Children's home run by The St Christopher School in Southend-on-Sea

Inspection report for children’s home: SC052398 1 SC052398 Registered provider: The St Christopher School Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is a residential short-break service caring for six children with special educational needs and/or disabilities at any one time. The home is attached to a special school, and both are run by a charitable organisation. The inspector only inspected the social care provision.

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Information about this children’s home

Seven children were staying at the home over the two days of inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is providing services to over 54 children currently.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in 2018.

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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: SC052398 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/08/2024 Full Good 22/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/09/2022 Full Good 25/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC052398 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences and enjoy their short-break stay. The care provided ensures children are safe and well-cared for by a skilled and dedicated staff team. Managers and staff provide individualised care that meets the specific needs of each child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a warm, welcoming and familiar environment. The house is safe, well maintained and nicely presented.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have a wide variety of complex needs. Staff demonstrate a strong understanding of how to meet these needs and of children’s individual preferences and interests. They use this knowledge effectively to support meaningful interactions and communication with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are very sensory based in their likes and dislikes. The staff know what the children like and make sure they have fun during their stays. Staff support the children’s use of technology and help them develop awareness of the world around them. They help children enjoy sensory cultural experiences such as the lights at Diwali. The children enjoy the sensory lighting communal areas, the sensory rooms and soft-play areas when they stay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff seek opportunities to enhance the children’s experiences. Staff initiatives such as sponsored walks have successfully raised funds, which managers plan to use to improve the quality of outdoor spaces for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children use an array of specialist equipment, which the provider keeps well serviced and maintained. However, one child has grown significantly since their safe-space bed was first used. The manager has not ensured that the ongoing suitability and effectiveness of this specialist bed have been reviewed by relevant professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Many of the children are non-speaking and use alternative methods of communication. Staff use their skills and experience to communicate effectively with the children and ensure their voices are heard. However, staff do not record the thoughts, wishes and feelings expressed by children who can verbalise these. As a result, leaders are unable to use this information to track children’s emotional well-being or demonstrate the effectiveness of the support provided.

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

Staff and managers prioritise children’s welfare and safety and are vigilant in identifying potential risks. They actively implement robust safety measures that keep children safe and prevent them from going missing from the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC052398 4 The manager ensures that the children’s individual risk assessments are thorough and well considered. He completes a detailed analysis of incidents, identifying patterns and trends to form a chronology of concerns, and uses this to inform changes in care planning. This approach achieves a clear understanding of potential risks and helps staff to manage children’s safety and well-being effectively.

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

Staff work successfully with children during their short breaks to help them communicate their needs. As a result, incidents of self-injurious behaviour by children have decreased. Staff align with the children, distract them, and redirect their behaviour by creatively finding fun activities for them to do.

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

When incidents occur, staff respond with appropriate and proportionate actions to protect children. The use of physical intervention is rare, and staff only use this when necessary to keep children safe. The manager maintains effective oversight of any physical interventions that occur to ensure their use is appropriate and proportionate. The manager carries out post-incident debriefs with staff and engages with the children to seek their views and provide them an opportunity to share their experiences.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that any complaints are handled appropriately. Any concerns and further relevant information are shared with appropriate external bodies, such as Ofsted, the Local Authority Designated Officer and children’s social workers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The suitably qualified and experienced manager provides effective leadership. He works closely with the similarly experienced assistant manager. Together they have for a number of years provided consistency of management that has ensured that children receive good-quality care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that all staff receive clear guidance on how to care for the children and communicate effectively with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and assistant manager ensure that staff are well supported. Supervision sessions are conducted frequently and used to support staff effectively. Staff find these sessions beneficial and use them as valuable opportunities for reflection and professional development. Managers use reflective supervision sessions to help staff manage their own emotional needs. This good staff support helps staff remain motivated and deliver a stable and supportive environment for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have established effective systems to monitor incidents and track children’s individual progress. The use of ‘challenges or concern forms’ allows leaders and staff to evaluate and review children’s care plans effectively to ensure they continue to meet individual needs. Incidents are thoroughly analysed, with leaders identifying lessons learned and implementing new strategies to prevent re-occurrence. Inspection report for children’s home: SC052398 5 Managers work well with parents and professionals to ensure children’s needs are well met, and feedback about the short-break service is consistently positive. One parent said, ‘I feel the home is managed very well. The management team are very approachable and hands on.’ A social worker said, ‘They are a good leadership team, they ensure that the team are well supported and debriefed after any incident involving my child.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC052398 6

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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

In meeting the qulaity standards, registered person must, ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, involve health professionals to provide professional oversight for reviewing children’s specialist equipment. 30 December 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that arrangements are in place for staff to record discussions had with children about their emotional well-being. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.25)

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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: SC052398 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The St Christopher School

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jacqueline Mullan

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Inspector

Dan Williams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC052398 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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