Children's home run by Active Young People Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 1 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: Active Young People Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is privately operated. It provides care for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The home provides long- term residential placements for up to six children. It also provides short-break services for up to three children.

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Information about this children’s home

Six children were in the home during the inspection. The inspectors spent time with all the children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2021.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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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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good

Date of last inspection: 24 February 2025

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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: 2624223 2 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/02/2025 Full Good 12/03/2024 Full Good 21/03/2023 Full Outstanding 28/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 3 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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improvement to be good

Children make some progress, including improvements in sensory exploration, posture and mobility and enhanced self-care skills, such as independently drinking. Some children have improved their communication methods, increasing their ability to make choices and enjoy wider experiences. However, staff do not consistently record how they support children with these achievements, making it difficult to evaluate the timeliness of their progress.

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improvement to be good

Children’s targets are not consistently aligned to the objectives set out in their education, health and care plans. Targets are not routinely reviewed or updated. This is particularly significant where a child’s plan specifically requires community-based social opportunities, which are not being met. The lack of review by staff and limited monitoring by managers prevent children from making continual progress in key developmental areas.

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improvement to be good

Children do not consistently experience a wide range of activities or regular access to the community. There are isolated examples of positive experiences, such as children participating in a holiday to a caravan park where they enjoyed activities, including a bird of prey show. Opportunities outside the home are often limited to the local park. In one example, a child visited a local landmark but did not leave the car. This restricts children’s opportunities for fresh air, exercise, community engagement and social development.

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improvement to be good

The quality of memory books is inconsistent. Important photos and events are sometimes missing for individual children, and dates or names are often absent. This reduces children’s ability to look back on and understand meaningful memories and achievements.

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improvement to be good

The manager maintains effective relationships with health professionals and challenges unnecessary medication when needed. Children are supported for medical appointments through well-prepared social stories. Staff use creative approaches, such as video guidance from a health professional for physiotherapy support. However, contradictory written information in children’s plans undermines this good practice and risks an inconsistent approach to care.

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improvement to be good

The manager ensures that children have access to advocacy when their views need independent representation. This has been beneficial, for example, in enabling a child to challenge delays in plans for their move-on arrangements.

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improvement to be good

Some children exceed expectations in their education. One child engaged effectively in remote learning sessions following surgery, exceeding staff’s expectations. Staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 4 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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improvement to be good

work well with children’s education professionals to maintain a consistent approach to promoting how children communicate.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff develop positive relationships with families. Improved engagement has resulted in some children spending more quality time with their relatives. For children accessing short breaks, the manager plans their stays with careful consideration of compatibility and the promotion of friendships.

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improvement to be good

Feedback from social workers, professionals and parents is generally positive. Concerns from one parent relating to unsafe positioning were noted.

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improvement to be good

Staff routinely seek up-to-date information before a child returns for a stay, to ensure that care reflects children’s immediate needs. Children’s care plans, risk assessments and personal emergency evacuation plans do not consistently reflect these updates and lack the necessary detail for safe care. Some documents contradict others. This inconsistency contributes to staff not always providing the level of safety and supervision required. Staff do not always follow organisational policies when a child arrives for their stay, which undermines consistency and safe practice.

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improvement to be good

Staff are allowed to smoke in a designated area on the premises. The manager has completed a risk assessment but has not consulted with medical professionals to assess risks posed to children with respiratory or complex health needs. This exposes children to avoidable environmental health risks. When inspectors raised concerns about this, the managers consulted with the organisation’s Human Resources department and implemented a no smoking policy.

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improvement to be good

Medication practice is unsafe. Since the last inspection, three further medication errors have occurred. Errors are partly due to human error and weaknesses in documentation. The manager has not always notified Ofsted of these incidents, despite previous notifications for similar occurrences, creating inconsistency in regulatory compliance.

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improvement to be good

The manager’s responses to medication errors are inconsistent. Staff do not always receive equivalent outcomes for similar mistakes. In contrast, the manager acted swiftly and appropriately following a whistle-blowing concern relating to welfare checks, resulting in disciplinary action. The manager did not request the outcome of an investigation regarding one bank staff member, which prevented him from identifying areas for improvement regarding the safeguarding of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not consistently complete documents in line with organisational policy. Examples include missing signatures on medication records, incomplete discharge documentation and missing body maps. Daily records do not always demonstrate Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 5 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

that children’s health needs and safety routines are met, such as physiotherapy exercises, night-time checks, hoist safety preparation or repositioning of children who require this. This prevents the manager from being assured that children receive consistent and safe care and limits the ability to investigate concerns if they arise. Staff have improved incident recording, and the manager reviews this routinely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not consistently record his evaluation of the staff’s ability to meet the needs of children who he is considering to either live in or stay in the home. For one child who moved in permanently after accessing short breaks, the manager relied on prior knowledge without documenting a formal assessment in line with the organisation’s expectations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Safer recruitment checks are completed by a central team. The manager was unaware that overseas workers require checks from their country of origin. As a result, he had not assured himself that these staff had undergone appropriate safeguarding checks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff supervision sessions are inconsistent in frequency and quality. Sessions are not consistently reflective. Bank staff who work weekly shifts in the home receive four supervisions each year, and the manager does not have oversight of these records. This limits his ability to monitor practice, provide support or address concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff raised concerns with inspectors about staffing levels. Staff note this particularly impacts on staff’s ability to take children out on activities. The manager does not share these concerns, although he has recorded an isolated incident where a night shift was left one staff member short. On this occasion, he deemed the home able to function safely. This indicates insufficient understanding of staffing requirements to meet children’s complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Mandatory and specialist training is largely up to date, except catheter-care training. The manager does not ensure that a catheter-trained member of staff is always on shift, placing children at risk of unmet intimate care or healthcare needs. Bank staff have not completed the required qualifications within regulatory timescales, and the manager has not completed equivalency assessments for staff with external qualifications. He is therefore unable to be satisfied that staff have the required knowledge to meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager’s quality of care review is detailed. However, it is not completed within the required six-month intervals and does not always evaluate all shortfalls. This reduces the home’s capacity to improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The monthly independent visitor does not make recommendations that assist the manager in improving practice in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 6 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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—

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Requirement Due date

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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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 has sufficient staff to provide care for 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 18 January

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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. 18 January Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 7 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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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

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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (1) (4)(a)(b) (5)) 18 January

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(c)) 18 January Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 8 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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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

develop the child’s interests and hobbies;

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and

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Requirement Due date

make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 18 January

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(b)(c)) 18 January

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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: 2624223 9 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Active Young People Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Suffolk Way, Sevenoaks TN13 1YL

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Inspectors

Julia Hagan, Social Care Inspector (lead) Laura Roberts, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 10 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspectors

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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