Children's Home run by Educare Support Limited in Enfield

Inspection report for children’s home: 2569345 1 Registered provider: Educare Support Limited

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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 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.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

This inspection was brought forward in order to address specific concerns or allegations received by Ofsted.

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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: 2569345 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/03/2024 Full Good 09/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2569345 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in a supportive home where they feel happy and valued. Children have positive relationships with staff. Staff create a nurturing environment where children thrive and build strong and meaningful connections. Children’s social workers comment positively about the good progress children are making and the positive impact of staff support on children’s lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have their rights respected and promoted by staff. Children confidently raise concerns, which managers respond to and deal with quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a well-presented home and contribute to decisions about how their home is decorated. One child is happy that they chose the furniture and accessories to decorate the lounge, and there are new chairs in the dining room. Children are pleased with how their bedrooms have been decorated. Children are happy with how the home now looks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in education. All children attend school or college, and they are progressing well in their studies. Leaders and managers bought a moped for one child to help make their journey to college much easier. The child is very happy about this. Staff are proud of the child’s achievement in learning to ride the moped.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities that promote their personal hobbies and interests. They also enjoy going away on holiday. They are looking forward to going abroad this year. Staff also help children to develop independent-living skills and prepare them for adult life. Children enjoy helping with cleaning chores, including tidying up their own bedrooms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend time with their family, friends and other people who are important to them. Staff build effective connections with significant people, to make plans so that children’s time with their families is meaningful and enjoyable. Children are excited as their time together with their family increases.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are comfortable to express their individuality because staff foster an environment that values equality, diversity and inclusion. Staff recognise and celebrate each child’s background, interests and strengths, which helps to create a sense of belonging and respect for the children. One child attends church, and they value these community relationships.

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

Children feel safe. Staff are skilled practitioners who understand their safeguarding responsibilities. They implement policies and procedures effectively to promote children’s safety. Inspection report for children’s home: 2569345 4 Children enjoy being in the home. They do not go missing from their home because staff have effective conversations which help them to understand the importance of coming back home at the expected times for their age. Staff also talk to children about how to stay safe when they are away from the home. Consequently, children are going out and returning home safely.

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

Children say that consequences are not always applied fairly. Records show that consequences when applied are used in line with children’s individualised plans. They help children to understand the connection between their actions and what follows, so that they can develop positive behaviour. At times, the indirect impact of what is put in place for one child on other children has not been fully considered.

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

Staff manage incidents of significant concern well. They respond promptly and apply de- escalation techniques effectively, without the need to physically intervene, when children become upset. These incidents are quickly resolved. Managers discuss incidents with staff so that they learn from them, and this helps to prevent recurrence.

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

Children’s key workers and the manager ensure that care plans and risk assessments are individualised to each child’s needs. Changes made are discussed in team meetings and at daily handovers. Staff’s views continue to vary about the best way to support a child with special needs. The manager is taking further steps to increase team working and promote cohesive care planning practice within the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is well managed by a manager who is committed and enthusiastic about providing good-quality care to children. At a recent managers’ meeting, the manager was proud to present a report that showed the progress children have made since they started living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are keen to develop staff. Senior staff get experience of management roles when the manager is on leave. This builds staff confidence and promotes learning. The manager has plans to ensure that these learning opportunities are accessible to all senior staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training and support to carry out their roles. They have regular supervision and team meetings, and they have leaders and managers that they can talk to. A therapist has monthly meetings with staff to provide extra support if this is needed. Some staff describe the support by leaders and managers as ‘exceptional’. The manager understands the dynamics and challenges within the team and, when needed, he ensures that individual staff have extra help when dealing with difficult situations. New staff are welcomed and, overall, staff say they enjoy working together.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders, managers and staff build effective working relationships with external professionals. Good communication through regular discussions and high-quality reports informs social workers about the progress and achievements that children make. Inspection report for children’s home: 2569345 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that support strategies or consequences used to help and protect children do not have unintended impact on other children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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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: 2569345 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Educare Support Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher O’Nions

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Inspector

Thobekile Bandama, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2569345 7 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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