Children's Home run by Personal Security Service Limited in Essex

Inspection report for children’s home: 1258658 1 Registered provider: Personal Security Service Limited

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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, which is run by a private organisation, provides care for up to four children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1258658 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/06/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/08/2023 Full Good 21/02/2023 Full Good 08/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1258658 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children through challenging times. Staff have helped one child settle and enjoy their time, on their own, at the home. Staff have helped this child build relationships with them and the child is making very good progress. Staff have helped another child have a planned move into the home, from another home run by the provider. The staff have adapted the environment, so that they are able to meet the needs of both children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers are clear that they want to ‘stick’ by children. They provide consistency for the children and do not give up when moments are hard. This is evident in how children have been supported by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child was not in education when they moved in. Staff have supported the child to attend an education provision that is suited to their needs. The school gave positive feedback on the excellent communication from staff at the home and how they support the child. Staff are supporting another child, who has been excluded from school, to study for and attend their GCSE exams. Staff are fully aware that helping children to attain in education allows them to have more options in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote skills for children that will help them as they move into adulthood. This is done at a pace individual to each child. One child is struggling with managing their space. Staff support them to understand what a clean and comfortable environment is. Staff support another child to manage a budget, do their food shopping and cook their own meals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s interests are encouraged. Staff recently bought one child who enjoys astronomy a new telescope. Another child is a keen gamer, and they received some vouchers to purchase a new game. Staff support children with their personal interests and to help them build their individual identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff ensured that the home has had the required adaptations for the new child moving in. Overall, these adaptations are homely and comfortable. However, there is one window that has been boarded for privacy, rather than using a more suitable option. The new entrance to the home, which is at the back of house, also needs some consideration to make it more homely and to ensure adequate security.

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

Staff have helped the children build trust in them. For one child, this has meant that they view this as their home now. When this child first moved in, they would not unpack any of their things, and so this is significant progress for this child. Inspection report for children’s home: 1258658 4 There were significant concerns for one child when they first moved in. They had episodes of going missing from home and would sometimes harm themself. Staff have been able to help this child make significant progress and, as a result, the child is much safer. The child had not gone missing from the home or hurt themself for a significant period of time.

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

Since the last monitoring visit in October, no children have been missing from the home and there have been no incidents of physical intervention. The staff, alongside the other homes in this organisation, have recently joined the ‘restraint reduction strategy’ network. The focus of this is upskilling staff in therapeutic approaches and de-escalation techniques. This helps staff to build more positive relationships with children.

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

Staff use planned conversations and distraction methods in a positive way for children. Staff recognise and praise children’s progress. The children are encouraged to have their say, their voices are heard and are well recorded in a range of areas.

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

On one occasion, a child made an allegation against a member of staff. This was recorded, but staff did not identify this as a safeguarding issue. They did not follow the home’s child protection policy and escalate to managers. The manager took appropriate action once aware. However, this caused delay and could have potentially placed the child at risk of harm.

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

An external fire risk assessment has been booked due to the adaptations to the building. However, the date is still several months away, and the internal assessment does not provide suitable information about the building changes or fire exits in the interim. Fire drills are not clearly recorded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has made improvements to the home in a range of areas. She knows the strengths and challenges in the home, and this has helped her to focus on areas to improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff describe the manager as supportive and available. They said the team work well together. The manager is moving onto another role, but senior leaders have appointed a new manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive relevant training to support the children in their care. Core training is up to date for staff. Staff show a good understanding of children’s needs, and staff practice is further developed in team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new therapist is starting to build a relationship with the children and staff. The manager’s plan is that the therapist will offer support to children and staff. The therapist’s role is also to provide group supervision to staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 1258658 5 The manager has built positive relationships with a range of professionals. Social work and education professionals provided very good feedback on the manager and how they have worked together.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and manager are open to learning and want to be able to continue to improve the service. The manager uses independent visits each month in a proactive way and takes any areas for improvement on board. Leaders and managers are committed to the children and this has had a positive impact on the progress children make. Inspection report for children’s home: 1258658 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—

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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, all staff need to be aware of the home’s policy for managing allegations. 9 June 2025

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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;

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Requirement Due date

provide adequate means of escape from the home in the event of fire;

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(a)(b)(d)) 9 June 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report for children’s home: 1258658 7 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: 1258658 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Personal Security Service Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Laser Quay, Culpeper close, Kent ME2 4HU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Frederik Booysen

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Inspector

Mary Costello, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1258658 9 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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Inspector

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