Children's Home run by Winsbeach Children’s Home Limited in Waltham Forest

Inspection report for children’s home: SC406638 1 SC406638 Registered provider: Winsbeach Children’s Home Limited 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 three children who experience social and/or emotional difficulties. This home provides short- and long-term care.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2010.

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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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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 requires improvement to be 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: SC406638 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/03/2024 Full Good 15/02/2023 Full Good 02/11/2021 Full Good 06/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC406638 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good relationships with the staff. Staff understand children’s needs well and maintain positive, nurturing relationships. They prioritise building trust and meaningful connections with children by creating an environment that focuses on their well-being and best interests. Regular key-work sessions help children understand their lived experiences. As a result, children respond positively to staff and build secure, trusting relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and well cared for in this home. Observations of staff interactions and conversations with children confirm that they feel valued and comfortable in their home. Children say they feel looked after by staff, which enhances their sense of stability and security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively plan for children’s education. One child regularly attends school, and for those who do not access their education provision, leaders and managers consistently work with educational professionals to support children’s re-engagement in education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build positive relationships with parents and support children in keeping relationships with their families, appropriate to their individual circumstances. They manage such matters sensitively, ensuring that children can enjoy themselves and have positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in various activities. They enjoy activities that help them develop social skills and lead healthy, active lifestyles, such as playing football in the park, going to the cinema, going on drives with staff, and visiting Westminster Palace.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning includes children and considers their diverse cultural backgrounds. Care plans are individualised and cater to children’s specific needs, including their religion, ethnicity and identity. Children experience and celebrate religious festivals. Staff support children in developing their independence skills and help them in transitioning to new stages of life.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments do not always consider all recognised risks. For example, one child’s risk assessment does not indicate a history of child sexual exploitation.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have failed to address concerns raised at the last inspection relating to fire safety. Leaders and managers are still not adhering to the fire risk assessment, and they have failed to take the necessary steps to minimise the risk of harm to children and staff. Some internal doors, including those in the living room and Inspection report for children’s home: SC406638 4 kitchen, do not self-close. Staff continue to use door wedges to prop these doors open. Additionally, one child’s bedroom door has a gap that prevents it from closing correctly.

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improvement to be good

The storage of sharp items, such as knives and scissors, is poorly managed and lacks sufficient consideration. For example, a large kitchen knife and a pair of scissors are kept in an unlocked cabinet in the living room.

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improvement to be good

The home's medication policy does not address the storage of over-the-counter medication.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of children going missing from the home have significantly reduced. When children go missing, staff make efforts to maintain contact with them and report them missing in accordance with the missing-from-home protocol. Managers request independent return home interviews.

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improvement to be good

When there are concerns for children, room searches are carried out promptly. These are proportionate, and they help keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run by an experienced registered manager, and most staff have worked at the home for several years. The registered manager is enthusiastic about providing a high standard of care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager’s communication skills have been praised, and they have developed working relationships with parents and partner agencies. Leaders and managers consistently attend meetings relating to the children and engage well with parents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from comprehensive supervision sessions and annual appraisals. Regular supervision sessions and staff meetings allow staff to reflect on their practice, discuss the care of children, and review their learning and development needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff members have access to an induction plan, which includes completing all mandatory training. Staff receive a wide range of core training, covering diverse topics that help them to meet children’s needs. However, some members of staff are not up to date with their refresher training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager promotes a strong child-focused practice by ensuring that children receive a wide range of informed training. For example, children have attended courses on understanding the signs of criminal exploitation, food hygiene, fire safety, and recognising the risks of radicalisation. These opportunities help children to make better decisions regarding their personal safety. Inspection report for children’s home: SC406638 5

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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

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home. (Regulation 25 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that the living room, kitchen and bedroom doors adhere to the fire risk assessment requirements.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 5 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that knives, scissors and over-the-counter medication are safely stored. 5 June 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Risk assessments should be kept up to date and include details of the steps staff will take to manage any assessed risks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report for children’s home: SC406638 6  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: SC406638 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Winsbeach Children’s Home Limited

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Inspector

Ruth Okezie, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC406638 8 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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