Children's home run by Essential Therapeutic Care and Education Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2728200 1 Registered provider: Essential Therapeutic Care and Education

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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 is privately owned and provides care for up to two children who have social and emotional difficulties. There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered has been registered since 23 August 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 6 December 2023

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2728200 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/12/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2728200 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are happy living in this home. They experience genuine caring relationships with staff. This helps children feel secure in the home and have trust in the care that staff provide. One child said, ‘You wouldn’t find a better place for children to live. They are the best thing that ever happened to me. I love living here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is well maintained, welcoming and warm in its feel. Shared spaces are full of photos of children and staff engaging in a wide range of varied activities. Children’s bedrooms are personalised based on their preferences and interests. This promotes their sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children thrive at this home due to the high-quality and consistent care that staff are committed to providing. The model of care is embedded in staff practice, and this helps to further enhance the consistency of children’s experiences and daily routines. This has helped children to feel able to share their views and to contribute to the development of their care plans. As a result, children are looked after in line with their preferences and are clear in what is expected of them. The unwavering support that children receive from staff gives them confidence they can achieve their goals and helps them to be aspirational for their own futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children make excellent progress from their starting points in relation to their education, emotional development and mental health. For instance, both children are now attending further education despite not previously accessing education for many years. Furthermore, one child who was at high risk of exploitation and who went missing from home on a regular basis, no longer goes missing from home and their risk of exploitation has diminished. For another child, the risks of harming themselves have reduced in severity and are now at a reduced level. This level of progress is underpinned by consistent care, the established relationships between children and staff and the extensive partnership working with professionals and children’s family members.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children benefit from the enriching activities that staff provide. Children enjoy spending time with staff and each other. They experience kind and caring interactions and positive role modelling from staff. Children can bring their friends to the home. This was something not previously possible for one child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are supported to spend time with their families and to maintain these important connections, despite significant distances. Virtual contact is used well, and staff work hard to foster open and honest relationships with parents. Children are also given opportunities for their family to visit and spend time in the home. Parents are positive about the communication received from staff. This creates a sense of connection and belonging. Consequently, children learn how to understand their own feelings and how their responses can contribute to building and maintaining positive relationships. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728200 4 All children’s achievements are celebrated and recognised. Children’s artwork is celebrated and is displayed in abundance throughout the home. This helps to build on and improve their self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are encouraged and supported to learn the skills that they will need to live more independently. However, plans for children’s future moves into adulthood are not fully clear. This is because pathway plans for one child are not yet in place. Leaders and managers have not challenged the child’s local authority about this as strongly as they might have done to ensure that this remains a priority.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Important aspects of children’s individual identities, such as gender, sexuality and ethnicity are celebrated. This is because staff, leaders and managers champion equality and diversity and encourage open conversations about a wide range of issues. The team is diverse, and staff introduce children to different languages, cultures and religions, which further widens skills and knowledge for all. Consequently, children are fully included and can be themselves.

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

Children say that they feel safe living at the home. As a result of the trusting and nurturing relationships they have with staff, children know how to share any concerns they have. Children are confident about who they would speak to if they were worried about themselves or others.

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

When children do raise concerns, these are responded to swiftly and the child’s well-being is prioritised. The necessary professionals are informed, and rigorous action is taken. However, the recording of what action has been taken is not always consistent. This inconsistency in recording has not, however, had any negative impact for the children.

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

Staff and managers know the children extremely well and have a rich understanding of their strengths and vulnerabilities. Risk assessments are reviewed and updated regularly. They are co-created by staff and children and describe how to keep children safe clearly and in the children’s own words. This contributes to a holistic and strong safeguarding culture throughout the home.

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

Incidents of children going missing from the home are now rare. When they do occur, staff follow the missing-from-home procedures quickly and effectively. Staff appropriately involve the relevant professionals and physically search for the children. As a result, children are located and returned home quickly and safely.

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

Physical intervention is used only when necessary, and as a last resort, to keep children safe. Since the last inspection, the template for recording physical interventions has been reviewed, creating greater consistency in the detail provided. Managers review each intervention to ensure that the use of such measures was proportionate, and to confirm that resolution is prioritised. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728200 5 Children are provided with ample opportunities to learn about managing and understanding their emotions in a safe way. This is achieved through key-working sessions and in consultations with managers. While the frequency of incidents remains high, the duration of them has reduced. Children are now able to express themselves clearly and are better at articulating what it is they need.

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

When allegations are made, managers respond swifty to ensure children’s safety and well- being. External agencies are consulted, and immediate action is robust. However, the recording of any subsequent action or learning is not always recorded clearly. This is due to a new recording system that has been introduced, which is not yet fully embedded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is led by a dedicated and knowledgeable registered manager who leads by example. They are supported by a committed and proactive team of staff who support the home’s therapeutic model of care and shared vision that children can achieve well in life.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

In line with their therapeutic model, the manager and senior leaders have instilled a positive culture of staff seeking to understand situations from a child’s perspective, taking into account their past experiences. This is supported by regular team meetings, reflective practice sessions that are facilitated by therapists, and supervision sessions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff say that they are well supported by managers, who take an active interest in their well-being. They receive high quality, one-to-one supervision and appraisals. Staff benefit from a wide range of training that is relevant to the individual needs of children. Managers have effective systems in place to monitor the progress of staff completing this required training. This has ensured that staff are either up to date with or are progressing with obtaining required qualifications.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is now dually registered to manage another home within the organisation. This change has been well planned and fully supported by leaders. The responsible individual has effective systems in place to maintain oversight of the service and the manager’s dual responsibilities. The manager continues to spend time in the home daily and is further supported by a home manager. Communication between the home manager, registered manager and responsible individual is effective and frequent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has a clear sense of the areas for development for the home and has plans in place to address them. There are robust mechanisms in place to monitor and review children’s care plans monthly and thematic reviews every six months. This is supported by the manager’s own supervision, which has a strong focus on the operational functions of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728200 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children have the required input from services in preparation for moving on from the home. In particular, there should be sufficient challenge to local authorities when children do not have the required pathway plans in place. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8)  The registered person should ensure that there are clear records which detail what actions have been taken, what the outcomes are and what learning has been identified when concerns are raised about children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2728200 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Essential Therapeutic Care and Education

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Essential Therapeutic Care, Unit 9, Court Farm, Rag Hill, Aldermaston, Reading RG7 4NT

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Inspector

Becky Paradise, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2728200 8 regulates and inspects 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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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