Children's Home run by Full Circle Living Ltd in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 1 Registered provider: Full Circle Living Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and run by a private organisation. The home is registered to provide care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home and one child had recently moved out.

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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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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

Date of last inspection: 11 November 2024

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/11/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 3

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improvement to be good

The home requires improvement to be good due to the shortfalls in help and protection and leadership and management. This has affected the children’s experiences and limited the progress they have made.

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improvement to be good

The staff do not seek or capture the children’s views effectively. Staff meet with the children inconsistently, and it is not clear how children’s wishes and feelings are responded to. One child needs their hair maintained monthly and, since moving into the home, has not had their hair care needs responded to by staff. The manager is aware of this need as it has been requested by both the child and their parent but has not ensured it has happened. This could negatively affect the child’s self-esteem and identity.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not promote education routines to the children. The children do not have identified education provisions. The manager advocates for children’s access to education and supports with education applications. In the meantime, the children do not have clear planning for their day. The staff miss opportunities to provide activities and structure to support the children with their learning or to help them re-engage with education.

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improvement to be good

Staff help the children to develop skills for independence. Staff have created plans and provided consistent support to help the children develop these skills. One child has been supported to develop a CV and another to learn to cook.

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improvement to be good

One child who has moved on from the home benefited from ongoing outreach support from staff. They were provided with a moving-on letter from the manager, which outlined their time in the home alongside personalised goodbye gifts.

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improvement to be good

The home environment has been improved, and the children now have outdoor seating and a barbecue to further enjoy the garden area. Inside, all areas of the home are clean and maintained. The children have some input into their bedrooms; these could benefit from being further personalised to their likes and interests.

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improvement to be good

Children’s social workers say that staff have tried to help the children settle into the home. Social workers say they have good working relationships and open communication with the manager and staff. One social worker said, ‘They are open and transparent.’ However, a parent of a child who is accommodated said, ‘I feel I have to chase for an update,’ and ‘If I hadn’t asked questions I would be none the wiser.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 4

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improvement to be good

Staff do not understand or follow the home’s policy when dealing with allegations. Staff have not shared allegations with children’s social workers, the local authority designated officer or Ofsted. This has not had any negative effect on the children; however, this practice leaves the children at potential risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Children have gone missing from the home. Staff ensure that children’s social workers, parents and the police are informed, and follow the procedures for when children go missing. Staff help the children when they return following any incidents. Management oversight of these incidents is not timely. Staff have not reviewed assessments of risks following incidents and do not use information from return home interviews to inform future planning.

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improvement to be good

The manager manages complaints well. When the children make complaints, these are responded to, and internal investigations take place. The manager provides the children with outcomes to any complaints made. The manager has failed to notify the regulator about serious complaints without delay; this has not had any direct negative impact on children’s safety or well-being.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not used physical intervention with the children. Staff are trained in the home’s de-escalation and physical intervention approach and are clear that restraint is only to be used as a last resort to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Safer recruitment processes are robust, and this supports suitable adults working with the children.

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

The home has recruited a new responsible individual into post, and they are beginning to have a positive effect on the leadership and management of the home.

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

The home has permanent staff in post; however, the range of skills and experience across the staff team remains limited. The manager is working to develop the staff team and recruit to current vacancies in the leadership team of the home. In the interim, the manager is attempting to cover the role of manager, deputy manager and team leader. However, this is ineffective, and has resulted in several shortfalls in the monitoring and oversight of the home.

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

Staff are positive about the manager and senior leadership team and say that they are accessible to them. Staff access regular supervision and training alongside both practice and team meetings to support their development. However, staff do not routinely have access to their supervision records. Staff have recently taken over the facilitation of team meetings and bring areas of expertise to share with the wider team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 5 The manager has begun to implement strategies and ways of working to improve the quality of care to children. These systems remain in their infancy; they are yet to embed fully into practice.

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

Staff’s knowledge of the home’s model of care and statement of purpose is variable. Some staff do not understand the home’s model of care or how to apply this in practice. The statement of purpose is misleading in terms of therapeutic input for children. The statement of purpose outlines that the children will receive an assessment that informs the child’s care plan, but this is not happening.

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

Children’s case records are not maintained and up to date. The manager has not got sufficient oversight to ensure that key information from the children’s records is available and recorded. The manager does not review and scrutinise practice from incident records in a timely manner. This results in staff not having access to key information about the children to inform their practice and the care provided.

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

The manager has not kept the home’s workforce plan under review. The home’s workforce development plan does not reflect the children currently living in the home or the current staff team. This hinders management’s oversight and planning of the training needs of the staff to carry out their roles.

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

The manager does not always appropriately challenge other professionals involved in the children’s care. The children’s placement planning meetings and initial reviews have not been completed within statutory timescales, and return home interviews are not requested and obtained following incidents of children going missing from the home.

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

Managers’ decisions around moving the children into the home are not clearly documented. The children have been placed in quick succession into a home with an inexperienced staff team. The children who have moved in have had complex lives and need skilled support. The home’s impact and suitability assessments do not fully consider the potential risks associated and how these will be managed effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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. 31 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 7 (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must implement effective monitoring systems to ensure the quality of care for the children is improved. This must include the consultation of the children’s views, particularly around their identity and their bedrooms.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must establish a skilled and experienced staff team whose members can meet the complex needs of the children. This should be considered when assessing new children moving into the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure a record of supervision is kept for staff, including the manager. This must be available for staff to help their development.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that all children’s case records and plans are kept up to date and accessible for staff and children to access when required.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that staff promote routines for the children and ensure the children are ready to return to education.

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that staff report any allegation of abuse immediately to a senior manager within the home. Any allegation of harm or abuse must be addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy and shared with external agencies without delay. 31 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 8 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(e)) 31 October 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home frequently seeks the views and involvement of parents/carers and others with a significant relationship to the child as relevant persons in that child’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.8)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them, including details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission that the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. The home should take account of information

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Recommendations

provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should have a workforce plan that details the necessary management and staffing structure, the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s statement of purpose. The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose reflects the care

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Recommendations

and assessments provided by the home. This is an essential part of the process of Inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 9 agreement between the registered person and placing authority, that a placement in that home is the right one for that child, and that the home will be able to respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.6)

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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: 2777900 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Full Circle Living Ltd

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Inspector

Cassie Martin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 11 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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