Children's home run by Ancora Children’s Homes Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2742259 1 Registered provider: Ancora Children’s Homes Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private company. It provides care for up to three children with social andemotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2023.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2742259 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2742259 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There was one child living in the home at the time of this inspection. No children have moved in or out of the home since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is making good progress. Staff encourage children to understand the importance of education. This has helped the child make progress in their education. Staff have positive relationships with the child. They use these to promote and support children to develop age-appropriate independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child engages in activities they enjoy. The child said they would not change anything about the home apart from the location. They said, ‘If I could pick the home up and move it to the countryside I would. Apart from that, there is nothing I would change.’ When asked what they like about the home, the child said, ‘I like everything. It feels like home, which I have never had before.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child said that they can talk to any of the staff if they are worried or upset. Positive, warm and nurturing interactions were observed between the child and staff. The child is very comfortable in the company of the staff and has built trusting relationships with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child had several permissive restrictions in place when they first arrived at the home. Due to the progress the child has made with regards to keeping themselves safe, they are now on a step-down plan with a view to having these restrictions removed. The child said, ‘Staff helped me understand what the DoLS [Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards] order was. Everyone can see I have changed since being here; I am quite proud of myself.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work hard to ensure that children maintain links with those who are important to them. A parent said that this is the best home that their child has been in as they did not do very well in other homes, and they said that this home has pushed their child to achieve. The parent said, ‘I am very happy with how my child has progressed and changed since living at this home.’ Feedback from professionals is positive. One social worker said, ‘Staff have been consistent and built positive relationships with [name of child], and this really turned things around. [Name of child] has really progressed since moving to the home.’

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

There have been no incidents of children going missing from care, no allegations against staff and no physical interventions in the home. There has been one complaint made by the child since the last inspection, which was managed well and involved consultations with the child’s parent and social worker. Inspection report for children’s home: 2742259 4 Staff have a good understanding of the children and most of their risks. A social worker said they had no concerns with how their child was safeguarded. A parent said, ‘I think they do really care and want to help.’ The child living in the home also said, ‘I know I am protected; there are security cameras and staff that care about me.’

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

Staff have completed the organisation’s mandatory safeguarding training. Staff are confident in their roles of reporting and escalating any child protection concerns. They understand the whistle-blowing policy.

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

The children’s guide is child-friendly and gives children a sense of what it is like living in the home. The guide also contains information to help children understand who to speak to if they are worried or if they need support outside of the home.

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

When incidents occur, staff are quick to respond. A social worker said they were happy with how incidents are managed, and staff communicate well with them and report any incidents without delay.

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good

The manager is experienced and has a relevant qualification. She has been registered for nearly a year and is supported by two experienced deputy managers.

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good

Leaders and managers have not ensured that safer recruitment checks are always adhered to. One staff member did not have appropriate pre-employment checks completed before they started working in the home. Managers had not attempted to verify the staff member’s reasons for leaving a previous role that involved working with vulnerable children. Managers were unaware that they were required to do this.

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good

The registered manager recently spent a period of time out of the home. During this period, the standard of management oversight of the home dropped. Records in the home are generally kept up to date; however, some records related to training, despite having updated dates on the documents, were not up to date or accurate. This means these documents do not provide a true reflection of the home.

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good

Leaders and managers have not always consulted with external agencies to support children with their needs. Leaders and managers have not ensured that risk assessments give sufficient consideration to these needs. This means opportunities may have been missed to help children understand their own needs and promote healthy lifestyles. Issues with the quality of risk assessments were also identified at the last inspection.

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good

Some staff hold a relevant qualification. Those who do not hold a relevant qualification are working towards one within the agreed time frames. Inspection report for children’s home: 2742259 5 The staff speak positively about the home and are enthusiastic and energised. Staff say they feel happy working in the home and are supported by management to fulfil their role. Managers have identified some areas for improvement in the staff team’s practice and have started putting plans in place to develop these.

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good

Staff receive regular, reflective supervision sessions. A therapist supports the staff team to understand the impact of trauma on children. Team meetings encourage discussion around policies and provide staff with safeguarding scenarios to develop their understanding of keeping children safe.

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good

Feedback from external professionals is positive. A parent and a social worker said the staff are good at communicating, which helps them feel supported and listened to. Inspection report for children’s home: 2742259 6

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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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that if a person has previously worked in a position involving work with children or vulnerable adults, they verify so far as reasonably practicable the reason why the employment or position ended. 3 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

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; 3 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2742259 7 help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should take the initiative in engaging with relevant people proactively, advocating for the children in their care. In particular, they should ensure that they work with relevant health services to support the child to live a healthy lifestyle. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.7)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s workforce plan is updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and is used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager. In particular, the registered person should ensure that the workforce plan contains accurate information. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: 2742259 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Ancora Children’s Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 8 Madeira Avenue, Leigh on Sea, Essex SS9 3EB

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Wendy Edward-Tsuro

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Katherine Baker-Brown

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Inspector

Anver Rose, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2742259 9 and inspects 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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