Children's home run by Essex County Council in Chelmsford

Inspection report children's home: SC068929 1 SC068929 Registered provider: Essex County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home, which is run by the local authority, provides short breaks and respite care for up to eight children. The aim of the short-break service is to provide support to enable children to remain with their families.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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: 25 September 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC068929 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/09/2019 Full Good 29/11/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/04/2018 Full Good 16/08/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: SC068929 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children make good progress because of their experiences during their short- break stays. The children are supported to learn independence and social skills during their stays. Parents say that these opportunities make a difference to their children’s lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

No children were present during the inspection. However, the inspector made telephone calls to the children. The children said that they like visiting the home and enjoy the opportunity to see their friends and take part in activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have developed secure, positive relationships with a dedicated staff team. The staff clearly want children to have the best possible experiences during their stays. Parents said that the staff understand their children’s needs and are like extended family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the children enjoyed a wide variety of activities in the community. Due to national restrictions, children’s access to these activities has been limited. The staff have been creative in facilitating activities at the home. These have included a winter wonderland in the garden, outside movie nights and afternoon camping. The staff have ensured that the children continued to benefit from positive experiences despite the restrictions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff consult with school staff and parents to develop targets for the children. The staff celebrate children’s achievements using reward charts and share these achievements with parents. Staff understand the importance of recognising children’s individual achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good-quality, individualised and informative placement plans guide and support the staff effectively. Parents said that they are involved in writing these plans and are regularly asked for updates so that plans can be amended to continue to meet their child’s needs.

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

Children said that they like the staff and can speak with any of them if they are worried or upset and that staff would make it better.

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

Due to some children’s limited understanding, the staff rarely use sanctions. Instead, staff use reward charts to support children to focus on positive behaviours.

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

The children’s risk assessments are informative and are regularly updated. Parents are involved in updating and amending these assessments. Consequently, staff have a good level of information and insight into each child’s needs. Inspection report children's home: SC068929 4 The staff have undertaken safeguarding training and have a good understanding of safeguarding disabled children. Parents said that their children are safe at the home because staff understand their risks and vulnerabilities.

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

The children know how to complain. Information in picture communication is available to children explaining how to make a complaint. There has been one complaint from a child since September 2020. This was made via the child’s social worker. The manager dealt with the complaint effectively and the child and social worker were happy with the outcome.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working between the manager and external professionals is effective. The manager works with another agency to support children to be involved in an independence club, which is held at the home one evening a week.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff benefit from good-quality, regular supervision. Staff said that they value their supervision, which they said supports them in developing their care practice to work with children more effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular training to equip them with the information and skills that they need to work with the children. Staff either hold or are undertaking a relevant level 3 qualification within the required timescale.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has not sought information from external agencies to inform the location risk assessment. She has not included strategies for reducing the risks to children should they go missing from the home. The impact of this shortfall is lessened by the high levels of supervision. Inspection report children's home: SC068929 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and the premises of the home. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. In particular, use information from external agencies to inform the location risk assessment. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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 children's home: SC068929 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Essex County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Chelmsford CM1 1QH

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Osagioduwa Igbinovia

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Inspector

Trish Palmer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC068929 7 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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