Children's Home run by SureCare Residential Ltd in Essex

Inspection report for children's home: SC384018 1 SC384018 Registered provider: SureCare Residential Limited - The White Trees Group

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to four children who may have experienced significant trauma and have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2025.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC384018 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/07/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/11/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/10/2022 Full Good 19/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC384018 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home was not operational from October 2024 to July 2025. Since the last full inspection, two children have moved in and three children have moved out. One child was living at the home at the time of the inspection. They contributed to the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into the home are well supported by staff. Leaders and managers carefully consider children’s needs alongside children already living at the home. Leaders and managers consult with external professionals and family members to ensure that the needs of the children are fully understood. Staff recognise that moves into the home can be difficult for children. Staff take time to get to know children before they move in. A basket of treats and children’s favourite meals are prepared to welcome them to the home. This helps children to settle in quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children left the home in an unplanned way because staff were not able to meet their needs. When possible, during these unplanned moves, staff provided the children with meaningful endings to their time spent living at the home, buying gifts and enjoying meals out together. Children have maintained contact with staff, indicating they still hold value to the relationships they built with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff quickly develop meaningful relationships with children fuelled by mutual respect. Children speak highly of the support that they receive from staff. One child said, ‘I wouldn’t change anything about living here. The staff are my favourite thing about the home.’ A professional said, ‘The staff team are very considerate and compassionate. They have gone above and beyond to ensure [name of child] feels welcome and nurtured.’ Staff put children’s needs first. Children are given the freedom to express themselves, and their confidence has grown as a result. Stable relationships help provide children with a strong foundation to make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand how to communicate with the children effectively. Staff are creative in how they gather the children’s wishes and feelings. Opportunities to do so have led to some positive changes in routines for children. Children feel listened to and part of their care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders, managers and practitioners have recently begun to embed a new model of practice to help support children. They have identified and organised the delivery of a range of specialist training for staff. Staff have good understanding of the model and adapt it to meet the needs of the children. The model is embedded in children’s plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good awareness of children’s individual support needs. Staff use a consistent approach to help the children feel secure. As a result, the children have made progress from their starting points. Inspection report for children's home: SC384018 4 Staff have a very good understanding of the challenges relating to children’s educational attendance. Staff work in close partnership with various professionals to overcome these challenges. This partnership approach, with detailed communication between providers and staff, has meant that professionals have worked together to source bespoke education packages for children.

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

Leaders and managers take effective action to address safeguarding concerns when staff practice has fallen short of expectations. This includes carrying out investigations to identify wider learning. The lessons learned are diligently shared with the staff team to improve practice.

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

Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities. Significant incidents have been managed well. Staff are curious to understand why children might be worried. They use creative responses to help children remain safe and develop skills to manage their personal safety. Children said that they feel safe and can talk to staff about their worries.

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

Staff consistently recognise positive behaviour and contributions by children. Children respond very well to clear structure and boundaries, recognition and person-centred care. Professionals recognised that children’s vulnerabilities have been reduced as a direct result of staff’s support.

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

Therapy is offered to children by the organisation’s well-being practitioners, and children are engaging well. Practitioners help staff understand children’s past experiences and how they impact their emotional well-being. They design child-focused and detailed plans with children and staff to help children find healthier ways of managing difficult emotions. Collaborative working between the practitioners and staff means that children benefit from this additional support.

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

Recently, areas of the home were damaged by a child. While action was taken to put right the damage in most areas, other areas of the home had not been fully assessed for damage. As a result, two fire doors were not fully operational in line with the home’s fire procedures. Action was taken during the inspection to rectify the damage. However, a lack of monitoring means that children and staff safety in the event of a fire could be compromised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a qualified registered manager. Managers are visible at the home and spend time with staff and children. The manager works closely with the higher management and leadership team to provide staff and children with consistency. Staff morale is good. As a result, an embedded sense of security and stability in the home has helped staff to support children during a recent unsettled period. Inspection report for children's home: SC384018 5 The manager is confident to challenge decisions made that could impact children negatively. Professionals said, ‘She is very considerate and compassionate, and has gone above and beyond to make sure the children’s needs are put first.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal audits are completed regularly. These are thorough and help inform leaders and managers of areas of strength and development. Leaders and managers value feedback and use it to improve practice. Leaders and managers regularly review progress to support the continued development of the home. These audits help to demonstrate a good level of oversight by leaders and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One complaint has been received since the last inspection. Leaders and managers fully investigated and responded empathetically in line with procedures to ensure that the complainant felt listened to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers encourage staff to take a kind, curious and nurturing approach with children. This has created a culture where children are treated with care and compassion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well led. They feel valued and appreciated in their roles. The manager has employed a knowledgeable team of staff, who are committed to helping children to achieve good outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision and annual appraisals of their performance. Staff value the continuous support to reflect and develop their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All senior staff hold appropriate qualifications. Staff benefit from a robust induction into the home. However, not all staff have had specific training to help understand and confidentially support children’s complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose has not been updated to reflect the home now being operational.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have met all the requirements from the last inspection. Inspection report for children's home: SC384018 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should monitor the home regularly and ensure that timely action is taken to address any damage to the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that all staff are provided with training in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that the conduct in the home reflects the statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)

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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: SC384018 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: SureCare Residential Limited - The White Trees Group

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Whitetrees Group, The Old Snap Factory, Twyford Industrial Estate, Twyford Road, Bishop’s Stortford CM23 3LJ

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Inspector

Lexi Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC384018 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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