Children's home run by Roxwell Care Ilford Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2684147 1 Registered provider: Roxwell Care Ilford Limited

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted on 15 October 2022 and is privately run. It provides care for up to four children with learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2025.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was 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 requires improvement to be 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: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2684147 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/10/2024 Full Good 05/03/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/02/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2684147 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has made notable progress from their starting point. When they first arrived at the home, their social worker described them as ‘regressing’ and ‘unsettled’. Now, the child is often seen laughing and appears confident and comfortable in the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have temporarily converted the front living room into a sensory space to offer the child a choice when they wish to move to a more calming environment. Staff have a range of other options to meet the child’s sensory needs, all of which help the child to feel safe and manage their feelings of stress and anxiety.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has been supported by staff to develop their communication skills. Visual aids are used throughout the home to support the child’s communication. One-to-one sessions with the child have used visual aids and verbal instructions to improve communication.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s health needs are met well by staff. The child is supported to attend medical appointments and staff and managers initiate discussions with health professionals to ensure that regular reviews of medications and treatments take place.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide personal care to the child. There are clear guidelines that staff follow, which help to reduce the awkwardness the child may experience, for example singing softly or playing nursery rhymes.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers have successfully advocated for the child to access special education tuition, while a permanent full-time school place is identified.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to engage in a range of activities in the home and in the community. For example, the child was preparing for Halloween with staff. The preparation of the activity by staff demonstrated their commitment to ensuring that the child could fully participate, having fun with messy play, shelling out a pumpkin and helping with the decorations. The child also enjoys trips out with staff doing things they like, such as going to parks, soft play and on car journeys.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move on from the home, staff ensure that the move is as smooth as possible, working closely with the wider professional network.

p.3

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

The child is kept safe in the home and in the community through appropriate levels of staff supervision, in line with their safety and care plans. The child is always accompanied by two staff members. As a result, the child has not gone missing from the home and there are few incidents in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2684147 4 Staff understand the risks for the child and know the child well. Together with following the child’s comprehensive behaviour support plans, this means that staff can be proactive in preventing risk of harm by responding appropriately to signs of distress.

p.3

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

Staff are very clear regarding their responsibilities in raising concerns about the child’s safety and care. When staff supervision and team meetings take place, there is discussion regarding the safeguarding of the child. Staff ensure that the home is safe, through regular health and safety checks.

p.4

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

Managers and staff work closely with external professionals to ensure that the child is kept safe from harm. The manager and staff have engaged with an occupational therapist in trying different methods to support the child to reduce self-injurious behaviours when they are anxious. A strategy has been developed which helps the child to feel safe and able to move around the home for short periods of time independently of staff, when previously the child needed to be very close to adults. Managers and staff encourage the child through verbal praise to do more of this, to develop their independence and reduce their over-reliance on staff always being physically close.

p.4

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

An incident occurred during the inspection when the child was not being supervised by the staff. This lack of oversight had the potential to place the child at risk of harm.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There have been a number of changes in the leadership and management team in the last year. The new responsible individual and registered manager have been appointed from within the organisation and are familiar with the home and the child.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

However, leaders and managers are aware that because of changes in the management team, management oversight and management tasks have not been addressed effectively. There is no recorded supervision for most staff over a five-month period. Appraisals for staff have not taken place within timescales. This means that there is no evidence that staff have had the opportunity to reflect on their practice and the needs of the child in their care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have systems in place to monitor the day-to-day activity of staff. This includes information recorded to track patterns in the child’s behaviour, incidents and one-to-one sessions. There is inconsistent management evaluation of these records, even when the recording template prompts managers to make a comment. This restricts leaders and managers’ ability to evaluate the difference that the care provided to the child is making.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff say that leaders and managers are visible and available when needed, and hands on in the care of the child. Staff attend both face-to-face and online training to help them understand the child’s needs. However, staff have not received training on communicating with children who are non-verbal. Leaders and managers have provided an introductory session to staff on the use of Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS) but acknowledge that staff need further formal training. Inspection report for children's home: 2684147 5 Leaders and managers have identified that, as part of the commitment to communicating with children effectively, the children’s guide should be reviewed, as it is not accessible to children with limited communication and reading skills.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have not ensured that good practice has been followed in relation to safer recruitment in the appointment of a member of staff. Information regarding verification of current address could not be located by the human resources department. However, this has not led to any significant safeguarding concerns.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been a drive by the leadership and management team to address the shortfalls identified at the last inspection, with most areas now being met. Leaders and managers are working to upskill staff so that they are comfortable and competent in working therapeutically with children. Group reflection sessions help staff to think about approaches to the care of children and what can be done differently. Inspection report for children's home: 2684147 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 ensure that all employees—

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that practice-related supervision is recorded appropriately and those records are stored securely, and that appraisals of staff are carried out in line with timescales in statutory guidance. 31 January 2026

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide is age appropriate and provided in an accessible format, particularly for children with limited speech and reading skills, and explained to each child to make sure they understand it. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.21)  The registered person should ensure staff take reasonable precautions and make informed professional judgements based on the individual child’s safety plan about when to allow a child to follow a particular course of action, acting as any good parent would to ensure that the course of action does not place the child at risk. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.7)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access specific training to meet the needs of children living at the home and support communication with these children,

p.6

Recommendations

including training in Makaton and PECS and attachment and trauma-informed practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that internal monitoring and recording systems are used and are effective in identifying shortfalls in practice or recording information Inspection report for children's home: 2684147 7 and that these are rectified to support continuous improvement, proactively implement lessons learned and sustain good practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that the recruitment of staff adheres to good employment practice, to safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 13.1)

p.6

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: 2684147 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Roxwell Care Ilford Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 416 Green Lane, Ilford IG3 9JX

p.8

Inspector

Colin Bent, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2684147 9 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