Children's home run by EJ Childcare Services Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 1 Registered provider: EJ Childcare Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home registered in June 2023 and is owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care for one child who may experience social or emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

One child was living at the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2023.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 2

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported in building trusting and safe relationships with the staff. The child said that staff care and want them to do well. The child said, ‘I feel really safe here. I am not worried about anything.’ Staff listen to the child’s views and acknowledge their feelings. This helps the child to feel happy and safe and to develop a sense of belonging in the home. Staff frequently carry out one-to-one sessions with the child to promote positive choices and provide opportunities for the child to gain an understanding of independence. This means that the child is informing their own future planning.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to maintain important relationships with the people who are close to them. Staff ensure that family time is supported. They recognise the importance of peer relationships and ensure that the child’s friends can visit the home. This means that the child can make and sustain friendships and continue to have meaningful relationships.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has started to re-engage with education. The registered manager and staff have secured home tuition five days per week and support the child to engage in learning. The child is now looking to enrol at college next year and fulfil their aspirations for the future.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use a therapeutic approach and are trained to respond to the child’s needs. They have access to regular clinical psychologist consultations and can discuss the child and their needs. This ensures that staff have access to updated knowledge with specialist advice. Plans can be reviewed with current information to support the child’s care.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child can speak to staff should they want to make a complaint and are provided with information about how to do this. However, the complaints forms are not accessible to the child without staff’s support. This means that the child cannot make a confidential complaint.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated to a good standard. The child has helped staff to personalise the home to meet the child’s taste. The home is well furnished to support a homely feel. However, the child does not have a lockable cabinet or space. This means that they cannot store any personal items securely in their bedroom.

p.2

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

Staff work with the child to help them understand and learn from their past experiences to guide them in safe decision-making. The registered manager and staff use collaborative working to reinforce this work, which ensures a consistent approach to supporting the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 3 Staff are knowledgeable and understand the risks associated with the child and how they can keep the child safe. Clear individual risk assessments are carried out and are regularly reviewed to ensure that they are current and support staff with strategies to use to mitigate risk. Staff are trained in the models of care to de- escalate situations, which has resulted in a reduction in incidents in the home.

p.2

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

Family and professional feedback is positive about the care provided to the child by the registered manager and the staff. Family members and professionals are confident in the staff team providing care that promotes safety and encourages the child to achieve their aspirations.

p.3

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

Staff are generally knowledgeable about safeguarding procedures and the missing- from-home policy. One staff member failed to follow the missing-from-home protocol within timescales, which delayed a multi-agency response for a vulnerable child. This lack of consistency could place a child at an increased risk of harm.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and deputy manager are qualified and experienced. The team of staff are permanent and are qualified and experienced. Staff are supported through robust training opportunities. This means that care is provided by knowledgeable staff who are child focused and have the skills needed to meet the child’s needs. Safer recruitment processes are followed to ensure that staff are employed to provide high-quality care.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good oversight of the running of the home and maintains a clear presence. Having a visible registered manager promotes the model of care and approach being asked of the staff. This means that the home’s ethos and models of care are embedded into practice.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision is prioritised, child focused and supports reflective discussion to encourage learning and development in the staff team. The child’s daily records and documents are generally well written and detailed with a clear narrative. This supports the child’s experience of reading their own records being more positive.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff promote a family feel in the home. Any damage or repairs are reported in a timely way to ensure that work is carried out quickly. However, significant damage to the furniture in the child’s bedroom has not been addressed. This means that the furniture is not fit for purpose and could cause an injury.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has recently updated the home’s statement of purpose. However, it does not identify who to contact to make a complaint or how to access the home’s complaints policy. Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 4

p.3

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 must comply within the given timescales.

p.4

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.4

Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

p.4

Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

p.4

Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(i)(vi)(vii))

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff are familiar with the missing-from-home procedures outlined in the child’s plan and the home’s safeguarding policy. 25 March 2024

p.4

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.4

Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished, and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d)) 25 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 5 In particular, ensure that damaged furniture in the child’s bedroom is repaired to prevent injury.

p.4

Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that details are available of how to access the complaints policy and of who to contact if a person has a complaint about the home. 25 March 2024

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are aware of the complaints procedure and can access the forms and make a complaint confidentially. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13)  The registered person should ensure that children are provided with appropriate furniture, such as a lockable cabinet or drawers, to securely store personal items, including any personal information. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.19) Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 6

p.5

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: 2638783 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: EJ Childcare Services Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Foxhaven, Easington Road, Hartlepool TS24 9RE

p.7

Inspector

Kate Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8