Children's Home run by Protea Care Limited in Lincolnshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2804494 1 Registered provider: Protea Care Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private company. It offers care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since 23 April 2025. A manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home and contributed to the 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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2804494 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made progress from their starting points. Staff support children to have positive experiences, which have included children taking part in activities that they have felt unable to do previously. This has helped to raise children’s self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s needs and associated risks. Positive relationships between staff and children are evident, with children able to identify trusted staff they can talk to. Open and positive discussions between staff and children have encouraged children to express their views and engage in direct support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly. The new manager and staff have developed positive working relationships with staff at children’s education settings which has improved children’s willingness to attend school and learn.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are appropriately met. There has been improvement in children taking their prescribed medication consistently. Additionally, children are attending health appointments which they had previously missed, contributing to better overall health outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children see their families and other people who are important to them. The manager and staff have established positive relationships with children’s families and take children to family time and supervise where appropriate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individual identities are actively supported. Staff encourage children to explore and express their identity in a safe and supportive environment.

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

The quality of children’s risk assessments and support plans has improved under the new manager’s supervision. Support plans are clear, detailed and tailored to reflect children’s individual needs and associated risks. Staff understand these risks and the areas where children require additional support.

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

Staff respond appropriately to incidents of children going missing or being absent from home, involving the police when necessary to ensure children’s safety. Managers and staff understand and follow procedures for responding to allegations, ensuring effective safeguards are in place to protect both children and staff.

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

Staff engage children in reflective discussions following incidents. Staff also revisit these conversations to reinforce strategies that help children to keep themselves safe. Consequences used by staff to support positive behaviour are appropriate, and children are supported to understand the reasons behind these measures. Inspection report for children’s home: 2804494 3 Staff use physical intervention appropriately and proportionately. However, this approach has not always been effective in de-escalating incidents. Staff record incidents of physical intervention; however, management oversight has not always been recorded or evaluated the intervention used. In addition, behaviour de-escalation techniques individual to children’s plans have not been consistently applied by all staff, which has at times contributed to the escalation of incidents.

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

The manager has identified areas for development in staff’s approach to responding to children’s behaviour and actively addressing the issues. This has seen a positive change in staff responding to children in a more therapeutic manner, aligned with their individual support plans. This has led to a significant decrease in the frequency and severity of incidents for both children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager demonstrates a clear awareness of the identified shortfalls in practice. She is actively addressing these areas to improve overall practice and outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they have positive support from the manager and their colleagues. Regular supervision sessions are held, with additional supervision provided when concerns arise regarding staff practice. Team meetings are held regularly and provide staff with opportunities to reflect on and develop their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the manager’s appointment, there have been improvements in staff practice and their responses to children’s behaviours. However, this remains a work in progress, with further development required to fully embed these changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight of incidents has at times been inconsistent, with a lack of thorough evaluation of the interventions used.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The service has experienced staff turnover during this period, which has impacted the stability of both the team and the children they support. The use of agency staff has been monitored by the manager, who has ensured that children have been cared for by a consistent team of adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers acknowledge the areas identified for improvement and are beginning to address these. Inspection report for children’s home: 2804494 4

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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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 3 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2804494 5 within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the behaviour management strategy is understood and applied at all times by staff, and is kept under review and revised where appropriate. This specifically relates to ensuring that staff’s responses to children’s behaviour are consistently in line with the child’s individual support plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)  The registered person should monitor and review the patterns and trends of turnover of staff, whether agency or directly employed, and be able to understand and, where possible, address any negative trends. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.19)

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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: 2804494 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Protea Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Howard Roth & Co, 317 Horn Lane, London W3 0BU

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Inspectors

Chloe Harvey, Social Care Inspector Lorna Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2804494 7 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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