Children's home run by The Drive Care Homes Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 1257101 1 Registered provider: The Drive Care Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to three children with learning disabilities. The home provides planned and emergency short- and long-term placements.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in August 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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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

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: 1257101 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/04/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/10/2023 Full Good 10/01/2023 Full Good 18/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1257101 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people:

Children settle quickly and make good progress at this home, and their placements are stable. Two children have moved on from the home since the last inspection. The first child was supported as they moved from school to college and then to a new home. The other child, who had lived at the home for over three years, was supported to move to a residential school. When children move on, staff plan carefully so that their moves are managed with care, sensitivity and at a pace that is right for each individual child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people:

Children benefit from regular school attendance. Staff work closely with educational professionals. This helps children with any changes and ensures that concerns and educational progress are shared and monitored. Staff use a range of communication tools to support children. These include social stories and visual prompts. One child uses a communication board to express their wishes and feelings, and staff support them to use it effectively. This helps the child to share their views, make choices and feel listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people:

Staff promote children’s health. Children have established routines. Staff encourage healthy eating, support children to attend health appointments and provide opportunities for exercise. Staff prepare health passports for each child and work closely with health professionals to reduce waiting times. They use social stories to help children feel informed and confident about why they are attending appointments. These measures help children maintain good physical and emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people:

Children maintain and strengthen family relationships. Staff welcome families into the home. Parents feel valued and supported. One parent said they were pleased with how quickly their child had settled and with the progress they had made in a relatively brief period.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people:

Children are supported to make choices about their daily lives. They are given options regarding the activities they take part in and the meals they eat. Children enjoy a wide range of experiences, such as going on holidays, hosting barbecues and participating in celebrations with their families. These opportunities help build confidence and create positive memories. However, children do not always have opportunities to engage in activities in the community. The leadership and management team is currently researching community groups that the children could join.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people:

Children live in a safe and welcoming home. The large garden, swing and trampoline provide space for fun and physical activity. Children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected:

Children are safe. Since the last monitoring visit, there have been no safeguarding Inspection report for children’s home: 1257101 4 concerns. Staffing levels are sufficient to ensure that children are supported and protected both in the home and in the community.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected:

Staff understand children’s individual needs. They use de-escalation skills, consistent routines and clear boundaries to help children feel secure. As a result, incidents and the use of physical intervention are rare.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected:

Staff recruitment is safe. Leaders ensure that staff are properly vetted and trained in safeguarding and whistle-blowing procedures. This protects children from harm.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected:

The leadership and management team knows the children well and their vulnerabilities and needs. Children’s needs and risks are assessed, and safeguards are put in place. These are regularly updated and reviewed and incidents of concern are recorded.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected:

The two children currently living at the home have individual independence goals. For example, they are learning to take more responsibility for their personal care, cooking and laundry. Although the practical aspects of this work are carried out at the child’s own pace, the supporting records do not break the tasks down into small steps. This hinders staff from being able to monitor the children’s progress effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers:

The registered manager has been on a period of extended leave, during which the deputy manager has overseen the home. The registered manager of a sister home and the responsible individual have provided additional support. This has helped to ensure that children continue to receive consistent and stable care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers:

The responsible individual provides regular oversight. Leaders complete quality of care reviews. The staff follow up actions promptly. This helps leaders to have a clear understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers:

Staff feel supported and valued. They speak positively about their work. Regular staff team meetings, supervision sessions and practice reviews all take place. These varied opportunities allow staff to discuss children’s progress and agree next steps.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers:

Induction for new staff is thorough. Staff are supported with regular training. Their progress is monitored and there are opportunities for them to develop their skills by joining an in-house management programme. Many of the senior members of staff have worked with the company for several years. As a result, staff are confident in their roles and provide consistent care. Inspection report for children’s home: 1257101 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should support staff to be ambitious for every child in the home and to gain skills and experience that enable them to actively support each child to achieve their potential; including helping children develop their personal care skills and to engage in local activities in the community where they can make lasting links. To ensure that staff understand and can meet each child’s needs, in line with their responsibilities, the registered person themselves will need to have a high level of understanding of the needs of the children in their care and the resources available in the community. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5) Inspection report for children’s home: 1257101 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: 1257101 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Drive Care Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cyrinus House, 18 Hatherley Road, Sidcup DA14 4BG

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Inspector

Matilda Clode, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1257101 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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