Children's Home run by Solace Care Partners Limited in Enfield

Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 1 Registered provider: Solace Care Partners Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted on 10 April 2019 and is privately run. It provides care for up to four children who experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

A new manager is in post, who was appointed registered manager in June 2025.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 2

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/05/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/09/2022 Full Good 27/04/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care from experienced staff at the home. Children make good progress from their starting points. Children who have complex needs benefit from care provided by staff, who know their needs well.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The physical environment of the home requires attention. In some of the rooms, decoration is required, and there is a need to ensure that all furniture is maintained in a good state of repair.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has a good oversight of the needs of the children living at the home, supporting staff to create individualised, effective care plans for them. These plans are carefully considered and reviewed in relation to how they are meeting children’s needs.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care is taken to ensure that there is consistency in children’s routines. One child has a daily plan which he refers to. He responds well to this structure and is involved in planning his days. Staffing in the home continues to be supported through the use of agency staff, which can create some instability for children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from children living in the home is very positive. They reported feeling safe and were all able to identify a member of staff that they can talk to. Children said that they have good relationships with staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are valued; the manager has created an approach to capturing the views of children through individualised key work. These are conducted through both focused and ad hoc sessions. Staff are readily able to access relevant subject information linked to key-work sessions. This supports staff to apply theory to their practice, to support children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in Table Talk, which is the name given to the children’s meetings. Children reported that they enjoy having the opportunity to share their ideas and to learn about different subjects, to help them understand the world they live in.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to think about their future and to start to develop skills that will support their journey into independent adult life. Children have opportunities to be responsible for their bedroom and to cook meals with the guidance of staff. Children stated they enjoyed these learning opportunities and spending time with staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager works with other professionals to support children to remain in meaningful contact with their families. One professional stated that this is an area that the home excels in. Another reported the care the home provides to her child is ‘brilliant’ and that she is really pleased with the support that they provide. Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 4

p.3

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

The manager and staff have a good understanding of any risks relating to individual children. Children’s risk assessments are comprehensive and identify any actual or potential risks to children. Risk assessments are reviewed regularly and incorporate all relevant events and any significant information about children.

p.4

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

Children have individual missing-from-care plans and grab packs. Staff ensure that they follow each child’s protocol carefully when children are missing from the home. Staff communicate well with children to welcome them back after they having been missing, and to gain an understanding of the reasons why children may have been missing. The manager has worked with agencies to support children to reduce the missing-from-care episodes.

p.4

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

Behaviour support plans are detailed and have effective strategies in place. When serious incidents occur in the home, staff complete detailed reports. The manager ensures that they have oversight of all such incidents. The manager completes debrief sessions with staff to support them to reflect and learn. Debriefs are completed with children but the records do not provide a detailed record of these conversations.

p.4

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

When children have additional vulnerability to any particular risks, referrals are made to specialist support services. Children were referred to counselling services, fire brigade services and children’s drug and alcohol services. This helps children to understand their own vulnerabilities and supports them to understand risk.

p.4

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

The local area assessment includes relevant up-to-date information. The manager has consulted well with other agencies. There are plans in place to mitigate any risks apparent in the local area to children living in the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager was appointed in September 2024 and has made significant improvements in the home. The manger has a clear vision for the team. The manager understands the areas of strength and development of the team.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff find the registered manager supportive and knowledgeable. Staff feel they are well supported in the team and that the home has a family atmosphere.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager produces quality of care reports every six months, but these do not evidence sufficiently that the views of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff have been gathered and incorporated into the report.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager robustly advocates for children. One agency spoken to stated that they were very impressed with the level of advocacy that the manager has applied to supporting one child in placement. Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 5 Staff receive regular supervision and annual appraisals. All staff have completed their mandatory training and relevant refresher courses. Staff complete specialist training to be able to ensure that they meet the needs of the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professional feedback about the manager and staff is positive. When there have been disagreements about how to manage children’s placements, the manager has produced factual, detailed reflective reports which have been shared with all relevant professionals to aid reflective decision-making. Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must seek feedback from children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. 8 August 2025

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

p.6

Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 8 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 7 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—

p.6

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")—

p.7

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

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 (1)(a) (3)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that they record a detailed record of the conversation with the child involved in the measure.

p.7

Recommendations

 As outlined in 10.15, the registered person should plan staffing levels to ensure that they meet the needs of children and can respond flexibly to unexpected events or opportunities. Staffing structures should promote continuity of care from the child’s perspective. If children complain, or give a view on how the staffing structure could be improved to promote the best care for them, appropriate action should be taken. In particular the manager should ensure that they maintain a full staff team to minimise the use of agency staff. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.15)  The registered person should ensure that the maintenance of the home is ongoing. In particular, the registered person should ensure that furniture is well maintained and the home decorated to a high standard. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

p.7

Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2503142 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Solace Care Partners Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Solace Care Partners Limited, Unit 2A, 420 Eastern Avenue, Ilford IG2 6NQ

p.8

Inspector

Helen Daniel, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2503142 9 regulates 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9