Children's Home run by Shalamar Children Limited in Essex

Inspection report for children’s home: 2526435 1 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

The home is one of two homes operated by a small private provider. The home provides care for up to three children who have past experiences that have left them vulnerable.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2022.

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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: 23 September 2021

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Good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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Good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2526435 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/09/2021 Interim Improved effectiveness 28/04/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2526435 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are three children living at the home. Two children have moved out and two children have moved in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy. The children benefit from structure and routine, which provide stability for children. This has helped children make good incremental progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child’s placement came to an end with a plan for the child to move to supported accommodation. Staff took the child to the new placement; however, there was no further contact planned to support the child moving. The endeavours from the staff did not go far enough to support the child to adjust to a new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are encouraged to decorate and personalise their bedrooms with an agreed budget. The house and garden are maintained to an excellent standard. The addition of handmade garden furniture and vegetable patches enhances the outdoor living area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff respect children’s views and wishes. They seek out children’s opinions, and the children asked for pets. Following a process of negotiation, guinea pigs have become a new addition to the home. This helps children to learn to negotiate, feel valued and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is a priority. All children make significant progress in attendance and achievement. Children sit GCSEs and perform in school events. This raises children’s self-esteem and builds their confidence. One child said, ‘Before coming here, I had not considered that university could be a possibility for me.’ This increases children’s aspirations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to take responsibility. Over time, this helps them to become more independent. They learn about working to a budget, personal care, and the benefits of living in a healthy environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s physical and emotional health improves. A therapist visits the home weekly. When children require specific help, the staff ensure that appointments are made and go with the children to offer encouragement and extra support. This means that children receive specialist help when it is needed most.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff plan well to ensure that children living a long distance from their families have regular opportunities to see their loved ones. This helps children to retain their identity and maintain important family connections. Inspection report for children’s home: 2526435 4 Children are busy and have fun. They play games, go for day trips and enjoy holidays. Overall, the children blossom because of the wide range of new opportunities and experiences.

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

Incidents of children going missing from the home have significantly reduced. Children previously at risk of exploitation are safer because of the help from the managers and the staff.

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

Children said that they feel ‘100% safe’ with the staff. Professionals recognise the positive changes in children.

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

The staff encourage the children to learn about risks and this includes online training about internet safety.

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

The staff talk to the children constantly and, as a result, the children seek the staff out for guidance. When children are unkind, the staff or the manager meet with them to talk about how their words affect others. This helps the children to learn about acceptance.

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

Incidents have reduced significantly. Physical intervention is rare. Playfulness and humour are used to deescalate and distract children. The staff offer financial incentives to encourage good behaviour. The staff encourage children to think about the consequences of their actions.

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

Allegations about staff conduct are fully investigated. Learning identified from concerns is used to improve staff practice. This helps to reduce the likelihood of practice concerns.

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

The manager and staff attend meetings with professionals. The staff are prepared and ready to advocate for the children. Good working relationships with other agencies ensure a collaborative approach to understanding current children’s safeguarding risks.

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

Door alarms are used to monitor the children coming and going from their bedrooms. The arrangements for the ongoing use of the bedroom door alarms have not been reviewed for eight months. This does not ensure that these monitoring arrangements are responsive to children’s growth, development and progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is working towards the required level 5 qualification. He is nurturing and child focused. He works well with the child-centred deputy manager. The manager and deputy manager’s presence and contribution have improved the care that children receive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2526435 5 Children benefit from the changes made by the registered manager. He has introduced new systems and structures to ensure that routines in the home are consistent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team ensures that children’s views are actively sought. The manager has good insight into the children’s previous experiences. He spends time with the children regularly. This ensures that he earns their trust and that he maintains a good overview of their physical, emotional and health needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children are involved in the development plans for the home and garden. This encourages them to take an active interest in their home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Occasionally, there are concerns that a child is at risk and this can necessitate a room search. Generally, the children are involved in the process. The records show that when the staff remove items, direction from the manager is unclear. This does not ensure that there is a precise record about the response.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a diverse team of dependable permanent and bank staff. They receive good direct support on a daily basis. Appraisals take place annually. Supervisions for permanent staff are held regularly, ensuring there is a focus on every child. However, supervisions for bank staff do not happen in line with the policy. This does not ensure that every member of staff has the opportunity to reflect on their practice and children’s progress on a regular basis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Structured and purposeful team meetings often include the directors or the responsible individual. This ensures that staff remain clear about the ethos and philosophy of care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2526435 6

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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, 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 registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, regularly review the use of bedroom door alarms with each child and their placing local authority. 16 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should oversee the welfare of the children in their care through observation and engagement, including with each child and the home’s staff. In particular, ensure that following a room search the manager’s evaluation and the required next steps are clearly documented.(‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23)  The registered person should ensure longer-term support for children to move on from the home effectively (regulation 6 (2)(b)(vi)), as the home has an important role in supporting each child leaving the home in the period immediately before their departure. The registered person should work with the placing authority to ensure that each child’s transition is planned and help each child to prepare for leaving, both practically and emotionally. In particular, ensure that, when a move is unplanned, there is meaningful follow-up with the child and the new provider.

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Recommendations

(‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.9)  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. In particular, ensure that the frequency of supervision for bank and part-time staff reflects the policy. (‘Guide to the Inspection report for children’s home: 2526435 7 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2526435 8

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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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Inspector

Rosie Davie, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2526435 9 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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