Children's Home run by Emsee Living Ltd in Milton Keynes

Inspection report for children’s home: 2731497 1 Registered provider: Emsee Living 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 three children with emotional and/or behavioural needs.

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Information about this children’s home

This was the home’s first inspection since its registration with Ofsted on 19 September 2023. The registered manager has been in post since 19 September 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

There were no children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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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: 2731497 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has lived at the home since it was registered. The manager and staff recognise the importance of children being supported to have well-planned moves to the home and the opportunity to form positive relationships with staff from the outset. They ensured that the child’s move to the home was carefully planned and done at a pace that was right for the child. This contributed to the child having a successful move into the home and the staff beginning to form positive relationships with them from the start.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff took the time to get to know the child well. This enabled them to provide the child with good-quality individualised care. They spent time exploring the child’s likes, dislikes and interests, and acted on these. The child experienced fun activities and outings of their choice, such as trips to the cinema and the trampoline park. The child was encouraged to spend time with the staff. They were involved in cooking and spent time with the staff watching movies. The staff supported the child to enjoy safe family contact.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff ensure that the needs of children in their care are well met. Staff encouraged the child to have a healthy, balanced diet and enjoy physical activities, such as nature walks. They helped the child pursue physical activities of interest, such as boxing sessions. Staff developed close communication with mental health professionals to better understand the child’s emotional and behavioural needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to supporting children to make progress. One social care professional spoke positively about the care and support staff provided to the child and the positive impact this had. As result of this support, the child made improvements in managing their personal care and began to take pride in their appearance. Staff worked closely with partner professionals to advocate for a specialist assessment. Consequently, staff and other professionals were able to develop a better understanding of the child’s complex needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff supported the child to engage with home tutoring while a suitable education provision was sought.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The diverse staff team promote positive thinking about differences in people. On planned theme nights, the child had the opportunity to experience food from different cultures and learn about different cultures around the world.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated to a high standard and is welcoming and comfortable. There are different spaces in the home for children to relax and to play games. The staff created a sensory room for the child during their time living at the home. This demonstrates the child-focused approach of staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2731497 3 The child experienced good-quality care and support while they lived at the home. However, senior leaders gave immediate notice to the child’s placing authority that the child needed to move out of the home. This was because they were not able to meet the child’s complex needs. This meant that the child did not have a well- planned, supported move from the home.

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

Staff recognise the importance of effective partnership working to meet children’s needs and work closely with relevant professionals. The child’s individual risk assessment and care and support plan provided staff with helpful guidance to ensure the child’s safety and well-being. Staff developed these with input from relevant specialists such as those at child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

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

Staff understand the need for their approach to be adapted to meet children’s individual needs. They recognised the child’s vulnerabilities and were attentive and vigilant in the day-to-day care they provided to the child. The child did not go missing from home. One social care professional said that staff managed challenging situations well. Effective information-sharing by staff about the child’s circumstances enabled a collaborative approach from involved professionals regarding risk management.

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

Staff support children through a sensitive approach, without the use of restraint. They used de-escalation techniques to support the child during crises. They were consistent in their approach when managing incidents that involved verbal and physical aggression. They sought to understand potential triggers for these behaviours and attempted to do meaningful work with the child. This included supporting the child to reflect on their behaviours and the impact this had on others. They encouraged the child to express their feelings in more positive ways.

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

The manager takes appropriate action in response to any allegations. She informs local safeguarding partners and ensures that the welfare of children remains paramount.

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

Health and safety checks are carried out in the home. These help to ensure a safe environment for all.

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

The manager ensures that appropriate pre-employment checks are carried out for individuals who apply to work in the home. However, on occasion, a director of the home has worked on shift to offer additional temporary support. The manager did not have oversight of any checks carried out for this person. In addition, all gaps in one member of staff’s employment history had not been identified and explored. The manager did not ensure that they had all relevant information to inform their decision-making regarding the individual’s suitability. Inspection report for children’s home: 2731497 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s manager is well supported in her role by the responsible individual and directors of the company. The management team strives to ensure that children receive good-quality individualised care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensured that staff keep the children at the forefront of their practice. She has implemented different ways for children’s participation to be encouraged. The manager ensures that children’s needs are discussed in staff supervision sessions and team meetings. This provided space for staff to reflect on their practice and collectively develop new approaches to better support the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have positive relationships with the manager, who they describe as very supportive. It is clear that the manager fosters positive staff well-being. The manager’s approach has ensured a motivated staff team, who enjoy working at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and senior leaders work closely together to develop the service. The manager acts on feedback from the home’s independent visitor’s monthly reports. She regularly audits records. She has taken steps to try to promote positive relationships with the local community to ensure that children feel welcomed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with a range of relevant training to enable them to carry out their roles effectively. These include training on safeguarding, positive behavioural support and managing behaviours which challenge. However, some core training was overdue for several staff. Some staff do not have sufficient first-aid training to ensure that they are competent to apply first aid in the event of an emergency. Inspection report for children’s home: 2731497 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii)) 21 May 2024

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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 recruitment checks are carried out for all staff and that this includes all gaps in employment history being identified and explored. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to respond to the health needs of children and administer basic first aid. Staff should undertake appropriate first-aid training to ensure that they are able to provide appropriate care to children when urgently needed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.12)  The registered person should ensure that records demonstrate that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and that

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Recommendations

the manager understands their key role in the training and development of staff in the home. This includes ensuring that staff complete training in a timely Inspection report for children’s home: 2731497 6 manner. (‘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: 2731497 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Emsee Living Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Turnpike Lane, London N8 0EP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nuala Harrington

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Inspector

Sasha Reid, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2731497 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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