Children's home run by Lavender Grove Cares Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2733827 1 Registered provider: Lavender Grove Cares

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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 run home provides care for up to four children with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in January 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2733827 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/07/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2733827 3

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improvement to be good

The admissions process for new children moving into the home is not sufficiently robust. Leaders and managers carry out an assessment of risk from the information provided in the referral and meet children before they move into the home. However, recent admissions indicate that this new process is not sufficiently embedded.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not exercise sufficient professional curiosity to ensure that all relevant information about children’s histories is known. This leads to children being admitted to the home without adequate consideration of the skills and ability of staff to support them, or to appropriately balance the needs of children coming to the home and those already living in the home. One child who required specialist support moved into the home without the support in place and did not receive this support while living at the home. This contributed to the placement ending in an unplanned way.

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improvement to be good

The home environment is warm and welcoming. Children’s rooms are personalised to their tastes. Children enjoy the home cinema room, which is equipped with cinema chairs, a projector and a screen. Children are encouraged to engage in a range of activities, such as going to the cinema, bike rides and sightseeing. Staff give care and attention to finding out about children’s interests. Some children like to spend most of their time with their friends. Staff support them, while encouraging them to explore other interests at their own pace.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager works closely with teachers and the virtual school to ensure that children’s educational needs are prioritised. As a result, children who have not had positive experiences of education are now engaging in educational activities that build their confidence in learning. Staff understand how previously poor experiences at school may affect children’s behaviour and engagement. They advocate well for children who are experiencing these challenges. One child has been able to complete exams due to staff advocating for them to attend another college where they receive the right support. Another child is in the process of enrolling on a building course.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments are detailed. They enable staff to have a greater understanding of children’s vulnerabilities and how best to support them. Where possible, staff involve children in discussions to support their understanding of how to stay safe. Some children negotiate what time they have to be home and make suggestions about what consequences should be in place if they are late. This promotes children’s autonomy and accountability for the decisions they make. Children also learn that they are trusted by staff, and this encourages them to make more positive decisions. Inspection report for children’s home: 2733827 4 However, plans to support children in engaging in positive behaviours are not sufficiently individualised. Not enough attention is given to help staff understand the circumstances that could trigger distress for children and how best they should respond. This means that staff are less effective in ensuring that appropriate boundaries are in place to

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improvement to be good

When children are missing, staff ensure that they keep in touch and encourage them to return home. Strategy meetings are requested in a timely way and information about children’s possible whereabouts is shared. Records of missing episodes are detailed and set out the events leading to the child being absent from the home. However, return home interviews do not consistently take place and staff do not ensure that these are requested from the local authority. This can mean that staff do not know what happens to children while missing.

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improvement to be good

When children are distressed and incidents occur, they are not robustly managed. De- escalation techniques are not used consistently to calm situations. As a result, incidents tend to escalate and lead to police attending the home to support staff in managing children’s behaviours. Some staff are not confident in implementing boundaries. This can lead to instability for the children, not knowing what is expected of them or the consequences for themselves and others. Debriefs for children and staff do not always take place following incidents. This can result in missed opportunities for learning and improving practice.

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improvement to be good

Key-working sessions are variable in quality. They do not always demonstrate meaningful discussion to support children in making positive choices.

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improvement to be good

There have been some gaps in staff recruitment checks, particularly in the verification of references.

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

High turnover in the staff team has made it harder for managers to embed consistent practice, particularly in response to incidents that occur in the home. Leaders and managers have taken steps to address this issue. A new team leader and deputy manager are in post. The registered manager is supporting new staff to be able take on more responsibility that will enable them to focus on the day-to-day running of the home. A new responsible individual has recently been appointed to support the registered manager in their role and provide strategic oversight of the home.

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

Staff benefit from a comprehensive training programme and regular training updates. They are aware of new developments in practice. Leaders and managers ensure that both permanent and agency workers are well trained.

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

Leaders and managers have not ensured that reviews take place to embed learning from recent incidents in the home. An incident where a child was able to bring other children in the home and stay overnight has not yet been investigated. This has delayed effective arrangements being put in place to prevent a reoccurrence. Inspection report for children’s home: 2733827 5 Occasional incidents have involved children getting onto a busy main road near the home. Leaders and managers have not updated the location assessment in consultation with other agencies, to review how they manage any risk of accidents.

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

The registered manager provides effective supervision, which is child focused and supports professional development. Team meetings take place regularly and provide opportunities to discuss the progress of children and other practice issues. Inspection report for children’s home: 2733827 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 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— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

leaders and managers must ensure that children have individualised plans at the point of moving into the home. This will ensure that staff have the information needed to keep children safe; and 30 June 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2733827 7 leaders and managers must ensure that the behaviour management strategy and staff training promote positive relationships with children, involve children in behaviour management and reduce unnecessary police involvement in managing behaviour.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that learning from incidents is shared with all staff to improve practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that risks linked to the location of the home are reviewed and children are effectively safeguarded (see regulations 12(2)(c)). Under regulation 46, the registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these and ensure that all relevant partner agencies are consulted. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing or away from home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. The registered person should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they are maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, the registered person should ensure that two references are requested, and ensure the validity of references. (‘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: 2733827 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lavender Grove Cares

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Gothic Cottage, Moreton Road, Ongar CM5 0EZ

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Inspector

Angela Reid, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2733827 9 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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