Children's home run by Back on Track Children’s Services SE LTD in Dover

Inspection report for children’s home: SC473404 1 SC473404 Registered provider: Back on Track Children’s Services SE 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

The home is privately owned and provides care for up to five children with learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager’s post is vacant.

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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: 17 December 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC473404 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/12/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/09/2023 Full Good 22/11/2022 Full Good 30/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC473404 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality, individualised care and make significant progress from their starting points. This is because staff form strong relationships with children based on respect and trust. Staff understand children’s needs well and are committed to improving positive outcomes for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in relation to their health outcomes and their emotional, social and psychological well-being. Children who previously did not like going out, now enjoy various activities outside the home. Children who struggled to express their emotions in a safe manner can now clearly communicate their feelings to the staff. Children have also made good progress in building independent living skills that are individualised to their abilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are enrolled in full-time education. Children are supported by staff to engage in learning and achieve the best possible outcomes. Staff advocate for children when they struggle with certain school routines, and work with the school staff to support the children to engage in education. This means that children benefit from consistent approaches from home and school staff, reducing the likelihood of education placements breaking down.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views, wishes and feelings are sought and fully considered. Staff listen to children’s ideas, both individually and in group meetings. Clear communication between staff and children ensures that children know what they have to do to achieve certain requests if these cannot be actioned quickly. For instance, one child knows that they need to keep their room clean if they wish to move to a bigger bedroom.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Clear arrangements are in place for children who leave the home. Children receive a leaving present and a memory book that includes photos of positive times with staff and other children. The managers ensure effective communication with new provisions about children’s needs and how best to support them. The end of placement reports provide a coherent overview of children’s progress and incorporate reflection and learning for staff.

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

Staff identify and understand children’s vulnerabilities. This is because staff have good relationships with the children and are consistent in their approaches when preventing serious incidents. Children’s plans and risk assessments provide clear and individualised guidance for each child. Children have not gone missing from the home.

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

Staff are committed to educating children about their vulnerabilities. This includes various themes of safety when on the internet or outside the home. Staff plan the sessions with children and present the risks and potential consequences to them in a Inspection report for children’s home: SC473404 4 child-friendly manner. This allows children to learn and to avoid placing themselves in dangerous situations.

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

Staff report any safeguarding concerns to the managers without delay. These are followed up by sharing information with relevant professionals and consulting local authority designated officers. When the concerns are addressed internally, they are thoroughly and promptly investigated. The managers are passionate about children’s safety and apply a reflective approach to learning from each safeguarding incident. This promotes a high-quality safeguarding culture in the home.

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

The recruitment of staff is another strength of the leadership team. The recruitment checks are scrutinised and only applicants with appropriate skills and experience are invited to work at the home. This reduces the risk of unsafe adults working at the home.

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

The managers are proactive in joint working with relevant professionals. When the managers deem that the risks presented by children are high, they escalate their concerns appropriately. The managers and staff take a proportionate and balanced approach to tolerable risks because they regard some risk taking as a learning opportunity for children.

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

The environment is suitable for children, and the home has a spacious garden for various activities. However, one child’s bedroom has not been attended to by staff to ensure appropriate cleanliness and a pleasant living environment for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager and responsible individual have commenced their employment. They are passionate about the positive changes that have already taken effect. The new manager has high expectations of staff and of what children can achieve. The staff and professionals said that the new manager is approachable, a good communicator and makes everyone feel valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager and experienced deputy form a strong leadership team, with complementary skill sets and the ability to empower the best in their staff. The retention of the staff team is good because staff respect them. This allows children to experience continuity of staff and a more stable home environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff have completed the training that is deemed mandatory by the organisation. Staff receive supervisions at agreed intervals and ad hoc if staff require more support in certain areas of their development. Supervisions are challenging and thought-provoking, as managers use them to test staff knowledge of safeguarding and professional curiosity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers are consistent in their oversight of the quality of care provided to children. Managers make use of monitoring tools to identify trends and patterns that inform their further guidance to staff, and how children’s needs can be best met. Inspection report for children’s home: SC473404 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 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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2) (d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff provide children with the support that they need to ensure that their bedrooms remain clean and free of safety hazards. 30 September 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: SC473404 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Back on Track Children’s Services SE LTD

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 185 Dover Road, Walmer, Deal CT14 7NB

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Inspector

Sonata Brisley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC473404 7 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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