Children's home run by EJ Childcare Services Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 1 Registered provider: EJ Childcare Services 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 home is owned by a private provider. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The post of registered manager has been vacant since April 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded. The care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/08/2024 Full Good 23/01/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The overall experiences and progress of the child have been impacted by the significant shortfalls in how the child is helped and protected and in the effectiveness of leaders and managers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not have a full understanding of the child’s need for consistent relationships. One professional said that managers and staff do not understand the impact of the child’s history on their ability to form secure relationships. Consequently, when staff move on from the home without providing the child with opportunities to say goodbye, this compounds the issue for the child. The turnover of staff has impacted on the child’s sense of security and stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not always listen or respond to the child’s wishes and feelings. For example, the child said that they wanted to visit a nature reserve and staff did not take him. This leaves the child feeling that he is not a priority to staff and that his views are not important.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home is in need of updating and not all areas are kept clean and tidy. For example, the kitchen windows are dirty, and the bin is overflowing. This does not provide the child with an environment that is clean or demonstrate to them that staff believe that they are worthy of a nice home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child does not have good school attendance and struggles to engage with their education. Staff work with the child’s school to find solutions that will better encourage the child’s attendance. This consistent approach from staff shows the child that education is important. They ensure that the child maintains some contact with their school so that there is a basis on which to build their engagement. However, at this time, the child is not able to make progress with their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff support the child to meet their health needs. The child is registered with universal health services and attend their appointments. The child also has access to additional services in line with their individual needs. This helps to ensure that they have the right health and support for their ongoing development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child takes part in a wide variety of activities with staff. They have enjoyed activities such as fishing, pamper nights and trips to the countryside. This helps the child to explore new experiences and pursue their interests.

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

Staff do not understand the organisation’s policies and procedures that are designed to safeguard children. For example, when a child raised an allegation against a member of staff, this was not reported to managers immediately and staff did not take action to Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 4 safeguard the child. As a result, there was a significant delay in responding to the allegation and completing an investigation. This poor practice does not ensure that children are adequately safeguarded from harm.

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

The child’s risk assessments do not clearly identify their risks. The child is vulnerable to exploitation, but this is not recorded and there are no strategies to manage that risk. This does not provide staff with clear instructions on how to safeguard the child. For example, when the child was found with indecent images on their phone, this was not removed from them immediately and was not reported in line with policy. This meant that there was a delay in safeguarding the child, leaving them at an ongoing risk of harm.

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

Safer recruitment practices are not routinely followed by the manager. Not all staff records have a full employment history or contain their relevant qualifications. Furthermore, some references are not verified. This means that leaders and managers cannot be assured that the staff in the home are suitable to work with children.

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

Staff sometimes call police to support them in managing the child’s behaviours. This can expose the child to unnecessary police involvement and could also lead to a criminal record. There is no consideration given to the wider implications of this course of action on the child’s long-term future.

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

Staff respond well when the child goes missing from home. Staff look for the child in areas that they know the child visits and continue to search until they are found. When the child returns, they are welcomed home and staff ensure that they are safe and well. They keep family and other professionals well informed and talk to the child to gather important information about their experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not have effective oversight of staff practice or how that impacts on the safety and progress of the child. This is because the manager does not make use of systems to oversee the home or evaluate the effectiveness of staff practice. There are gaps in the recording of incidents which impacts on the manager’s ability to assess the effectiveness of staff actions. Consequently, the outcomes for the child are poor.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not have a good grip on staff performance. Some staff are subject to performance plans. These plans lack measurable goals and are not reviewed by managers to ensure that staff are making the necessary improvements. Furthermore, there are significant gaps in staff supervision and appraisal. New staff do not receive an effective induction into the home. Therefore, the manager cannot know the training and development needs of his staff team. This impacts on the care that the child receives and does not assure their safety or well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not have sufficient oversight of the training needs of staff. Some staff training has not been completed or is out of date and others have not Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 5 completed safeguarding training. Furthermore, leaders and managers have not been able to identify effective support to help staff complete their training. Staff do not all have the necessary skills to effectively meet the needs of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Communication between those in the home and those involved with the children is not always effective. One professional said, ‘Information does not always get handed over from the staff.’ Furthermore, the manager does not follow the home’s policy for escalating concerns about the responses of partner agencies. Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vi)(vii)) 14 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

*The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 14 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 7 (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iv)) 30 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (1)(a) (4)(b)(c)) 30 September 2025

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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

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— 30 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 8 the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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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) (2)(a) (3)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs; and

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)) 31 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust; and

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. Regulation 11 (1)(a)(c) (2)(a)(viii)(ix)) 30 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 9

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. They will be homely, domestic environments. This should include the home being clean and well maintained. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that children are not charged with offences resulting from behaviour within a children’s home that would not similarly lead to police involvement if it occurred in a family home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.40)

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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: 2638783 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: EJ Childcare Services LTD

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: EJ Childcare Services Ltd, Foxhaven, Easington Road, Hartlepool TS24 9RE

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Inspector

Laura Roberts, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2638783 11 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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