Children's Home run by Elm Lodge Residential limited in Southend on Sea

Inspection report for children’s home: 2726010 1 Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and is registered to provide care for four children aged seven to 17 with emotional and social difficulties.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2726010 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, no children were living in the home. Only one child has lived at this home since it was registered. This child moved on in a planned way in October 2023. The child made good progress at this home. They benefited from a calm, nurturing and positive environment. Staff knew the child very well and advocated for them strongly. Staff thought creatively to find solutions. The child’s belongings and pet were delayed being brought to the home. Staff acted quickly to ensure that the child was as comfortable as possible and included the child in preparations to receive the pet to help them feel reassured. The child’s specific ethnic, cultural and identity needs were assessed when they arrived at the home. These needs continued to be promoted and well understood by staff during the child’s time at the home. The manager and staff were enthusiastically committed to promoting the child’s

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

learning. They communicated well with education professionals supporting the child, including the virtual school and special educational needs and/or disabilities practitioners, to enable an effective school move. The child’s health needs were well understood. Staff acted on these quickly when the child arrived at the home. Close liaison with medical professionals ensured that the child’s needs were met in a holistic way. When necessary, the registered manager challenged health professionals to keep the child safe. A weekly meeting was used by staff to ensure that the child was able to share their views. Staff continuously sought the child’s feedback on different topics. Menus were planned weekly, and the child’s likes and dislikes were heard and acted on. One member of staff said, ‘The home focuses on treating children as unique individuals with different backgrounds, beliefs, values and abilities.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff used a range of positive and negative consequences to help the child understand the impact of their behaviour. However, on occasion, these consequences were not always well considered. The home is in an urban area close to many amenities. It is spacious and well maintained. The garden is well maintained and would allow children to spend time outside in the summer months. However, the hallway and dining room lack decoration and personalisation.

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

The child was well looked after by a safe and well-trained staff team. Recruitment checks are strong. Staff understand their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. They are confident to raise concerns to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2726010 3 Allegations are recorded, reported and managed well, with input from the local authority designated officer and other external agencies. Leaders and managers take appropriate actions in response. Incidents involving the child were well managed, well recorded and had good management oversight. Risk-management plans for the child were individualised and understood by staff. New and emerging risks were identified and added to ‘live’ risk- management plans. The manager identifies external agencies that can offer additional support to children in respect of child sexual exploitation. Close liaison with the police and the placing authority ensures a multi-agency response to keeping children safe. Staff

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

remain curious and mindful of the risks to vulnerable children through the internet, mobile phone use and social media. Strategy meetings are attended by the registered manager and staff to ensure that information is shared and well understood. The child did not go missing from the home. Staff understand missing-from-care procedures and the steps they would need to take if a child was to go missing. No physical interventions have taken place. Staff managed the child’s behaviour effectively through de-escalation. However, several staff have not had physical intervention training and some lack confidence in this area. The management team recognises this and has booked further training for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is working towards their Level 5 qualification. The experience, skills and confidence of the manager are developing with the support of an external consultant. This has helped ensure that the manager is fully aware of their role and responsibilities in providing good-quality care to children. The registered manager is eager to learn and is working hard to develop the home and staff team. Leaders and managers have identified areas where they feel that the staffing arrangements need to be strengthened and have put plans in place to achieve this. As a result, staff feel valued and supported to progress in their new roles. The staff team remains committed, with a strong focus on improving children’s lives. One member of staff said, ‘Management have shown commitment in staff development and training to ensure that staff are well equipped to take care of the children in the home.’ Staff benefited from regular team meetings, where the child was discussed in detail.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This helped staff to review the progress that the child made. Frequent supervisions also help the staff to review and develop their childcare practice. The staff said that they value supervision and find this to be highly supportive. Managers monitor the quality of care and the paperwork but this monitoring is not always effective. For example, some of the language written in records and used to describe the child is not child-friendly. Leaders and managers have not identified Inspection report for children’s home: 2726010 4 this. As a result, there are missed opportunities to ensure that language used is positive and caring. In addition, although leaders and managers notify Ofsted when serious incidents occur, the quality of these notifications varies. Poor-quality notifications have the potential to delay Ofsted’s ability to understand and regulate the service. Inspection report for children’s home: 2726010 5

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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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that monitoring and review systems enable sufficiently detailed and timely notifications of significant events to Ofsted. In addition, ensure that records relating to children are written in child-friendly language and that language used to describe children is appropriate. 1 December 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should provide a nurturing, homely environment. In particular, ensure that the hallway and dining area are well decorated and personalised to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that all staff have been adequately trained in the principles of restraint and any restraint techniques appropriate to the needs of the children the home is set up to care for as defined in the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.57)  The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38) Inspection report for children’s home: 2726010 6

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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: 2726010 7

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Inspector:

Emily Stevens, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2726010 8 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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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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

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