Children's Home run by Kelwel Care Limited in Havering

Inspection report for children’s home: 2535887 1 Registered provider: Kelwel Care Homes Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned home that can provide care for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in August 2019. The home’s manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living in 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: 1 November 2023

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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: 2535887 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/11/2023 Full Good 12/10/2022 Full Good 10/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2535887 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are settled in the home. One child describes the home as ‘amazing’. Another child’s favourite part of the home is the activities that staff organise for them. One child is proud that since living in the home they have been able to manage their emotions better than they used to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children are making educational progress. One child is in full-time education and wants to attend college. Another child attends online tutoring and has a part-time job. One child is not in education but is being supported by staff to develop their life skills in readiness to move in to semi-independence. Professional feedback highlights that this child has developed skills in independent living, cooking, shopping, and travelling independently. The other children have a semi-independence rota, where they are encouraged to complete tasks. This tailored support encourages the children to develop age-appropriate life skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are registered with health services. Staff are successful in supporting some children to attend routine health appointments. Staff also encourage healthy eating. Most of the ingredients used to cook meals are organic products. This teaches the children the importance of a balanced diet.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

House meetings take place weekly. Children discuss their feelings and preferences, and plan for the week ahead. Key-work sessions happen regularly. Discussions take place to help the children to develop skills and reflect on their behaviour. Children regularly take part in activities that are tailored to their specific interests. These help the children to develop new skills and give them positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to have family time. Feedback from one parent highlighted the staff efforts to transport their child to their home town.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children’s health and education plans are up to date. This hinders the planning in the home. Senior leaders are in the process of escalating this with the relevant local authorities.

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

Children have individual behaviour support and safety plans. These are constantly updated. Children’s risk assessments are kept under review to reflect new or ongoing concerns. There is a consistent approach to managing behaviour. When consequences are in place, they are proportionate. Positive behaviour is appropriately rewarded, and children have a lot of options when it comes to choosing rewards. Inspection report for children’s home: 2535887 4 Senior leaders have effective relationships with the police to help to manage incidents. Room searches are justified and proportionate. Children are involved in these searches and records are detailed. Senior leaders encourage the local authority to provide specialist support when it is needed. Senior leaders also conduct research into alternative ways to manage worrying behaviour. Professional feedback details the staff diligence in addressing risks to children.

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

When children go missing from the home there is a well-coordinated response from staff. Staff actively search for the children. Staff sometimes request return-home interviews. Staff do not always escalate concerns when return interviews are not completed. This is a missed opportunity to get more information about what happens when children go missing.

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

Key-work sessions happen regularly. Discussions take place to help the children to develop skills and reflect on their behaviour. Staff also support children with reflective discussions and activities, such as boxing, to help to manage their emotions and de- escalate situations. All children have the option of therapy, where they can safely discuss any worries they have.

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

Safer recruitment processes are in place to ensure that all staff are qualified and safe to work with children.

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

The staff ensure that the home provides a warm and nurturing environment for the children. The physical environment of the home is clean, and repairs happen quickly. However, some of the children’s bedrooms are untidy, with clothes and other belongings left on the floor.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a home manager in post, who has made an application to Ofsted to be the registered manager. Senior leaders have a clear understanding of children’s experiences that contribute to the progress they make. Leaders and managers use learning from practice and feedback to improve the experiences of children. Senior leaders have updated their substance misuse protocol, following advice from the police. This has helped to ensure that incidents that relate to substance misuse can be managed more effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are settled in the home. They feel well supported by management. They have a good understanding of safeguarding and whistle-blowing. One member of staff commented that the home is nurturing and safeguards the children well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision takes place regularly. Staff speak positively about their supervision sessions, describing them as a supportive space where they can discuss the care of the children, their personal well-being, and development opportunities. Staff team meetings take place monthly. These are opportunities for the staff to discuss learning opportunities, manage expectations, and explore ways to improve the service for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2535887 5 Leaders and managers understand the home’s strengths and weaknesses and are developing their systems to address them. There are internal monitoring systems in place to address the home’s weaknesses. For example, they ensure that children’s files include detailed information and are always up to date. Leaders and managers understand the importance of investing in staff to improve the standard of children’s care. Staff are up to date with mandatory training and training that reflects the needs of

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective action has been taken to address the recommendations from previous inspections. The home’s statement of purpose has been updated to include staff experience, qualifications goals and strengths. This updated document provides a clear picture of what children and professionals can expect from staff and the culture within the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2535887 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that return-home interviews take place after a child has been missing from care. When they do take place, feedback gathered at the interview should be used to further support the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45 paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that they work with the placing authority and any other relevant professionals so that they have all the relevant plans for the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.3)

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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: 2535887 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kelwel Care Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Victoria House, 101-105 Victoria Road, Chelmsford CM1 1JR

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Inspector

Chelsea Agyeman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2535887 8 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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