Children's Home run by Benecare Limited in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: SC465579 1 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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SC465579 Registered provider: Benecare Limited 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 for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties. Two children were living in 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC465579 2 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/10/2024 Full Good 07/02/2024 Full Good 04/01/2023 Full Good 08/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC465579 3 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality, individualised care and make progress from their starting points. Children and staff form strong relationships because staff understand the children’s needs well and are committed to their welfare and progress. Children say that the staff are good and that they care about them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are enrolled in full-time education. Staff understand the advantages of learning and promote a positive attitude towards it. This continuous support from staff helps children to attend their education provision. It also helps them to achieve academically and improve their social skills by making new friends outside the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made progress in several areas of their everyday lives. One child can now cook and bake for everyone at the home. Children also have free time outside the home, and they mostly manage this safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to express their wishes and feelings. Children have learned to express their feelings verbally, and this further strengthens the relationships between children and staff. One child said that they know how to make a complaint and that they had done this in the past. Responses to children’s wishes and complaints are appropriately child centred. Children are strongly encouraged to participate in decision- making in the home, such as the decoration of their bedrooms and the activities and interests that they would like to pursue. In most cases, explanations are provided by staff when children’s requests cannot be granted quickly. However, one child was not informed about the impact on them when restrictions were placed on another child, despite these restrictions having a wider impact. Reassurance of such measures being temporary and under review was not provided to the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into and out of the home, planning is thorough and thoughtful. Children have individualised plans and are appropriately prepared when they are moving to their new homes. Children are given choices for their preferred homes on entering adulthood. Children’s leaving celebrations include their preferred style of festivity, with the child receiving meaningful gifts. One child said during their leaving party, ‘What have I done to deserve all these things?’ New children arriving have opportunities to meet the staff, visit the home and express their views on how they would like their bedrooms to be set up on their arrival. This provides a good foundation for forming positive relationships between children and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The importance of family time is well understood by staff and is arranged in line with the views of children, their families and external professionals. Staff identify the most suitable types of family contact arrangements and support the children accordingly. This allows the children to spend quality time with significant people in their lives. Inspection report for children’s home: SC465579 4 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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

Children are helped and protected from harm because staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and educate them about the potential risks. Strong relationships between children and staff provide an additional protective factor.

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

Staff discourage children from leaving the home without permission, but when this does happen, they consistently follow agreed safety measures. The managers work closely with relevant professionals and review the safety actions for their effectiveness on a regular basis. The managers are instrumental in introducing new strategies to keep children safe and to reduce missing-from-home incidents.

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

Bullying is not tolerated at the home, and when signs of such behaviours emerge, children receive education and support to improve their relationships. One child was able to reflect on their previous behaviour and told the inspector that this had helped them to change their thinking; as a result, they had become friends with another child.

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

The new manager is proactive at working closely with various relevant professionals in order to ensure children’s safety. The local police community support officer is invited to the home, with the aim of educating children regarding the risks in the community, the internet and potential real-life consequences. When safeguarding concerns arise, the new manager consults the local authority designated officers and informs Ofsted about safeguarding concerns without delay. This enables a transparent safeguarding culture that benefits the children and staff at the home.

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

Physical restraints are used at the home to prevent serious injuries to staff and damage to the environment. Staff records of such restraints are clear and evidence all de- escalation techniques applied to prevent such incidents. The manager reviews the incidents and ensures that reflections with staff are thorough. However, there are missed opportunities for medical checks to be offered to children, specifically if they sustain an injury during such incidents. Furthermore, the effectiveness of such measures is not always thoroughly evaluated, and children are not properly consulted about the measures used.

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

Appropriate recruitment checks are carried out on both employed and agency staff. This provides an additional layer of safety for children and helps to prevent unsuitable people from working at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The newly appointed manager for the home has applied for registration with Ofsted. The new manager is deeply committed to children’s welfare and progress. They have high expectations of staff to maintain a good quality of care for children. The new manager is respected by the staff team and by external professionals. One child said that the new manager is good because she makes things happen. Inspection report for children’s home: SC465579 5 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Good monitoring systems for the home and for record-keeping are in place, with consistent managerial oversight. External professionals are satisfied with the quality of information sharing and praised the new manager and senior leaders for being consistent and not giving up on children during more challenging times.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home and is able to reflect therapeutically about children’s needs and the ethos of the home. They are open to learning, and this attitude is reflected by staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff receive regular supervision, and the new manager ensures that staff understand their developmental goals. All staff are appraised at agreed and regular intervals. Reflective practice is brought into group meetings and individual discussions between the manager and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff are up to date with the training that is deemed necessary by the organisation. However, some staff did not refresh their behaviour support and physical intervention training within the required timescales. Inspection report for children’s home: SC465579 6 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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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

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 effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 10 November 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted on. In particular, children should be consulted about any restrictions on other children and how these restrictions will be reviewed to minimise the wider impact. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11) Inspection report for children’s home: SC465579 7 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and they should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. In particular, all staff should complete physical intervention and behaviour support training within the expected timescales to ensure that children’s needs are met safely. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: SC465579 8 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 212 Ballards Lane, London, N3 2LX

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Inspector

Sonata Brisley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC465579 9 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Inspector

and inspects 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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