Children's Home run by Shalamar Children Limited in Essex

Inspection report children's home: SC475088 1 SC475088 Registered provider: Shalamar Children 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 four children who cannot live at their family home or in a foster placement.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since July 2020.

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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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 3 December 2020 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: 14 January 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC475088 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 16/07/2019 Full Good 19/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/09/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC475088 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and the staff know the children well and have warm, positive relationships with them. Professionals consistently praised the strength of the relationships between the staff and children. The staff have good knowledge of the children’s needs and provide individualised care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child who recently arrived, has settled well. The staff worked quickly and flexibly to ensure that the child’s needs were met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good educational progress. One child attends school regularly for the first time. He has made friendship groups and achieves recognition for schoolwork. Another child’s head of year spoke of the difference that the positive relationships have made: ‘ ‘When this child came here, he did not trust anyone. He did not expect to be liked or to make friends. Now, he is incredibly well liked, has friends, trusts people and has come on in leaps and bounds.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are creative in helping the children to plan for their futures. Children who are interested in cars visited a local car dealership when deciding whether to undertake a mechanics course. Children benefit from well-planned and structured days and enjoy their routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health care needs are proactively managed by staff who organise attendance at appointments and communicate with professionals. However, the approach to healthy eating at the home is not strong enough. As a result, children who have identified dietary needs are not given enough support to make healthy choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is detached, spacious and set in rural countryside. The staff support children to personalise their bedrooms. The children are proud of their bedrooms and benefit from the generous living space. Children are able to keep pets. The children said that the large gardens, the animals and outdoor spaces are important for their well-being.

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

The staff keep the children safe. They creatively encourage children to learn how to improve their own safety. The staff provide a high level of supervision for internet use, which means children’s vulnerability to online abuse is reduced. Staff ensure that the children understand consistent boundaries and guidelines. This helps the children to feel secure and know what to expect.

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

The staff support children to form positive relationships with each other. This support has helped children to develop mutual respect and empathy for each other. Staff are aware of the diverse needs of children, due to their age range, but still encourage children to share experiences together. Inspection report children's home: SC475088 4 Risk assessments clearly identify the actions staff need to take to help children stay safe. Children who are at risk of going missing from the home have good preventive plans in place. The staff support the children to recognise and reflect on the risks of being away from the home. This approach has led to a reduction in the number of missing-from-home incidents for one child.

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

There are elements of the recruitment process that are extremely thorough. References are sought from all previous employers where the applicant was working with children or vulnerable adults. However, when there are generic references provided, there is not enough effort made to find out why the applicant’s employment ended. This means that some information that managers may wish to follow up, regarding an applicant’s suitability, could be missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and qualified for the role. He has good oversight of the day-to-day running of the home and has brought stability and direction to the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well led and confident in their roles. All of the staff team want the children to feel safe and experience enjoyable opportunities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are well supported. They attribute the improvements in the quality of care to the manager’s leadership. Staff are confident that the quality and quantity of the training they receive helps them improve children’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Relationships between the managers and the children are warm and close. They know children very well and spend extensive time supporting and listening to them. Children said that the manager and the deputy manager have made a very positive difference to their well-being and enjoyment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Social care professionals were very positive about the quality of care provided at the home. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘I cannot speak highly enough of them. They have supported this child brilliantly through a life changing event.’ The police spoke positively about the staff and management team’s approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff support the children to maintain positive links with their families and people who are important to them. This includes staff and managers using their skills and experiences to coach parents and model positive support. For some children this means they are re-establishing important relationships and building new connections. Inspection report children's home: SC475088 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when children have an identified need to have a healthy and balanced diet, the staff support them to achieve this. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.10)  The registered person should ensure that the recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, ensure that when references do not provide all of the information required, further efforts are made to gather this information. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: SC475088 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Shalamar Children Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 63a, Thames Industrial Estate, Princess Margaret Road, East Tilbury, Essex RM18 8RH

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Inspectors

Ashley Hinson, Social Care Inspector Jamie Cousins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC475088 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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