Children's home run by Jamores Limited in Bexley

Inspection report for children’s home: 1237027 1 Registered provider: Jamores 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 three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in June 2016.

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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: 22 November 2022

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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: 1237027 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/11/2022 Full Good 28/04/2021 Full Good 03/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 25/06/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1237027 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences in the home and receive good-quality care. Children’s day-to-day needs are met, and they have positive routines, nutritious meals and enjoyable activities. Children’s achievements are celebrated, and children are appropriately rewarded. Social workers have praised the staff and managers for the positive impact that they have had on children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in education and make good progress. Children who were previously not attending or engaging in school have made significant progress and are now engaging in and attending school regularly. The staff and managers work hard to ensure that children attend school regularly and on time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a voice in the home, and they have the opportunity to share their views in weekly house meetings. They participate in planning the weekly food menu and deciding on the activities that they would like to do. The house meetings are also positive learning opportunities as children take part in activities together on various topics, such as learning about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of educational and fun activities, such as playing chess, visiting museums and the library, going to a funfair, trips to the beach, and feeding the ducks in the local park. Children can also work towards doing additional activities of their choice by collecting stars on their reward charts.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well understood and met consistently. Children attend routine health appointments to ensure that their general health is maintained. The managers and staff are proactive when they have concerns about children’s mental health and well-being. They work closely with specialist services to ensure that children receive the support that they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress and develop their independence skills. They complete their own laundry and help to prepare dinner, with support and guidance from staff. Older children are prepared for independent living and have developed budgeting and shopping skills and can travel independently in the community using public transport.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain positive relationships with their families. Children enjoy outings and activities in the community with their siblings and parents. They are also encouraged to visit their parents in their family homes, where appropriate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff. However, one child said that they are not always given the opportunity to have sensitive conversations with staff about delicate issues about their lives.

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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1237027 4 Staff and managers have a good understanding of children’s needs and risks. Risk assessments help staff to identify the triggers and strategies to reduce and manage children’s risks. Risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated, which helps staff to meet children’s needs effectively.

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

Children rarely go missing from home, and the risks of exploitation are low. On one occasion, a child was absent without authorisation, and staff responded quickly. They followed missing-from-care protocols. When the child returned home, staff explored with them the reasons for their behaviour and their care plan was reviewed.

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

Children receive regular key-work sessions. Positive relationships between staff and children allow key-work sessions to be meaningful and beneficial for children. Key- work sessions are target focused, reflective and help children to make good choices. For example, staff supported one child through key-work sessions to start taking their medication regularly to improve their mental and physical health.

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

Incidents in the home are managed well. If physical intervention is required, it is necessary to prevent children from harming themselves and/or others. Children are offered medical care and emotional support following incidents of physical intervention. All incidents are carefully monitored by managers, and physical intervention records are referred to a consultant for further reflection and guidance. Managers and staff reflect on their practice to help to reduce the chance of similar incidents occurring again.

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

Managers take allegations of harm seriously and act promptly when issues arise, which increases children’s safety in the home. The registered manager also ensures that staff reflect on incidents, which helps them to develop and improve their practice and behaviour management techniques. Children are always debriefed after incidents, and restorative actions are taken to support them to understand the impact of their actions.

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

Staff understand safeguarding procedures and know that they can report concerns to leaders and managers. However, some staff do not fully know the whistle-blowing procedures, particularly the external bodies that they could report concerns to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed effectively by a permanent and suitably experienced registered manager, who has been supported by an effective and skilled deputy manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers know the children well and understand their needs and behaviours. They have high aspirations for children and work with their families to support children’s progress. They ensure that there is a sufficient level of staff to support children, depending on their level of need. This ensures that children receive good-quality care and support. Inspection report for children’s home: 1237027 5 Team meetings are regular and effective. Managers and staff discuss relevant topics, such as children’s risks and needs, reflective practice, and staff development. The staff team also attend weekly ‘nuggets’, which is a learning forum that explores specific topics, such as de-escalation techniques, the administration of medication, and reviewing the quality standards for children’s homes. Staff development opportunities support the staff to provide good-quality care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision that focuses on staff well-being and child-related practice. Supervision is reflective and focuses on children’s needs and risks, including incidents that have occurred in the home. Staff performance and practice is appraised annually. This ensures that leaders and managers have good oversight of staff practice and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from children’s social workers is positive. They report that they feel confident in the care that children receive from staff and managers, who work closely with them to ensure that children have positive transitions moving into the home and communicate well about children’s progress and needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 1237027 6

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Recommendations

 Leaders and managers should ensure that staff understand the whistle-blowing policies, including how to report concerns to external bodies. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.9)

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Recommendations

 Leaders and managers should ensure that staff understand the importance of listening to, involving and responding to the children they care for. Staff should observe, notice and respond to children who are expressing their views. They should also understand how children might communicate their feelings through their behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.10)

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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: 1237027 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Jamores Ltd, Thames Innovation Centre, 2 Veridion Way, Erith DA18 4AL

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Inspector

Amena Begum, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1237027 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

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