Children's home run by Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited in Thanet

Inspection report for children’s home: SC023739 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2024.

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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: 29 October 2024

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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: SC023739 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/10/2024 Full Good 13/09/2023 Full Good 22/06/2023 Full Inadequate 28/02/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC023739 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home benefit from attentive and affectionate care. They like spending time with staff, who are caring and responsive. Staff are familiar with the children’s needs and provide them with support that follows routines and boundaries. This means that children are offered a stable base and have formed bonds with trusted adults. One child said the home was ‘the best place ever’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to creating a homely environment and helping children to enjoy a range of experiences and make progress. Children are encouraged to join clubs to have fun and increase their social confidence. They are helped to try out new things, and this helps them cultivate their interests and explore their talents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s attendance at school is good. Staff understand the support children need to engage in education, and two children are settled and making good progress. One child is currently experiencing difficulties in the school environment. Managers have responded by liaising closely with school professionals, and by attending regular meetings with the child to understand their individual needs and help them find strategies to move forward.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager is an advocate for children’s relationships with their families. Contact is facilitated virtually or in person and at a pace and level suited to each child. Managers take action to maintain relationships in complex situations and keep the child’s best interests at the centre of plans. As a result, children are developing and sustaining relationships with the people who are important to them. For example, one child is now able to spend unsupervised time with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their health needs and liaise effectively with health professionals. Care plans reflect individual goals and how children are encouraged to make healthy living choices. Specialist referrals are made, so that children have access to the support they need. Health needs are closely monitored, and this means that any concerns are quickly responded to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, improvements have been made to the home, and it is comfortable and welcoming. Shared spaces are colourful and inviting, with space for children to play or have quiet time. Children love their bedrooms, which have been personalised to their individual preferences.

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

Managers make children’s safety and well-being a priority. They place high importance on ensuring that children’s individual needs are well understood and supported. Staff enable children to talk about keeping safe and carefully help them explore difficult topics. As a result, some of the children have made meaningful progress in Inspection report for children’s home: SC023739 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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

understanding and managing their feelings, and in how to develop positive relationships with others.

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

Managers have demonstrated dedication and commitment in responding to increased risks for one child facing complex feelings and difficulties. Managers and staff are doing all they can to understand the issues from the child’s perspective and make meaningful connections with them in order to help them move on. The child’s physical and emotional well-being are being monitored while a range of strategies to better support them are implemented.

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

There are effective measures in place to keep children safe online. One child is vulnerable in this area and there has been ongoing work with them around the appropriate use of technology. Managers recognise that this child has complex factors influencing their behaviour and this has presented a challenge in moving things forward for them. They have taken a positive risk approach to supporting the child to develop their independence and take responsibility for keeping safe. Although there is a continued risk in this area, there have been a low number of incidents, and it is closely monitored.

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

When children experience difficult feelings that lead to self-harming behaviours, staff respond promptly and seek medical treatment if this is needed. Children know they can go to staff for help that is sensitive and non-judgemental. Following these incidents, staff work with children to understand their feelings and identify safe ways for them to cope if they feel in crisis.

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

There has been frequent missing-from-home episodes for one child. Staff are proactive in their efforts to communicate with the child and find them to ensure their safety and well-being. When concerns or risks have heightened, managers have escalated their concerns appropriately to seek intervention and support from the child’s local authority team and external professionals. There are clear missing-from-care protocols in place. However, staff are not always able to follow the child when they first leave care due to staffing levels. This means the child is not always immediately safeguarded from risk in the community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers demonstrate commitment and determination to offer children an environment where they can feel safe, comfortable and cared for. They have worked hard to ensure that there is a stable and consistent team of staff who work positively together and provide children with good-quality and consistent care. Staff have a genuine commitment to achieving the best outcomes for children and there is a strong sense of how well children are put at the centre of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are helped to understand their role effectively through a robust induction and training programme. Individual needs of children and current risks are planned for through specific training, such as managing self-harm. Staff feel supported and listened Inspection report for children’s home: SC023739 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

to by managers and are able to escalate any concerns. Staff take responsibility for their own practice and there is a strong sense of teamwork and unity within the home. Arrangements for addressing practice concerns are good. Any areas for development are addressed by managers in an appropriate manner that helps steer staff to reflect on what has happened. Staff like working at the home and say that managers are approachable and supportive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals are complimentary about the managers and how they embrace working together with families towards improving children’s experiences. They speak highly about how managers have worked through complex situations with commitment and flexibility around what the child needs. They say that communication is a very good, and that managers are intuitive around children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Parents give very positive feedback about how well managers and staff look after children. Parents told inspectors that they had noticed positive progress in their children; that communication with staff is good and they can tell their children are loved and happy. One parent said, ‘If I could paint a perfect picture of what life would be like in these circumstances, it would be Cornwall Lodge.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC023739 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; help each child to understand how to keep safe; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as

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Requirement Due date

to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm; (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that there are arrangements in place to enable staff to follow children in line with protocols if they go missing from care. 30 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC023739 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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: SC023739 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ethelbert Specialist Homes Limited, 17 Leigh Road, Ramsgate, Kent CT12 5EU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Leslie Davenport

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Inspectors

Shirin White, Social Care Inspector Steph McDonald, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC023739 9 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspectors

regulates 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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