Children's home run by Cocoon Children Services Ltd

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2730667 1 Registered provider: Cocoon Children Services Ltd

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Inspected under the Social Care Common Inspection Framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home is registered to care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home; one of these children moved in during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 8 November 2023.

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Inspection date: 16 September 2024

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 16 September 2024

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2730667 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

The children living at the home at the last inspection have moved on, and other children have arrived and left. This is because the registered manager has felt unable to keep the children safe or engage them effectively in the support offered at the home. Consequently, the staff have been unable to build and maintain secure and trusting relationships with children.

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Findings from the inspection

Children receive care from well-informed staff who have high aspirations for them. The staff use a range of strategies and approaches to understand children’s presenting needs and consider how they can best support these.

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Findings from the inspection

Children feel able to express their wishes and feelings and staff ensure that these are appropriately considered. The registered manager is implementing a new approach to ensuring children’s information is recorded in a first-person narrative. This has increased staff awareness about the importance of using language that cares. Additionally, it increases the chances of children understanding how they were supported should they seek to access their records later in life.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff ensure that children are kept safe from harm and carefully plan direct work to help children to understand their own risks and make healthy life choices.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff respond effectively when children go missing from the home. Staff search for children and maintain good communication with children and relevant external professionals during episodes of going missing. However, there is one example of a child’s safety plan for free time changing too quickly and without clear rationale. The result was an increase in missing-from-home episodes and that undermined the ability of the staff team to keep the child safe.

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Findings from the inspection

The registered manager has not ensured that all safeguarding concerns have been appropriately notified to Ofsted and this has prevented important regulatory oversight.

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Findings from the inspection

While the registered manager has clear aspirations to embed a therapeutic approach to caring for children, the experiences of children do not yet demonstrate that this is having a positive impact on their lives. For example, children have not experienced long-term security and stability, and some children have experienced unplanned endings.

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Findings from the inspection

The registered manager understands the need to align the aspirations that she has for children with the individual goals they hold. The manager has recently commissioned a consultant clinical psychologist who will provide clinical supervision and consultation for staff about the diverse needs of children moving into the home. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2730667 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/04/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2730667 4

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is repeated. 29 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; 31 October 2024 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2730667 5 there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should recognise the importance of children being able to make decisions about their everyday lives and work with placing authorities and other professionals to ensure that every reasonable step is taken to ensure that children are kept safe from harm and have appropriate autonomy in their lives. This may include a safety plan that is completed with the child to set out the steps needed to keep them safe and the role that different professionals in their support network may have. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.7)

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Recommendation

This recommendation is repeated. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2730667 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cocoon Children Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 80 Astra Close, Hornchurch RM12 5NJ

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Inspector

Ashley Edwards, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2730667 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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