Children's home run by PBS Care Homes Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2826629 1 Registered provider: PBS Care Homes 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 and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to five children who may have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in the home at the time of this inspection. Both children were seen during the 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: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2826629 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop trusting relationships with those caring for them. Staff get to know the children well and understand their communication needs. A professional and a parent said that staff have helped their child talk about their emotions and share their views. This helps children to share their worries and feelings with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are creative in how they communicate with children to enable them to choose activities. Children are offered and take part in a variety of activities. Children’s interests are considered, and staff actively encourage regular activities and hobbies. This helps children to enjoy new activities that enhance their experiences and social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build positive relationships with children’s families. Staff have been proactive in offering support and advice to a parent to help improve their relationship with their child. One parent said, ‘Staff are straight on the phone and I know what is happening for her.’ This supports children to have positive relationships with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop independence skills relevant to their age and understanding. Staff involve children with easy-to-follow plans to help them build on their independence skills. For example, one child has learned how to get dressed and two children have developed their independent toileting. This has helped children make positive progress with their development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager carefully considers all new referrals to the home to ensure that the needs of all the children can be met. Children are welcomed into the home following a planned introduction with the staff and the other children. When one child could not visit the home, staff worked with the multi-agency team to prepare the child by providing pictures and introducing staff. This supports children to start to develop relationships and to become familiar with their new home before they move in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Access to education varies for children. One child did not have access to any transport to school. The manager and staff have not advocated enough for this child to receive any transport. This child is currently unable to attend education or to make progress with their learning.

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

Children are supported with clear and consistent boundaries in the home. Staff know the children well and use effective de-escalation techniques that support each child’s individual needs. Children respond well to staff and the approach has promoted positive behaviour at home. This provides children with a sense of security and helps them to feel safer.

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

Children have individualised behaviour support plans. These are kept up to date with clear information for staff to follow. Staff have worked creatively with professionals to help them Inspection report for children’s home: 2826629 3 understand children and respond to them in the right way. This has helped one child understand and manage their emotions and led to a reduction in incidents since they moved to the home.

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

Some children have complex health and emotional needs. Staff receive relevant training to care for children effectively and administer medication safely. The manager has a robust process in place to ensure that medication is recorded and administered effectively.

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

One child’s risk assessment did not clearly identify the child’s vulnerabilities. Their plans did not provide staff with guidance on how to reduce the risk of harm. Furthermore, work is not carried out with children to help them understand risks such as exploitation and going missing from care. This prevents children from learning strategies to keep themselves safe.

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

When children are missing from home, the response from staff is inconsistent. Known locations and wider areas are not always searched. This increases the time that children could be at risk of harm. When children are returned to the home, an independent return home interview is not always carried out and managers do not pursue this with the relevant authority. This reduces the learning that can come from someone independent talking to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run by an experienced manager who knows the children well. The manager is committed to supporting children to achieve the best outcomes. The manager is ambitious for the future of the home and wants to continuously improve the care they offer to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff share that they feel supported by management and say the home is a learning environment. Staff receive regular supervision, which helps them to understand the children’s needs and review their own development. This helps staff to continue to develop their knowledge and skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly and provide staff with a clear and consistent message for expectations for staff practice and how the children’s needs should be met. Staff are provided with feedback and the children’s needs, and any changes are discussed. This helps to ensure that staff share accountability for their practice and that there is consistency for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer recruitment checks are undertaken prior to staff starting to work in the home. Staff are supported with an induction, where they shadow other members of staff to support them to get to know the children, home and procedures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager does not have a clear process in place for auditing and monitoring all aspects of the home. Leaders and managers review individual incidents that happen in the home. However, there are no review systems in place to identify trends or review the Inspection report for children’s home: 2826629 4 quality of care children receive. This prevents opportunities for staff to learn and improve responses to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2826629 5

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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 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)) 27 November 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

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 27 November 2025

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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

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 27 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2826629 6 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(c))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the necessary support is given to children to enable them to access their education or training. In particular, they should put in place practical arrangements such as transporting the child to school. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.13)

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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: 2826629 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 167a Manor Road, Chigwell IG7 5QB

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Inspector

Natalie Clark, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2826629 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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