Children's home run by Essential Therapeutic Care and Education Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2728200 1 Registered provider: Essential Therapeutic Care and Education limited 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 provides care for up to two children. The home caters for children who have complex emotional and/or behavioural needs.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted on 23 August 2023, and this was its first inspection. The manager has been registered since the same date.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2728200 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they are happy living in this home. They share positive relationships with staff, who they enjoy spending time with. The genuine care that staff show the children has helped them to settle quickly in the home and has led to trusting relationships being formed between the children and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff care for the children through an empathetic, sensitive approach. They support the children well when they encounter difficulties. The consistency from staff has positively influenced the children’s progress. For example, one child who has been out of education for several years prior to moving to the home now accesses education because of the motivation and support from the staff. Another child has been helped to develop techniques to better manage difficult emotions in a socially acceptable way. The children trust the staff. They feel able to have conversations with them about sensitive issues. The staff are focused on supporting the children to overcome the challenges they face. Consequently, they successfully contribute to them maturing and developing self-confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are attuned to the children’s individual needs. Staff regularly review children’s plans and work closely with partner professionals. This ensures that children’s needs are well met. Social care professionals and parents spoke highly of the care and support the staff provide to the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff think outside of the box. They support children to pursue their different hobbies and interests. One child has enjoyed concerts by their favourite music artist. Staff provided another child who is passionate about music and art with music equipment. Their talents are celebrated by staff. The staff provide the children with new, fun experiences that create great memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s wishes and views are regularly sought in different ways. Staff act on these, ensuring that children feel valued. Children are involved in decisions about their care, planned activities or outings and the decoration of their bedrooms. Children know how to make complaints. The trusting relationships the staff develop with the children mean that the children are comfortable to have open conversations with the staff about sensitive personal issues, such as their sexuality. Consequently, staff are better able to support the children with self-acceptance and with being respectful of differences in others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a well-maintained home that is welcoming and has a homely feel. Their bedrooms are well personalised based on their preferences. This conveys that they have a sense of belonging. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728200 3

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

Staff know how to meet the children’s needs and manage potential risks well. Children’s support plans and risk assessments provide clear and current guidance for staff. Children’s views are considered in the development of these plans. This helps maintain the trusting relationships they have with staff.

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

Staff understand the children’s backgrounds, current needs and risks well. This is in part due to effective information-sharing with partner professionals, as well as time spent getting to know the children. Input provided by therapists helps equip staff to care for the children through a therapeutic approach.

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

Children are happy and settled in the home. As a result, they do not go missing. There is clear guidance, and staff know what to do should a child go missing.

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

Staff consistently use de-escalation techniques to support children when incidents occur. They physically intervene only when necessary to prevent harm to the children or others. However, details in some reports are brief and do not give a full understanding of the circumstances that led up to the incident and of actions taken by staff. This undermines the effective review of incidents to identify patterns and trends. The manager has recognised this recording issue and is supporting staff to develop in this area. Social care professionals and parents are confident that the staff manage challenging situations effectively.

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

Staff consistently encourage children to engage in reflective discussions following incidents. This has led to children reflecting and learning more positive ways to manage their emotions and also to develop empathy for others. The manager undertakes reflective conversations with the staff to ensure that their actions are appropriately responsive to the children’s needs.

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

Children are cared for by a stable staff team, supplemented by agency workers. Pre- employment suitability checks are carried out on permanent staff. However, two gaps in a staff member’s employment history had not been identified and explored. Furthermore, the manager has not had oversight of some checks carried out for agency staff. This undermines the manager’s ability to make fully informed decisions about the suitability of staff to work with children.

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

Regular health and safety checks are carried out and help to ensure that the home is safe for the children and others. However, a flammable product was stored unsafely in the home. The manager removed the product when the concern was highlighted by the inspector.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a child-focused senior leadership team. The therapeutic input supports the staff to better understand the children’s past experiences and the effect Inspection report for children’s home: 2728200 4 on their current needs and behaviours. As a result, the therapeutic approach is consistently applied by staff caring for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager recognises the importance of effective partnership working with involved professionals to ensure that the children’s needs are well met in all areas. The manager ensures that regular meetings take place with appropriate partner professionals. This encourages a holistic approach to meeting the children’s needs. Weekly reflective discussions led by therapists help staff to provide children with good-quality, nurturing care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and senior leaders have instilled a positive culture of the staff seeking to understand situations from the children’s point of view. Consequently, staff are proactive in seeking the children’s views. The staff keep in mind that the children have experienced past trauma. They are sensitive and non-blaming in the care that they provide to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported. Staff welfare is explored during monthly supervision sessions and regular reflective group discussions. There is strong focus on the children’s support needs during these meetings. A good range of training relevant to the children’s needs is provided to the staff. However, several staff are yet to complete some core and refresher training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager promotes equality and diversity in the home. They have employed a diverse staff team, who introduce children to different cultures and traditional cultural cuisines. The staff are confident to have open conversations with the children on important matters, such as their sexuality and identity. Consequently, children are developing positive thinking about differences. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728200 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. This includes ensuring that all gaps in employment history are explored for permanent staff and that they have had oversight of references and the employment history of agency staff, to ensure that any gaps have been explored. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that the home complies with relevant health and safety legislation. The storage of flammable items in the home should be subject to a risk assessment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that records of restraint include all relevant information to enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control,

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Recommendations

discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure that it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should ensure that records demonstrate that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and that the registered manager understands their key role in the training and development of staff in the home. Staff should complete mandatory and refresher training when due. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 2728200 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Essential Therapeutic Care and Education limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C B Heslop & Co, 1 High Street, Thatcham RG19 3JG

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Inspector

Sasha Reid, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2728200 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 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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