Children's home run by Shalamar Children Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2720837 1 Registered provider: Shalamar Children 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

This home can provide care for up to five children aged six to 18 years with emotional and social difficulties and children who have experienced trauma. At the time of the inspection, four children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 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 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: 2720837 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2720837 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, the four children were all spoken to and three children shared their experiences and views in detail. Generally, the children were positive about living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making progress from their starting points. Staff have established nurturing relationships with children and know them well. Interactions between staff and children are positive. Staff hold the children in high regard, show an interest in them, and talk about them warmly. Positive relationships help children to feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and wishes are listened to. Staff hold regular community meetings when children can discuss their wishes and views. All of the children said that their relationships with staff and managers are supportive. One child said, ‘They are good to talk to, I trust them.’ Children know how to make a complaint if they wish to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s health needs. They take children to attend health appointments and are proactive in identifying and seeking specialist support when required. For example, an autism and neurodiversity assessment has been sought for one child. All children have access to a therapist, who visits the home weekly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend some form of education. The manager works with local authorities and the headteacher of the virtual school to get children into schools that enable them to learn. Staff support attendance. One child attends a school outside the local catchment area because of their previous connection with the school. Placing importance on education helps children to attain better education outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s family and social relationships. Children are supported to spend time with family in line with their care plans. The children have friendships where appropriate and spend time with friends. The staff provide a range of social activities for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious, well decorated and nicely furnished. Children have a say in elements of the home, including choice of photos, posters and artwork, and choosing paint schemes. Children’s rooms are large and personalised to their taste. The garden is spacious and well maintained.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported with age-appropriate daily living tasks, such as self-care, keeping their room clean or contributing to household chores and cooking. Children are supported to develop skills that will help them in the future. Staff encourage healthy sleep and hygiene routines. Children are encouraged to work towards specific targets with an incentive plan. Helping children to develop healthy routines and independence tasks will help them to develop essential life skills. Inspection report for children’s home: 2720837 4

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

Children feel supported and safe. Staff are committed to working with children to reduce risks of harm. Staff are aware of safeguarding procedures and encouraged to raise any potential concerns immediately.

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

Complaints and allegations are taken seriously. When required, internal investigations are conducted, and are done so with due diligence.

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

Staff use detailed risk assessments and behaviour support plans for children. These help staff to support children’s specific vulnerabilities. The staff provide detailed professionally written records which reflect the child’s everyday life.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff follow procedures and react responsibly. Staff work with other agencies, including the police, to help children to return safely. Records of missing-from-home episodes are detailed and accurate. Individual incidents are responded to. However, effective planning and actions do not militate against risks of further incidents of children going missing from the home.

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

Staff are trained in physical intervention techniques. The manager has embedded a de- escalation approach to resolve conflict. This means that physical interventions and incidents only happen occasionally, and these actions are justified and proportionate. However, these incidents are not reviewed consistently; specifically, there is no clear evidence of children being spoken to. This does not ensure that children are given a chance to express their views following any restraint in a timely manner.

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

Staff and managers have established effective working relationships with a network of professionals and agencies. However, the manager has not been proactive in gathering information about the local area to enable engagement with local community groups.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and suitably qualified. He is committed to the home and the children. Staff and children speak highly about the manager and his leadership.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has established a stable staff team, and a reduction in the use of agency staff. Staff enjoy working at the home, and speak warmly about their roles. A consistent staff team helps to ensure that children are supported by familiar faces.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professional feedback is positive, both in response to individual children’s care, and in respect of the management and staff support across the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager leads a culture that is characterised by good expectations and aspirations for children. This is demonstrated in staff practice. Children are treated with dignity and respect. The statement of purpose identifies a therapeutic approach to care, and the manager leads staff to embed this in practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2720837 5 The staff plan transitions for children moving in and out of the home. Consideration is given when children move to the home, including the impact on the children who live at the home and the staff’s ability to support new children. When placements end, there is reflection on the reasons for the placement ending and learning from it.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager oversees the careful recruitment of staff, which includes necessary background checks and taking up references. Staff have good inductions, which include training that is comprehensive and well mapped out. Supervision sessions take place regularly and are reflective. This ensures staff are trained and well supported, so they can competently care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has provided a six-monthly report in line with requirements, and reviews external monitoring reports. However, the manager has failed to provide comprehensive monitoring in some respects. Specific grab bags to aid staff when children go missing from the home have not been checked and one bag could not be located. These are crucial in supporting children’s missing-from-home protocols. Inspection report for children’s home: 2720837 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that effective checks are made on grab bags to ensure these contain the required items. 30 September 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when a child runs away persistently or engages in other risky behaviours, such as frequently being absent from the home to meet with inappropriate adults, the registered person, in consultation with the child’s placing authority, promptly convenes a risk management meeting to develop a strategy for managing risks to the young person. The strategy should be agreed with the child’s placing authority, the local authority where the home is located and the local police. In particular, ensure that analysis of incidents promptly identifies when a risk management meeting is necessary and swift action is taken to convene this. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.32)  The registered person should ensure that any child who has been restrained should be given the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of the restraint

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Recommendations

as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. The registered person should then ensure that records of such conversations are used to inform Inspection report for children’s home: 2720837 7 analysis and evaluation of incidents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.60)  The registered person has a key role in seeking to develop the home’s effective working relationships with each child’s placing authority and with other relevant persons, which may include services, individuals (including parents), agencies, organisations and establishments that work with children in the local community, for example police, schools, health and youth offending teams. In particular, this means positively engaging in the local community area, including with the public and

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Recommendations

community groups. (‘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: 2720837 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Shalamar Children Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 63a, Thames Industrial Estate, Princess Margaret Road, East Tilbury, Essex RM18 8RH

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Inspectors

Daniel Rankin, Social Care Inspector Ashley Hinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2720837 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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