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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2794302 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 privately owned children’s home provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted on 21 August 2024, and the registered manager has been in post since that date.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection of 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 good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Enforcement action since registration: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2794302 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to build trust and confidence in staff, who show care and active interest in them. Staff understand children well and talk about them and to them with care and respect. The approach of staff is helping children to build trust at their own pace and to make progress in relation to their own starting points, including improved emotional health and feeling able to celebrate their birthday with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before children moved in, managers considered a range of information about them to inform their decision. They worked well with children and other professionals to plan moves and ensure that children understood as much as possible about the home before they arrived. This helped make the move to the home as positive as possible for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education and learning are valued. Neither child is attending school at present. Staff work hard to provide each child with a daily structure and educational activities and to progress their education plans alongside the child and other professionals. This is helping children to increase their engagement in learning and to plan for their future education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take an active interest in children’s well-being. Achievements and progress are recognised and celebrated. Staff offer regular individual time to children to talk to them about the things that they need help with, such as internet safety or healthy eating. This helps children to feel cared for and to approach challenges in their lives positively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to ensure that their physical and emotional health needs are well met. Both children have access to individual and group support from the organisation’s therapeutic service. Children have been supported to complete initial health assessments. However, these were not reviewed by staff in a timely manner, and although this has not had a negative impact on the children, it could have led to some health needs being missed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s important relationships are promoted. Children are supported with family time, in line with their plans and wishes. Managers and staff communicate well with professionals and family members to try and ensure that this time works well, and to review plans if needed. This supports children’s sense of identity.

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

Staff understand children’s individual vulnerabilities well. They have a good grasp of their safeguarding responsibilities, which are underpinned by a strong safeguarding ethos in the home. This shows that children’s safety is a priority.

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

When children go missing from care, staff are proactive in seeking to find them and work effectively with others, such as police and family members, to do so. Staff work with Inspection report for children’s home: 2794302 3 children and others involved in their lives to try to understand the reasons why they are going missing and adjust plans accordingly. Return home interviews are requested, and managers challenge if these do not happen. This is helping to ensure that missing episodes for one child are managed as safety as possible.

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

If children harm themselves, staff take appropriate action to safeguard the child and provide them with nurturing care. Sensitive conversations with children help them to reflect and think about how staff can support them to manage difficult emotions more safely.

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

The quality of written records and recorded management oversight of incidents is not consistent. Some records do not accurately capture events, the work of staff or the decisions around risk management. This shortfall in recording is mitigated by staff practice, and there has not been a negative impact on children. However, it does not support clear communication, information-sharing or learning for staff.

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

Complaints and allegations are well managed. There are timely investigations, in consultation with the local authority designated officer when appropriate, and actions are identified to improve care for children.

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

Managers have notified the regulator appropriately when there have been safeguarding incidents. However, these have not always been provided in a timely way.

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

Managers ensure that full safer recruitment checks are carried out when employing new staff, which helps protect children from adults who may be unsafe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager alongside a home manager. The registered manager is committed to their role and the progress of children and has a good understanding of the service’s strengths and areas for development. As a result, they are a good role model for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about their roles and the support that they receive from colleagues and managers. They say that managers are present and available. They receive regular supervision in line with company policy. Team meetings are bolstered by reflection time, which supports staff to consider their own emotional triggers and promotes healthy team dynamics. This promotes a positive culture in the home and helps children to receive care from resilient staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are required to complete a range of relevant training. Managers have effective systems in place to monitor progress and ensure that staff are up to date with the required qualifications. This helps to ensure that children receive care from well-informed staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This is a new home, and good progress has been made with establishing a settled team. The members of the core staff team are supplemented, when needed, by staff from Inspection report for children’s home: 2794302 4 other homes operated by the provider. These supplementary staff members are known to the children or are familiar agency workers. Managers understand the importance of consistency for children and have decided not to admit a third child at present. This helps to ensure that children receive care from familiar adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff work hard to nurture relationships with other professionals and family members. Other professionals provided positive feedback about the care that children receive, as well as safeguarding and communication. When parents have provided mixed feedback, managers work sensitively with them to consider their views and support their input into planning for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have appointed an independent person to visit the home once a month. Prior to children moving in, this did not always happen. Some visits since children moved in have been too short. Managers are taking action to address this and to improve other aspects of the process, such as ensuring that regular external feedback is obtained. Inspection report for children’s home: 2794302 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

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; and

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(f)(g)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that written records of incidents in the home are thorough and accurate and that there is consistent recorded management oversight of incidents to identify any required actions, learning and support needs of staff. 08 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2794302 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s individual health plans are reviewed promptly so that they can inform how children’s health needs are met by staff in line with regulation 10(2)(a)(i) in the health and well-being standard. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.4)  The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people, including the regulator. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)  The registered person should ensure that the independent person visits the home each month and makes a rigorous assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2794302 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

Jacob Robson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2794302 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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