Children's home run by KPMSUK LTD

Inspection report for children’s home: 2799242 1 Registered provider: KPMSUK LTD

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The privately run home is commissioned by a local authority. It provides care for up to six children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home. The inspector spoke with all three children during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in February 2025. There has been no registered manager in post since 17 February 2025. There have been interim management arrangements in place since February 2025. An application for a new registered manager was received by Ofsted on 10 June 2025.

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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: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2799242 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress and have trusting relationships with staff. They are helped to feel at ease and are confident to express their views. Children talk to staff about plans for greater independence, time with family and friends, and their experiences in education and with peers. Staff listen and, together with the children, make plans that are personal to each child. Children develop confidence, independence and a stronger sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take great care to prepare children who are moving into the home. Thoroughly planned transitions mean the foundations of relationships between staff and children are formed at the earliest opportunity. Children meet and get to know each other doing activities that they choose, which includes bowling trips. Social workers emphasise the importance of this approach in having a positive impact on children who are helped and prepared for changes, feel welcomed, included and are quick to settle in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the barriers children who have been out of education face. They provide sensitive, structured support to help children re-engage. Children establish routines and gradually increase their learning time. Children are involved in planning educational timetables, which helps ensure their interests are reflected. Achievements are celebrated. This personalised approach improves engagement, and progress is gradually built on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take time to get to know each child’s family. Through good communication, they build positive, trusting relationships with parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters who are informed about children’s progress and any concerns. Children are asked how they want to spend time with their family. Staff advocate on their behalf if arrangements are not working. One child’s brother comes each day to the home to cook with him. The brother described the care offered as being ‘100 percent’. This approach helps children feel heard and maintain important family connections.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work collaboratively and effectively with professionals. The welcoming and child- focused environment encourages regular visits to the home. As a result, children build positive relationships with familiar professionals, enabling more effective multi-agency working and strengthening relationships based on consistency and trust.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm, inviting and decorated to a very high standard. There is a large garden and a calm room. Children and staff relax together in the open-plan kitchen area. A chef works at the home and they take time to find out the children’s likes and dislikes, and encourage healthy eating. Children enjoy cooking alongside the staff. For one child, a change in diet led to a healthier weight, an important personal goal they had set for themselves. Inspection report for children’s home: 2799242 3

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

Three in-house social workers work alongside a stable team of support workers. They complete the children’s plans, which are individualised and relevant. Risks to the children are identified and clear strategies to help reduce the risk are in place. Staff find the plans helpful. There is a shared understanding among staff about how to work effectively with each child. This consistent approach helps the child to understand what is expected, which promotes a sense of safety and belonging.

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

Children meet regularly with their assigned in-house social worker. The meetings are carefully planned. Children value these relationships and have meaningful conversations about risk. They set goals together, for example around increasing children’s independent time outside of the home, or reducing the time they are missing, and make a roadmap to achieve the goal. As a result, children’s needs, risks, strengths and vulnerabilities are well understood. Due to creative engagement and how staff manage risk through connecting with a child’s known interest, one child’s episodes of going missing notably reduced.

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

When incidents occur, the use of physical intervention is rare. Safeguarding procedures are followed. Staff are trained in de-escalation and use restorative approaches as opposed to consequences to help children at times of challenge and distress. The inconsistent recording of these incidents does not have a direct impact on the care provided to children. Leaders and managers’ approach, however, to making records derived from various sources limits staff accountability and management oversight.

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

Staff are trained in the home’s model of care. Plans are bespoke for each child and made in consultation with other professionals including child and adolescent mental health services. The ethos of working together to ensure consistency of care is embedded in staff practice. Staff recognise, report and act on any safeguarding concerns that may arise.

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

Recruitment procedures are safe. This provides assurance that the staff who are caring for the children are suitably vetted.

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

There is CCTV in operation at the home. External cameras monitor the perimeter of the property, enhancing the safety and security of the home. Additionally, internal cameras have been installed in the communal hallway, meeting and education room and office areas. Policies and consent are in place for the use of the cameras. However, staff do not complete social stories with children, and there is no record of children’s views regarding the use of CCTV in the home. Leaders and managers do not make assessments for the continual use of CCTV in communal areas considering current safeguarding risks for children, children’s privacy or living in a homely environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report for children’s home: 2799242 4 The registered manager resigned soon after the home became registered. Over the last four months, the director of services has held management oversight of the home. Together with the responsible individual and the in-house social worker team manager, they have provided stability, line management accountability, effective oversight in the delivery of care afforded to children and support for staff. Proactive recruitment strategies have taken place to secure a permanent registered position. The in-house social work manager has now applied to be the registered manager of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership team is child-focused, empathetic and committed to the children it cares for. Leaders’ presence in the home is inspiring. The children know them well and staff seek them out for support and guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership team promotes an inclusive working culture and has developed a stable and committed staff team. Staff’s training and well-being is a priority. There are monthly team meetings, regular catch-ups and effective supervision. Staff discuss the children’s needs and plans, as well as their own development, well-being and learning. Staff have access to a wide range of face-to-face and bespoke training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is positive. They feel supported by the management team and that they are making a difference to children’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from external professionals about the care provided to the children is consistently favourable. Professionals consider the leadership team and staff to be skilled and knowledgeable, caring and empathetic. One social worker described the communication with staff as ‘second to none’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership team is working hard to monitor the service and make improvements. This includes carrying out audits of records, holding team reflection sessions, spending time with staff, undertaking activities with children and seeking feedback from professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership team is reflective and, in consultation with the local authority, reviews and identifies learning to improve practice to support effective admission planning. While children have a positive experience and are well prepared individually for their moves into the home, records of the assessments made are not clearly documented, taking into account the decisions leaders and managers make. Inspection report for children’s home: 2799242 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

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 25 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2799242 6 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))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the use of monitoring and surveillance devices are used only for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare. That risk assessments are made for each child concerned to support the use of CCTV and that staff support the child to understand the purpose and function of the use of CCTV. The use of CCTV is to be kept under review to ensure that monitoring is proportionate to risk, and avoids situations for complacency in use leading to intrusive practice or breach of a child’s privacy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.13)  The registered person should ensure that care planning decisions made for accepting admissions to the home are clearly recorded. This should include an understanding as to how the child’s assessed needs, as recorded in their relevant plans, has been considered alongside the needs of the children living at the home and factors

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Recommendations

identified in the statement of purpose, such as the location of the home and the skills and training of staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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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: 2799242 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Park Lane Business Centre, Unit 6 Park Lane, Colchester, Essex CO4 5NL

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Inspector

Matilda Clode, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2799242 8 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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