’s records has improved since the last inspection and children’s care plans are individualised to reflect children’s support needs in several areas. However, children’s identity and culture are not explored with the curiosity required to ensure that the care provided is aligned with children’s heritage and preferences.

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improvement to be good

Staff are skilled at using de-escalation techniques to reduce the need for children to be physically restrained. Staff receive refresher training to update their knowledge and confidence in practice, but records do not fully describe all aspects of the measure used or reflect the manager’s view on how the legal criteria have been met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 4 Staff understand the concerns about children being absent or missing from the home. Children feel able to keep in touch with staff whilst they are away from the home and staff follow the correct protocols when this does occur. Plans are developed with significant input from children’s personal and professional networks and have been meaningfully adapted according to children’s views. Whilst the frequency of missing episodes has not reduced, this collaborative practice has effectively mitigated some of the concerns arising when children do not return home when expected.

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improvement to be good

Safe recruitment practices have been used for the employment of permanent staff. However, the manager has not been able to assure herself of the suitability of staff recruited through an agency and via secondments, who have already commenced work in the home.

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improvement to be good

There was a small fire in the home on one occasion and staff did not seek support from emergency services or a medical practitioner. Although no child came to any harm as a result, staff did not follow procedures stringently enough to ensure the health and wellbeing of the child concerned. There has since been a thorough and timely reflective learning for staff following this incident, with learning clearly understood by those involved.

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improvement to be good

Children are using cannabis and vaping within the home. Staff undertake searches appropriately and have conversations with children so that they understand the risks to their health. However, staff do not have clear guidance or confidence to intervene effectively when children do not wish to openly discuss their smoking behaviours. This has led to inconsistency in the response children receive when smoking in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last full inspection, a new manager has been appointed. They have been focusing on addressing the shortfalls identified at the recent monitoring visit. While many have been fulfilled, there are some restated requirements from this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The new manager does not currently have appropriate support due to the absence of a suitable responsible individual. Leaders have sought the expertise of a third party, but it is not sufficient to meet the needs of the home, where there have been staffing shortfalls and instability in the leadership team until recently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

New staff have been recruited, and supervision has been implemented in order to rebuild the confidence and cohesion of the staff team. No appraisals have been completed, but staff are now receiving regular supervision that is befitting to their professional development. Children’s needs are discussed, and appropriate actions identified to guide staff and shape the care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managerial oversight and monitoring of records and practice has improved since the last inspection. The manager completes targeted observations of staff practice where there have been areas for improvement identified and she oversees a variety of records for Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 5 quality assurance purposes. While this is beneficial, monitoring systems have not helped leaders identify some of the shortfalls discovered during this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

At times, there has been poor communication between the manager and senior leaders. Leaders have made decisions relating to admissions and recruitment in the absence of the full information being assessed by the manager. This lack of transparency does not enable the manager to perform the regulatory role effectively and has led to some of the shortfalls identified at this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(iv)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that staff know how to respond safely and immediately to any incident affecting the health and safety of children in the home. They should also ensure that medical advice and support from emergency services is sought where appropriate.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that staff support reconciliation between children in a timely way when there has been any incident or discordance.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that staff are proactive and explorative about children’s vulnerabilities and the risks affecting them. 1 September 2025

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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. 1 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home (Regulation 14 (1)(b) (2)(a) (b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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 child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(vi)(b)) 1 September 2025

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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

the date, time and location of the use of the measure; 1 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 8 a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iii)(iv)(vi)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

An organisation may only carry on a home if—

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Requirement Due date

each director of the organisation, except for a director who is the responsible individual, who is involved in the carrying on of a home by that organisation satisfies the requirements in paragraph (6); and

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Requirement Due date

the organisation has notified HMCI of the name, address and position in the organisation of the responsible individual.

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of the matters in paragraphs 1 and 3 to 6 of Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

satisfy the requirements in paragraph (5)(a) to (c); and

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (4)(i)(ii) (6)(a)(b) (7)(a)(b)) 1 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. 1 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 9 The registered person may only—

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that they have assurances around the suitability of recruitment procedures for all staff employed to work in the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children receive care that meets their needs and promotes their welfare, taking into account of the child’s gender, religion, ethnicity, cultural and linguistic background, sexual identity, mental health, any disability, their assessed needs, previous experiences and any relevant plans (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2)  The registered person should ensure that, at the point of admission for children, there is sufficient and suitably trained staff on duty to meet the assessed needs of all children in the home, and that those staff are able to respond to emergency placements (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1) Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 10  The registered person should ensure that they fulfil the requirements of the quality

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Recommendations

standards (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.2)

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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: 2644283 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Rocksteady Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 18 Wealden Avenue, Tenterden TN30 6NN

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Inspector

Tash Williams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2644283 12 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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