Children's home run by Solace Care 7kings Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2595182 1 Registered provider: Solace Care 7kings 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

The home registered with Ofsted in October 2020 and is privately owned. It provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager registered with Ofsted in March 2023 and is suitably qualified.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2595182 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/07/2024 Full Good 26/09/2023 Full Good 27/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/04/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2595182 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a nurturing environment in which they feel safe and listened to. Children build strong bonds with staff, who are assertive and attentive in getting to know them. Through regular discussions the registered manager and staff secure a good understanding of how children feel and what is important to them. Children listen and communicate well with staff because of these connections. Children hold the relationships they have with staff as being highly influential in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individual needs and how these can be met are fully considered when they move in. Staff are well prepared for children when they arrive. They have training and through team meetings discuss children’s risk and make plans for the support needed. Children talk to staff about these routines and expectations and settle in quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff proactively promote children’s education. When children move into the home prompt applications are made to enrol at local colleges. The registered manager works collaboratively with professionals, including the head of the virtual school, to address challenges children face. For example, if there are issues with children accessing their chosen college course, they work together to get the right course in place. Staff also support children to continue with any educational arrangements they have in place prior to moving into the home, which provides educational stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to become more confident and develop their self-esteem. Staff promote individuality and encourage children to integrate into the local area through activities children like and going to places of worship. Children gain key skills necessary for their future and become increasingly independent. Together with staff, children set their aims and goals which they achieve. Children make good progress in key aspects of their lives. One child now regularly travels independently and spends more time with the people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s physical and emotional health is well considered; they are registered with and access local health services. Staff help children who become unwell attend hospital. Timely referrals are made for specialist interventions; this includes child and adolescent mental health services. Children benefit from the therapeutic offer at this home. The in- house chartered psychologist is actively involved and provides therapeutic support. This emotional coaching helps children build resilience to their life experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive care in line with the home’s statement of purpose, and children’s social workers hold a positive view of the support children receive. Some children move closer to their home area because of the progress they make. Children are very proud of these achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager evaluates the children’s experiences when they move out of the home. This good practice identifies clearly where children have made progressive steps. Inspection report for children’s home: 2595182 4 However, the review does not consider how well the child’s needs have been met or identify learning to inform future decision-making. The lack of critical analysis of the reasons children’s placements come to an end is not recorded.

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

Staff understand children’s individual vulnerabilities. They ensure that there are regular discussions with children about individual areas of risk. This helps children learn about how to keep themselves safe.

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

Staff are confident, professionally curious and receive training that is relevant to their practice. Additional discussions in response to incidents take place in team meetings to collectively review children’s support. Agreed support strategies for children are effectively applied. Professionals say that children are well looked after, and children say that they feel safe living at this home.

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

The registered manager ensures that staff have clear guidance to mitigate emerging and known risks for children. Individual safety plans, at times, are created in consultation with the local authority. These plans balance the management of risk and actions to support children to progress well. Consequences and key-work sessions are used and help children to reflect, learn and make positive change.

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

Staff are vigilant and act responsively when they become concerned about a child’s welfare. Increased levels of supervision are applied. Bedroom searches are carried out and staff remove items that pose a risk to children. Staff contact emergency services and escalate concerns about children’s mental health at the earliest opportunity.

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

Staff effectively respond to children at times of emotional distress. Staff uphold boundaries, and incidents do not escalate. There is no need for the use of physical intervention. Following incidents, children talk with staff during debrief sessions about what has happened. The relationships children forge with staff enables them to articulate their feelings and emotions well. Staff are empathetic and help children to develop coping mechanisms. The registered manager promotes learning from incidents, which helps identify concerns and early warning signs that inform children’s future support.

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

Incidents of children going missing from home are well managed. Staff alert appropriate professionals while trying to locate children. The registered manager and staff forge good connections with local authority officers, who conduct the independent return home interviews when children return. Consistent practice provides regular opportunity to gain understanding about children’s time away from the home.

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

Staff and the registered manager work with safeguarding partners to protect children. When needed, consultation takes place with the local authority designated officer. The registered manager addresses practice effectively and staff learn from this process to strengthen how they care for children. When potential risks emerge for children in the Inspection report for children’s home: 2595182 5 local area, timely multi-agency meetings occur and, collaboratively, actions to support children are agreed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders, managers and staff are knowledgeable about every aspect of children’s lives. They are child focused and ambitious for children to achieve their best.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A culture of respect, inclusivity and ‘togetherness’ is established within the team through the registered manager’s leadership. Staff enjoy their work and changes within the team are infrequent. This creates stability and cohesiveness for children who live at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager’s calm and inclusive approach is fundamental in the quality of the care children receive. Staff receive good mentorship and role modelling to deliver children’s care and support. Staff feel valued and embrace this learning. This empowering and inspirational leadership is held in high regard. The registered manager uses a range of audits from which good oversight of the strengths and areas for development for service delivery is achieved. Development plans are used to support continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager’s oversight of incidents is critically evaluative, detailed and thorough. These reviews ensure that there are timely discussions with children’s placing authorities around children’s current needs. Professionals describe communication from the home as being ‘relevant’ and ‘forthcoming’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is actively involved in children’s care and support. On one occasion, they were involved in a serious incident but did not have a formal debrief to reflect on the incident. The registered manager reviewed the incident report. However, the responsible individual did not have oversight in order to critically evaluate the registered manager’s actions. This approach lacks objectivity and does not demonstrate how the welfare of staff is well promoted beyond the core staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision for staff is reflective. It is a forum for feedback on performance and discussions around safeguarding children and the progress they make. When needed, the frequency of staff supervision increases to provide additional oversight and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff make progressive steps in their career; they value and thrive on the learning opportunities created by the registered manager. Future targets are set through annual appraisal and personal development plans. Staff achieve these and the registered manager is proud of their success.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Necessary safer recruitment checks are complete for new staff. They receive an induction with the registered manager and undertake initial training before working with the children living at the home. Senior organisational leaders oversee the recruitment process for the staff at the home. The registered manager is not routinely involved in conducting the interviews. This limits their influence on who is appointed. Interview Inspection report for children’s home: 2595182 6 records do not account for a rationale when decisions are made to offer for senior posts when applicants apply for the post of residential support worker. Inspection report for children’s home: 2595182 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 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that when children move from the home, the placement evaluations offer a sufficient critical analysis of the reasons for their move in order to identify any learning.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that objective oversight, that is, evaluation following incidents in the home involving the manager, is recorded. The responsible individual in assuming this responsibility must ensure that incident debriefs and reflective discussion take place as a result of incidents involving the manager so as to demonstrate support and identify any opportunities to inform learning and practice. 24 October 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure recruitment records include clear recorded decisions around staff suitability for appointment to senior positions. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2595182 8 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: 2595182 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Solace Care 7kings Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2A, 420 Eastern Avenue, Ilford, Essex IG2 6NQ

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Inspector

Alexandra Howitt, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2595182 10 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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