Children's Home run by Educare Support Limited in Enfield

Inspection report for children’s home: 2569345 1 Registered provider: Educare Support Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care and support for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties. There were four children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in January 2020. The manager registered in August 2021.

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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2569345 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2569345 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting relationships with staff. Staff are friendly and caring, which makes children feel comfortable and settled at the home. Children tell staff about their views through planned and informal conversations. Children also choose what they want their bedrooms to look like, and they say staff listen to them. Staff consider children’s views when planning what to cook and what activities children want to do.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and playful with staff. Children and staff have evening meals together. There are lively conversations during meals, and this provides a great opportunity for children to talk about their day. Children say they like living at the home. One child said the home is great and better than any home they had lived in.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress. Staff say children are doing well and achieving a lot of good things. A child who likes singing did well in a talent competition. A member of staff said that children talk about what jobs they would like to do when they are older, and said, ‘It will be nice to see them achieving that.’ A family member said that their child seems to be doing well and does a lot of things now.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they have a lot of interesting activities, and they enjoyed their holiday last year. They are excitedly looking forward to a holiday abroad this year. Staff are working with professionals to achieve this. Staff help children to learn skills they will need to look after themselves when they are old enough to move on from the home. Some activities children do at the home help them to learn and develop skills they need for future employment. For example, staff are helping a child to put together information about their skills and qualifications. This is so they can find voluntary work and achieve their Duke of Edinburgh award. The child is excited and looking forward to achieving this.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children get support with their health and well-being because staff work closely with health professionals to ensure children’s needs are met. Children are encouraged to eat well and to be active.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational needs are met through attending school or having tuition. Staff encourage education and support children to get ready for school so that they are not late. One child is getting praise and awards for the work they do at school.

p.3

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

Children say they feel safe living at the home. One child said this was because the staff are great. Staff know what to do when they have concerns about children’s safety. There have not been recent incidents of children going missing from the home. However, when this does happen, staff know what to do to keep children safe. Staff make an effort to contact the child regularly until they return safely. Inspection report for children’s home: 2569345 4 Staff promote positive behaviour through consequences, praise and rewarding children when they do this well. This helps reduce incidents that could put children and others at risk of harm. Children are supported by professionals when needed to help them learn positive ways to communicate their needs. A child benefits from having a pet in their bedroom, which has reduced incidents of damaging things. This is because they do not want to scare the pet. This helps staff to talk to the child

p.3

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

about better ways of managing their emotions.

p.4

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

Staff recruitment is undertaken in a safe manner to ensure they are suitable to work at the home. Managers carry out the necessary checks before staff start working at the home. There are enough staff to support children with their needs.

p.4

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

The registered manager and staff check the home regularly to ensure it is safe and to prevent accidents. The home is clean and tidy. However, some areas of the home need painting to make it nice and comfortable for children. Managers replaced the kitchen cabinets and some flooring. They say they will continue renovating the home until the work is complete.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff have done a lot of work to improve the home so that it provides good care to the children. They now have effective monitoring systems in place, so the manager can regularly assess all aspects of the home. The manager acts on recommendations by the independent person, and he makes the required improvements quickly. Because of this monitoring and oversight, managers understand what the home does well and what needs to be improved. They monitor children’s progress, and staff think of creative ways to help children achieve more.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides stability in the leadership and management of the home. He said they now have a great group of staff who are motivated to look after children well. There is succession planning at the home. Some senior staff are supported to develop the skills necessary to take on leadership roles in the future. Staff say they are supported well by managers, and they enjoy looking after the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers provide staff with induction, training and supervision to help them do their job well. Staff are supported by a therapist to support children’s needs. Staff say they work well together as a team, and this provides consistent care for the children. A staff member said, ‘It’s a small team, but everyone is supportive, and we pull together to get things done.’

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work well with parents and external professionals to understand how to support children in all aspects of their lives. Children get the support they need to spend time with their families or friends. This ensures children benefit from meaningful joint-working. Inspection report for children’s home: 2569345 5

p.4

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home provides a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. In particular, they should continue to renovate all areas of the home so that it is a nice and comfortable place for children to live in. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

p.5

Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2569345 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Educare Support Limited

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Gatehouse, 453 Cranbrook Road, Ilford, IG2 6EW

p.6

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher O’Nions

p.6

Inspector

Thobekile Bandama, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2569345 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.

p.6

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.7

Inspector

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

p.7

Inspector

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

p.7