Children's Home run by Restoration Care & Services Limited in Barking and Dagenham

Inspection report for children’s home: 1269966 1 Registered provider: Restoration Care & Services 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 privately run home provides care for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted on 16 February 2018. The manager registered on 4 September 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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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: 1269966 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/03/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 06/02/2024 Full Good 28/03/2023 Full Good 19/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1269966 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last full inspection, leaders and managers have worked hard to significantly improve the quality of care provided to the children. They have taken accountability for the outcome of the previous inspection and worked together as a team to systematically address the shortfalls.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff know the children well and actively promote their welfare. Staff encourage children to share their views and contribute to the decisions made in the home. This helps children to build trust and know that staff will listen to them and respond to their feedback. The children feel confident in turning to staff when they have issues or need help, and they can identify who they would speak to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress from their starting points. They are in good physical health and are supported by staff to attend routine health appointments, eat a balanced diet and take part in exercise. Staff encourage practical day-to-day routines for children, such as keeping their bedrooms tidy and doing their own laundry. Staff encourage children to maintain good self-care and hygiene. Creating consistent routines for children helps them to have stability and self-discipline and helps them to build their independence skills for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and encourage children to engage in education and advocate for them when they face challenges. One child had been out of education before they moved into the home. The registered manager worked with other professionals to ensure that a suitable school was identified to meet the child’s needs. The social worker spoke positively about how staff supported their child to engage in education after a significant period of time out of education, and the child is now sitting their GCSEs. Another child, who is not attending school, is supported with a professional course so that they can continue to learn and make progress towards their future career.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff celebrate the children’s achievements. Children earn reward money for this. They can see that this system is helping to encourage positive behaviour. If children make a mistake, staff help them learn how to make better choices by using consequences. The consequences are restorative in their nature. This means that children have opportunities to learn how their behaviour affects others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children with their hobbies and interests. One child enjoys singing to staff. Staff use encouragement and praise, which helps the child to build their confidence and become more creative with their performances. Staff understand the importance of children developing positive self-esteem and self-worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a warm and nurturing environment where children can relax and enjoy quality time with staff and their peers. Children’s bedrooms are kept to a good standard, and staff support children to personalise and decorate them. Children Inspection report for children’s home: 1269966 4 enjoy spending time in their bedrooms and are also comfortable and relaxed in communal areas. However, one of the unoccupied rooms on the ground floor had a strong smell of sewage which lingered throughout the home, and during the inspection, managers said that they plan to address this urgently.

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

Since the last inspection, there has been an improvement in how staff manage children’s risks and behaviours. Staff are now diligent and responsive when managing children’s safety and keep levels of risk under regular review. Risk assessments address children’s individual vulnerabilities effectively. There is clear direction for staff, with outlined actions to be taken to manage risks and safeguard children. Staff understand these assessments, and their practice helps to safeguard individual children. Additionally, risk assessments and care plans are updated in collaboration with children now. This ensures that children have a better understanding of their care and how staff can support them in a meaningful way.

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

Staff provide children with clear boundaries about safe and acceptable behaviour. Staff offer children sensitive and nurturing support in line with the home’s model of care. This helps children to have fewer escalations of behaviour and begin to manage their feelings differently and articulate what they are experiencing.

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

Children are supported to keep themselves as safe as possible. Regular key-work sessions are completed with children, focusing on critical areas such as online safety, the risks of going missing and healthy relationships. These sessions are providing the children with the knowledge and tools needed to make informed choices and reduce potential risks.

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

Since the last inspection, staff do not resort to calling the police to manage incidents. Children are now supported by staff immediately after incidents to ensure their safety and well-being. Staff take the time to talk about incidents with the children, encouraging them to talk through what happened and what could be done differently next time. This reflective practice has led to fewer incidents and helps the children to improve their ability to think about the consequences of their actions.

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

Furthermore, the number of missing episodes has decreased significantly. Staff now respond well when children go missing from the home. They look for children to ensure they are found safe. Staff now follow missing-from-home protocols and contact police to report children as missing. Curious debriefs are now being held with children when they go missing, which helps staff to understand the concerns about them going missing. When one child was missing for a significant period, staff made every effort to support the child, remaining in contact with them and encouraging them to return home. There is a clear policy and procedure in place for such incidents, and records clearly demonstrate the well-coordinated response from staff. Episodes of children going missing are now recorded in detail. Inspection report for children’s home: 1269966 5 There has been a significant reduction in the number of incidents and the need for

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

physical interventions. When incidents do occur, children and staff receive comprehensive support from managers. A thorough and reflective oversight of all relevant documentation is carried out, and lessons learned are embedded into practice.

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

Staff place a significant emphasis on preparing children for adulthood through robust independence plans that are aligned to children’s individual needs. Staff are skilled in balancing this with a thorough understanding of each child and their plans for the future.

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

Safe recruitment checks are still not robust. There is a lack of evidence to show that all staff have been safely recruited. For example, some staff files had gaps in employment histories, which was not fully scrutinised and explored. Leaders and managers understand that safer recruitment needs to be robust and said they would address these shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers now have oversight of all areas of practice in the home. They have embedded a culture of continuous learning effectively, which drives staff development and promotes a commitment to ensuring that children receive good care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has high aspirations for each child. He has created a culture of positivity and a shared sense of collective responsibility to ensure that children achieve positive outcomes. The registered manager is supported by a capable team leader who shares the manager’s vision and actively champions for children so that they make good progress, ensuring that the home’s core ethos of care and aspiration is consistent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is aware of the home’s strengths and areas for development. He is receptive of feedback to improve the care provided to children, to achieve better outcomes. Five of the requirements raised at the last inspection have been met and one is restated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff working in the home promote diversity and inclusivity; they model a positive culture of tolerance and respect in the home. This has enabled the children to explore their own identity in a positive way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are now trained to meet the diverse and complex needs of the children following the last inspection. Additional and specialist training is provided to address individual children’s needs. Staff learn from each other, and the outcomes from training are shared across the team effectively to ensure a consistently good standard of practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 1269966 6 Staff now have regular and effective supervision and team meetings. This ensures that there is consistent and reflective practice among staff. Staff have discussions that reflect and focus on children’s behaviours, their past experiences and known risks. This helps to strengthen staff’s understanding and enables them to collaboratively explore how they respond to children’s needs consistently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in this home and feel supported and valued by the management team. The feedback from a range of professionals is positive. Professionals highlight that staff have good communication skills and a positive impact on children. These strong relationships help them to ensure that children receive well-planned holistic care that is provided by a range of people. Inspection report for children’s home: 1269966 7

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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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they obtain a full employment history for each member of staff. 15 July 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home complies with relevant health and safety legislations, especially regarding hygiene, so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 1269966 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Restoration Care & Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 53 Levine Gardens, Barking, Essex IG11 0UH

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christina Addison

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Inspector

Sadia Akhtar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1269966 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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