Children's home run by Kelwel Care Homes Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2794620 1 Registered provider: Kelwel Care Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in October 2024 and is one of a group of privately owned homes run by an independent provider. It offers care for up to three children with complex needs who require specialist support.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2024.

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2794620 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children were seen during the inspection, and one child was spoken with.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children have moved into the home, and one has moved out. Before children move in, staff take time getting to know them and building relationships. This has helped new children quickly settle in and build relationships with their peers. The one child who moved out was supported to have a positive ending to their time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is generally well furnished, with ample space for children to enjoy. Staff have helped all children personalise their bedrooms. Several communal areas received additional soft furnishings during the inspection. This has helped make the environment feel more homely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite staff being relatively new to their roles, they understand how to communicate effectively with children. Staff regularly seek children’s wishes and feelings. Staff use elements of therapeutic models to guide their practice. This has helped children feel listened to and form positive and close relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of supporting children in maintaining and building family relationships. Staff organise special activities for children, friends, and family to enjoy together. This creates special memories of meaningful time spent together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of activities. Staff understand the importance of creating and capturing special memories and achievements. Staff took one child to experience a large festive funfair for the first time. Another child had a special birthday party planned. Children value the activities on offer.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children’s participation in education. Most children’s engagement is positive. One child has increased their attendance significantly. Although another child has struggled to maintain their engagement with education, staff continue to be strong advocates for the child, seeking support to remove some of the obstacles contributing to this. A professional said, ‘From day one, staff have been attentive, responsive and keen to ensure [name of child] is focused academically.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff care about children’s health and well-being. For example, staff have sourced a private therapist for one child and a nutritionist for another. This has helped children develop new skills in managing their emotional well-being and developing healthy routines. Inspection report for children’s home: 2794620 3

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

Staff use well-thought-out, person-centred approaches to help children understand risks and reflect on their experiences. As a result, incidents involving the children have significantly decreased.

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

The staff help children to contribute to their care and risk management plans. This helps children understand their plans and feel some ownership of them.

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

Staff are confident in taking measures to protect children. They recognise concerns and act on them. Staff confidently challenge professionals to help ensure that the actions taken to manage risk are timely and appropriate.

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

The staff help children manage their behaviour without resorting to restraint. When incidents have the potential to escalate, the staff are creative and use the relationships they have with the children to calm them. Staff are curious and seek to understand the challenges children face to manage their behaviour.

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

Staff provide children with clear boundaries. On occasion, staff use natural consequences for children as part of a wider approach to behaviour management. The manager reviews and monitors these interventions to ensure that they remain effective.

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

Missing-from-home incidents are managed well. Staff take appropriate action to escalate concerns and search for children. Staff share concerns with professionals, including the local police, to help protect children. Staff work well with the police and share information to help reduce risks.

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

Staff help children understand the impact of substance misuse. This has contributed to a significant reduction in associated risks for a child. Staff increase monitoring of children if they report or appear to be under the influence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced, qualified manager. The manager and deputy manager were present throughout the inspection. Both clearly understand the children’s needs and histories.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported and well led. They say that managers have created an open culture in which they feel valued and appreciated in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s families and social workers provided positive feedback. A family member said, ‘The manager always involves me in my child’s care.’ Professionals said managers recognise and support children’s needs very well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have begun to embed a therapeutic model. They have identified and delivered a broad range of specialist training for staff. This helps equip staff to confidently support children with complex needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2794620 4 Leaders and managers are strong advocates for children. They actively challenge virtual schools and local authorities to ensure that children’s wishes and feelings are considered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers enjoy spending significant lengths of time with the children. Children’s social skills have developed due to having positive role models.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers use generally effective systems for auditing and monitoring records. This helps them identify and address areas requiring further exploration. Monitoring and reviewing help managers understand how children are progressing. However, managers have not reviewed the recruitment checks for agency staff. Although the use of temporary staff is minimal and no shortfalls in records have been identified, this gap in oversight increases the potential for errors to occur. Inspection report for children’s home: 2794620 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they maintain good employment practice, as set out in regulations 31 to 33. They must ensure that staff recruitment, supervision, and performance management safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. In particular, they should ensure that the recruitment files for staff from external agencies are reviewed by the registered person to confirm full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 2794620 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kelwel Care Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Jubilee House, 3 The Drive, Warley, Brentwood CM13 3FR

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Inspector

Lexi Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2794620 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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