Children's Home run by Simple Settings Ltd in Redbridge

Inspection report for children’s home: 2825947 1 Registered provider: SIMPLE SETTINGS 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

This is a privately owned home that provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties and learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted on 2 July 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 2825947 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has lived in the home since it opened. The child benefits from good, individualised care and support. Staff are proactive and ensure that the child continues to learn, develop and thrive. The child has developed strong relationships with staff, built on genuine care, empathy and respect. Staff engage in meaningful conversations with the child, which supports them to make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager has high aspirations for the child and is highly committed to supporting their education. The child currently receives home based one-to-one tuition to support their ongoing learning and educational needs. This provides consistency and structure for the child while an appropriate long term education provision that meets their needs is identified.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively encourage and support the child to access local health services, including the GP, dentist and specialist provision where required. They work in partnership with health professionals and the child’s family to promote positive health outcomes for the child. This collaborative approach promotes the child’s physical, emotional and developmental health needs consistently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported and encouraged to develop their hobbies and interests. Staff are keen to learn about the activities the child enjoys and actively participate in these with them. For example, cooking, singing and gaming. This helps to build the child’s self-esteem and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Staff’s relationship with the child’s family helps the family to view the home positively and supports family time arrangements. Family members regularly visit the home and said that they are consistently reassured by the standard of care provided. They describe staff as ‘attentive,’ and ‘responsive,’ and note that communication with the registered manager is ‘clear’, ‘timely’, and ‘respectful’. The child’s family say that they are kept well informed about any concerns, which builds trust and confidence in the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

External social care professionals speak extremely positively about their communication with staff and the quality of the care provided to the child. They said that the child is making progress in their communication and their ability to manage their feelings and behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is comfortable, spacious and well maintained. The child is central to the decisions that are made about the home’s environment. This gives them a sense of pride in where they live. Despite this, at the time of this inspection, the child’s bedroom was unkempt. Staff are actively addressing this through key- Inspection report for children’s home: 2825947 3 work sessions and an incentive-based system to encourage the child to take ownership for the cleanliness of their bedroom.

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

Staff provide consistent support to the child and are fully aware of their needs, behaviours and risks. The child’s risk assessments are detailed, up to date and specific to the child’s known risks. Staff actively engage in conversations with the child around these risks, offering a compassionate and supportive response to help the child learn how to keep themself safe. Individual plans and risk assessments are consistently followed, and the child is always included in debriefs following any incidents, allowing them to share their thoughts and contribute to their own care planning.

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

Staff respond appropriately if the child is missing from the home to ensure that they return safely. Relevant agencies are updated when the child is missing and when they return. Staff have a good working relationship with the local police. If there are concerns about risks, staff respond well. This includes effective communication with other professionals to consider how to support the child to improve their safety.

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

The child receives help and support to manage their behaviour and feelings safely. Staff use a nurturing and individualised approach with tailored de- escalation strategies top help the child if they are becoming overwhelmed with emotions. As a result, behaviours are managed effectively without the need for physical intervention.

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

Staff have regular one-to-one discussions with the child and are confident in addressing sensitive subjects. They are aware of the individual ways in which the child processes information. Staff plan and have these discussions, revisiting topics as needed to ensure that the child fully understands and can apply what they have learned. For example, following a discussion, staff helped the child to develop strategies to manage difficult thoughts and build healthier coping mechanisms.

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

Leaders and managers take allegations of harm seriously and respond promptly when concerns are raised. They follow safeguarding procedures by sharing relevant information with appropriate safeguarding agencies without delay. Following an allegation against a member of staff, the registered manager informed the local authority designated officer, who advised that an internal investigation should be completed. A formal procedure was followed to ensure that there was a fair, thorough and transparent process. A full investigation was carried out in line with policy and guidance, and the outcome is currently awaited.

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be good

Inspection report for children’s home: 2825947 4 Leaders and managers are very passionate about caring for the child. Although some shortfalls were identified, leaders and managers have a desire to improve the quality of care going forward and recognise that the home is new.

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be good

Recruitment procedures are not sufficiently robust. Leaders and managers do not consistently explore candidates’ full employment histories, experience or skills, which limits their ability to assess if staff are suitable for the role. During this inspection, leaders and managers accepted that there is a shortfall and intend to improve recruitment procedures. However, the absence of thorough recruitment checks has already had an impact. For example, one member of staff who did not have complete recruitment checks in place before working in the home was placed on a performance improvement plan and safeguarding allegations were subsequently raised.

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be good

Complaints are not documented and there are no records of concerns raised by the child or their family. For example, the child made a complaint that they were served raw food, which was not recorded. Leaders and managers did not address this as a complaint or a potential health and safety risk. Leaders and managers need to ensure that complaints are managed effectively.

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be good

Staff morale is good. Staff report that they feel well supported and valued by leaders and managers, who are compassionate and caring.

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be good

Most staff are qualified for their role or are working towards the relevant qualification. Mandatory training is completed by all staff as well as specific training relevant to child’s specific needs and trauma informed practice. This ensures that staff have the knowledge, skills and ability to understand and respond to the child’s needs.

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be good

Staff receive regular and effective supervision. Supervision focuses on how well the staff member is helping the child to make progress and the supervisor provides feedback on their general practice and effectiveness.

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be good

Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended. Staff discuss relevant topics, such as the child’s presenting needs and safeguarding issues, enabling them to respond to specific behaviours and needs as they arise. Inspection report for children’s home: 2825947 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, 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they undertake full employment checks and assess staff suitability for the role they are applying for. 13 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (1) (3))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they record and respond to complaints from children and others. 13 January 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children’s bedrooms are clean, tidy, safe, comfortable, and maintained to an appropriate standard. (‘Guide to the Inspection report for children’s home: 2825947 6 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9).

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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: 2825947 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: SIMPLE SETTINGS LTD

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Flat 405, Oxford House, 2 Dean Path, Dagenham RM8 2FA

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Inspector

Sadia Akhtar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2825947 8 and inspects to 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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