Children's home run by Inroads Essex Limited in Mid Suffolk

Inspection report for children’s home: SC069178 1 SC069178 Registered provider: Inroads Essex Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to nine children. The home cares for children with a range of intellectual and developmental disabilities, additional needs and social and emotional difficulties. The home consists of two individual houses on one site.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

During the inspection, seven children were living at the home.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: SC069178 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/08/2023 Full Good 10/10/2022 Full Good 12/01/2022 Full Good 24/04/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC069178 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, seven children were living at the home, with five children in one house and two in the other. Most children live at the home until they are adults. Since the last inspection one child has moved into the home and one child has moved on. The inspector spent time with six of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child moved on from the home in an emergency. The social worker was impressed by how sensitively this was managed. Another child had a well-planned move. The child visited her new home and met the staff before she moved. The child enjoyed a leaving party. The staff keep in contact with her and take her for an activity every six weeks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel secure and valued. Two children said that they love living at the home and that they had become best friends. Children appear happy, playful and relaxed with the staff. Staff have meaningful relationships with children, and show them genuine care and interest.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children maintain links with people who are important to them. Staff support children with regular family time, including overnight stays, which means that children can maintain family connections. One social worker said that staff had supported a child’s relationship with their father who they had not seen for a long time before moving to the home. As a result, the relationship was blossoming.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children all have specialist education places. Children make good progress, and their learning continues at the home. Children have a high level of attendance. One child who was at risk of exclusion from school has made significant progress. He now accesses the full school curriculum and safely enjoys outdoor educational activities including horse- riding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a range of activities, including, visits to the zoo, the circus and pantomime. One member of staff has learned songs and dances from the child’s country of origin. The children enjoy day trips to winter wonderland, beach days and country parks. These provide children with varied and enriching experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children attend routine medical appointments. Children have specialist health professionals’ input, including physiotherapist and occupational therapists. One child has made significant progress with health improvements and has been able to stop taking medication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents spoke highly of the staff and manager. Parents feel assured by the care provided. One parent said, ‘You would not believe she is the same child; she is thriving, the staff are fantastic.’ Another parent said, ‘My child is so happy, we never worry because we know he is being well looked after.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC069178 4 The home is spacious and welcoming. There are different communal rooms for children to enjoy. The large garden is well kept and has accessible playground equipment. Children’s bedrooms are personalised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Communication plans detail children’s preferred communication style. Some staff use appropriate sign language to communicate with children. However, staff are not consistently using these plans with one child. This reduces the opportunity for the child to make choices, express their views and initiate interactions.

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

Children feel safe at the home. The staff have appropriate training and understand the safeguarding procedures. This has helped to ensure that the staff are confident and equipped to manage safeguarding incidents, which helps to keep children safe.

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

When concerns about staff arise, the manager ensures that these are investigated promptly and that children are kept safe. The manager informs relevant professionals, which helps cultivate a transparent approach.

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

Physical interventions are appropriate, necessary and proportionate. The manager provides staff with debriefs following incidents. Staff listen to the child’s views about interventions and explore ways for children to express their feelings and emotions. At the time of the inspection, there had not been a physical intervention for over five months.

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

Children do not go missing from the home. There are high staffing levels and children are constantly supervised due to their individual needs. Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and take effective action to keep them safe.

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

Although children feel safe and have good relationships with staff, they do not have regular access to appropriate advocacy support. Therefore, they do not have an independent trusted person to confide in should they need to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager was not present during the inspection. The deputy manager was managing the home in her absence. The deputy manager has had support from different managers in the organisation. At the time of the inspection, the proposed responsible individual had recently been appointed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, there has been a decline in the leadership and management of the home. Record-keeping is disorganised, staff do not receive all the support they need. Staffing has been reliant on temporary staff, communication with professionals has not been consistent, and management oversight has not always been effective. Leaders and managers have taken the shortfalls seriously and started addressing the concerns raised immediately. Although these shortfalls have not significantly affected the overall quality of care, unchecked they have the clear potential to do so. Inspection report for children’s home: SC069178 5 Communication with one social worker and a parent has not been consistent. Some decisions about a child’s care have been made without appropriate agreement from the placing authority. When the social worker has raised concerns, these have not always been satisfactorily addressed. On one occasion, there has been a delay in providing an

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

outcome of an investigation to the social worker.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Record-keeping is disorganised. The children’s most up-to-date plans are not in their records. Some important records are not clear or accurate and do not contain important information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has not ensured that staff have consistent supervision sessions. Staff feel motivated, but they are not benefiting from regular opportunities to develop their own practice. There is a high reliance on agency staff. There have been 59 different agency workers since the last inspection. Agency staff who regularly work at the home do not receive supervision of their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager completes a six-monthly review of the quality of care provided. However, the most recent report does not include feedback from children, staff, parents, or social workers. The manager has evaluated previous actions, however, the outcomes are not reflective of weaknesses identified during the inspection. There is no action plan. Overall, this monitoring does not contribute to continuous improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive training that meets the children’s needs. Most staff either hold a relevant level 3 diploma or are working towards the qualification. For two staff, the relevant date for the qualification has passed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Most staff said that they feel valued, respected and listened to by managers. The managers have set up a breakfast club for staff and an electronic system to enable them to send anonymous feedback to managers. Inspection report for children’s home: SC069178 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;

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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 children’s records are accurate, good quality and include relevant information.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there is effective communication and partnership working with social workers and parents. 31 March 2025

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each child— 31 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC069178 7 is given appropriate advocacy support. (Regulation 7 (1)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(b)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff consistently use children’s individual communication systems and ensure that all children have access to an independent advocate.

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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;

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(e)) 31 March 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b) 31 March 2025

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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.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. 07 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC069178 8 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)(c) (5))

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. (Regulation 32 (2)(a)(b) (3)(c) (4)(a)(b)) 07 October 2025

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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: SC069178 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inroads Essex Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Number 3 Siskin Drive, Middlemarch Business Park, Coventry CV3 4FJ

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Inspector

Amy Miles, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC069178 10 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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