Children's home run by EJ Childcare Services Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2638781 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 is owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2022.

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: 17 October 2023

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2638781 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/10/2023 Full Good 20/02/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2638781 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child currently living in the home is well supported and has good relationships with staff, who act as positive role models. Staff are ambitious for the child and always treat them with unconditional positive regard. Consequently, the child feels valued, settled, and happy.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide care and support which promote the child’s stability and progress. The staff build positive relationships with the child, who trusts them to help with important issues. Clinical services chair fortnightly consultations to explore concerns and interactions. As a result, group learning takes place and care for the child improves.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have regular discussions with the child to help them to recognise and manage difficult feelings. As a result, the child is now better able to manage their emotions and is also maintaining positive relationships with those who are important to them. This is a notable area of progress and has had a significant impact on improving the quality of family time and widening the child’s circle of friends.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are good at providing the child with opportunities to enjoy life and have fun. Weekly art sessions and swimming classes form a structured week, and the child also socialises with their friends in the local community. These activities have been instrumental in providing the child with greater social skills, confidence, and interests.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s progress with education has been limited by the lack of a stable school placement. The child has experienced two school placements, two alternative provisions and home schooling by staff. This amount of change has caused significant disruption and impact on the child.

p.3

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

The staff promote a sense of safety and well-being for the child. They instil routines and boundaries which are clear for the child to understand. The staff maintain consistency for the child with familiar staff and effective communication in meetings and shift handovers.

p.3

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

The staff understand the child and their vulnerabilities. Work takes place with the child to help them to understand their own risks and keep themselves safe online and in the community. This allows the child to take risks that are appropriate to their development and in line with their friends.

p.3

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

The staff work to clear and effective plans. They are familiar with the child’s stages of crisis and how to respond at different times to keep the child and others feeling safe. The staff use this knowledge and their positive relationships with the child to de-escalate Inspection report for children’s home: 2638781 4 those times when emotions are high. As a result, there have been no missing-from-care incidents, and physical intervention techniques have not been used.

p.3

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

The staff promote positive behaviour by using incentives and restorative practice. Reflective discussions allow the child to understand their behaviour and the impact it has on themselves and those around them. Consequences are rarely used. When they are used, the child understands the measure and why it has been used.

p.4

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

The child’s electronic risk assessment is not dated and contains inaccurate information. The assessment references another children’s home, and the date it was created is unclear. As a result, staff do not know for certain who the assessment is for or when it needs to be reviewed.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers provide a comfortable home for the child. Communal areas are personal to the child and their interests. The child has access to games and books, and the child’s own artwork is on display in the home, along with photos of their time spent with family and the staff.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers foster effective professional relationships. Outstanding actions from childcare reviews are raised and escalated to ensure that these are given priority for the child. The manager and staff have advocated continually for a suitable education offer, which now reflects the child’s needs and preferences going into an important school year.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive suitable induction, supervision, and training to provide children with effective care. New employees are suitably vetted and inducted in line with safer recruitment practice. Team meetings and consultations reflect the work with the child. New or emerging needs are discussed and responded to appropriately. This promotes the continual development of the staff to support the child effectively.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The child’s local authority care plan is not on their file. Therefore, staff may not be working to the care plan agreed by the local authority.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s quality of care review does not fully consider the views of children and others. The review gives a description of the child’s successes and complimentary statements about the staff. There is a lack of evaluation of how care can be improved, and the impact of those actions implemented during the previous reporting period. Inspection report for children’s home: 2638781 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

p.5

Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

p.5

Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training, or employment and to prepare for future care, education, or employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(viii)(ix)) 16 August 2024

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

p.5

Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)) 16 August 2024

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality-of-care review”) at least once every 6 months.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing, and evaluating— 31 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2638781 6 the quality of care provided for children;

p.5

Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities, and the quality of care they receive in it;

p.6

Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b) (5))

p.6

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Children’s risk assessments and plans should reflect information pertinent to the individual child and have dates which allow for them to be reviewed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)

p.6

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: 2638781 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: EJ Childcare Services Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: EJ Childcare Services Limited, Foxhaven, Easington Road, Hartlepool TS24 9RE

p.7

Inspector

Lee Riley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2638781 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.

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