Children's Home run by Emerald Training and Medical Staffing LTD in Greenwich

Inspection report for children’s home: 2841240 1 Registered provider: Emerald Training and Medical Staffing Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home was registered with Ofsted in June 2025 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

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2025 and is suitably qualified. In July 2025, the responsible individual left the home. The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual, and we are currently checking this person has the relevant capacity, experience, and skills to carry out the role.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home. One child was spoken to during this 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: 2841240 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home’s registration, one child has left the home, and two children have moved in. One child is making good progress, and the other is settling in well, having moved into the home very recently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children’s relationships with their families. They are supported to have family time, including time together in the home. Complex family relationships are managed sensitively, and children are provided with emotional support and understanding from staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met by staff. They are registered with local health providers and encouraged to attend their routine appointments. Staff help to promote healthy sleeping and waking routines. When substance misuse is an issue, staff provide key-work sessions that address the associated health risks and encourage healthier lifestyle choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to education, but their attendance is variable. Staff encourage children to engage when they are resistant to attending, and they work closely with children’s social workers and virtual schools to plan for alternative provision when needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build positive relationships with children. They know the children well and speak of them with care and warmth. One child’s missing-from-home episodes have reduced during their time living in the home, which suggests they feel safe and supported there.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s voices are heard and responded to. This takes place through key-work sessions and informal conversations. For example, food menus are personalised to children’s tastes. One child said that they enjoy the food, and it reflects their cultural heritage, saying, ‘It doesn’t feel like I’m missing out on much; it’s a nice addition to have.’ When another child made a complaint, the registered manager thoroughly investigated it. Staff followed up with a key-work session, where the child’s feelings were explored, and they were given emotional support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a comfortable and well-maintained environment. The home is warm, tidy, and bright with a calm and welcoming atmosphere. Colourful soft furnishings make it feel homely. Bedrooms are spacious and personalised to reflect children’s choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Endings have not been managed well. The child who left the home had a poor ending. As staff were unable to meet the child’s needs, leaders ended the placement. When a new placement was not quickly identified, they took the child to the placing authority’s office. Leaders understand that children should have a well-planned and positive experience of moving on from the home. They have reflected on and learned from this episode and taken action to minimise any risk of this happening again. Inspection report for children’s home: 2841240 3

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

Safeguarding in the home is robust. Children’s risk assessments are well written, up to date and clearly explain what action staff should take to reduce risks. As a result, staff have a good understanding of the behaviours that make children vulnerable and how to support them.

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

Staff provide children with frequent, good-quality key-work sessions. These focus on education and future skills, independence skills, and peer relationships. There is a significant focus on safeguarding for children whose behaviours expose them to a high level of risk. Staff proactively explore incidents, encourage reflection, and raise awareness of potential dangers. Children’s views are well recorded, and records demonstrate that their voices are being actively heard and responded to.

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

Partnership working with safeguarding professionals is strong. Staff attend weekly multi- agency meetings to keep one child’s safeguarding incidents and legal arrangements under regular review. One professional said, ‘The home has been keen to learn about [name of child] and provide the support they need. This is evident in their active engagement at professional meetings and the questions they raise about [name of child]’s lived experience.’ This approach has helped to ensure that safety planning is child centred.

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

Missing-from-home incidents are well managed. Staff follow the protocol and ensure that all the relevant parties are informed and kept updated. Detailed records of missing-from- home episodes are maintained, and children are warmly welcomed when they return home. However, leaders have not ensured that return home interviews are consistently requested and that information from these interviews is used to inform their individualised work with children.

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

Allegations against staff are managed appropriately. Safeguarding partners are promptly notified, and leaders are proactive in undertaking internal investigations where appropriate. However, not all staff knew the process of reporting whistle-blowing concerns or about the role of the local authority designated officers.

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

All staff are trained in physical restraint, and this is only used as a last resort to protect the child or others. However, the full details of the restraint have not been recorded, and managers have not provided debriefs for the child or staff involved. This limits the opportunity to learn from incidents involving restraint and refine future practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has good leadership. It is led by an experienced registered manager who knows the children well and maintains strong oversight of their care plans and risks. One social worker said, ‘The deputy manager seemed to know [name of child] quite well and Inspection report for children’s home: 2841240 4 have a strong sense of their views. Similarly, they have developed a relationship with [name of child]’s mother and a good sense of her views too.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual left soon after the home opened. Although this was unsettling for the leadership team, another responsible individual was promptly recruited, and this change did not impact on the children or staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff like working in the home and enjoy being part of a dedicated team. They feel well supported by the leaders, who they consider to be approachable and encouraging. Every staff member is permanently employed, which means agency workers are not used. This provides stability and consistency for both the children and the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders provide staff with regular reflective supervision. Discussions in supervision include talking about the children living there, their safeguarding risks and how these can be managed and feedback on performance. Staff find their supervision helpful and feel able to raise issues. This approach supports staff well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Communication within the team is effective. Regular team meetings take place, which support staff practice and the running of the home. This has helped to develop the team’s cohesion since the home opened.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff undertake training and a comprehensive induction when they start working in the home. However, only a small number of staff hold the NVQ level 3 qualification. The workforce development plan does not set out the arrangements for how this can be gained while working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is not working to its statement of purpose. This states that staff provide therapeutic care; however, staff have not been trained in the therapeutic approaches set out in the statement of purpose. Following this inspection, leaders amended the statement of purpose and removed this to accurately reflect the care provided in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2841240 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

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that when children leave the home, their departure is carefully planned together with the placing authority. 31 October 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. The registered person should ensure that when an independent return home interview is carried out, information provided by such interviews is taken into account when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 45, paragraph 9.30).  The registered person should have a workforce plan that includes the arrangements for staff to gain the relevant qualification. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s internal whistle-blowing procedures. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including

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Recommendations

the quality standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.9)  The registered person should ensure that records of restraint enable staff to review the use of control, discipline, and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where issues or trends of concern emerge. Leaders should ensure that children and all staff involved in restraint incidents are debriefed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 49, paragraph 9.59) Inspection report for children’s home: 2841240 6

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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: 2841240 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Emerald Training and Medical Staffing Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 36 Ampleforth Road, London SE2 9BL

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Inspector

Jo Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2841240 8 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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