Children's Home run by Indigo Children’s Care Homes Limited in Southend on Sea

Inspection report for children’s home: 2596906 1 Registered provider: Indigo Children’s Care Homes Limited

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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 home is privately owned and provides care for up to four children aged between 10 and 17 years. The home supports children who experience social and emotional difficulties because of their early life experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living in the home at the time of inspection. One child contributed to the inspection, and one did not wish to share their views.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2596906 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/05/2024 Full Good 20/06/2023 Full Good 12/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/02/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 2596906 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, four children have moved out of the home and four children have moved in. Children’s experiences are mixed. One child said that they have had a positive experience since moving in, were happy living at the home and that they valued the support from staff. Two children have had to move out at short notice due to staff being unable to keep them and others safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not set consistent boundaries for children. This results in some children having poor routines and a lack of structure. One child stays awake throughout the night and sleeps during the day. One child does not have healthy and regular patterns for eating and often eats late at night. Leaders, managers and staff recognise that this has a negative impact on the child. However, they have not taken effective action to support children to improve their day to-day experiences.

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improvement to be good

Children have not always had positive endings to their time at the home. Two children have moved in a sudden unplanned way when staff were unable to meet their needs and keep them safe. Managers have completed reflective reviews on these endings and made improvements to the planning process. Other children have been supported to move out positively, with support to visit their new homes and have received celebrations to mark their time at the home.

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improvement to be good

Children’s participation in education engagement is mixed. Some children have achieved success with their education and exam success. Other children have struggled with participation and have not attended. Staff encourage children to attend and hold conversations with children about the importance of education.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to access activities that reflect their interests. These have included shopping trips, meals out and visits to the seaside. This has helped to support the children to build positive memories.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children’s family and personal relationships. These are prioritised, and this helps children to maintain relationships with those who are important to them.

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improvement to be good

Some staff do not always manage children’s behaviour and de-escalate difficult situations effectively when they arise. As a result, on occasion, police have been called to manage incidents when staff were unable to keep children safe. Children have not been encouraged by staff to meaningfully reflect on these incidents or identify more appropriate coping mechanisms. This limits the children’s opportunities to develop appropriate behaviour, discuss their feelings and reduce risk. Inspection report for children’s home: 2596906 4 Children regularly go missing from the home. Children’s missing-from-home plans have not always been followed. On one occasion, there was a delay of 90 minutes in reporting a child who was missing to the police. On another occasion, when the police informed the staff to search the local area these searches did not take place. While staff usually search for children and liaise with the child’s placing authority to progress return home

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improvement to be good

interviews, the records do not always provide full detail of the actions taken by staff. This makes it difficult for managers and professionals to be confident that measures designed to keep children safe are consistently followed by staff.

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improvement to be good

There have been a high number of challenging incidents involving children. While the aim is to de-escalate situations, staff have not always been able to do so and have not physically intervened when it may have been appropriate to. Staff spoken to detailed when it would be appropriate for them to intervene and restrain children to keep them safe. However, not all staff have been trained in the use of physical intervention, which would make it difficult for them to do so safely, if and when this is necessary.

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improvement to be good

When children have struggled with their emotional well-being, staff have taken effective action. External agencies and professionals have been consulted with. Managers have asked for additional advice from external agencies. Staff have put their advice into practice to ensure children have been supported holistically. This approach has helped children to be kept safe.

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improvement to be good

When children have raised concerns about staff, these have been taken seriously. Investigations take place and are discussed with the relevant agencies. Children receive clear information and a response to the outcome of their concern.

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

The previous registered manager left in August 2024. A new manager was appointed quickly and started in post in September 2024. The manager submitted a timely application to Ofsted and was registered in June 2025. The responsible individual supports her and oversees the management of the home.

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

Four staff are significantly out of timescale to achieve the relevant qualification as set out in regulation. Managers have been making efforts to work through difficulties with the training provider to support these staff through to completion. Work is ongoing. A new training provider has been appointed to mitigate the risk of such delays happening in the future with new staff.

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

Management oversight of some challenging incidents lacks detail and professional curiosity. It does not include an evaluation of all necessary action that needs to be taken to bring about improvements for children. In addition, staff have not always been offered opportunities to learn from and develop their practice.

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

Some staff, including the manager, have not completed the home’s mandatory training outlined in the statement of purpose. This does not ensure that staff and the manager have the necessary skills to meet the individual needs of the children consistently well. Inspection report for children’s home: 2596906 5 Staff have not always received regular supervision sessions. One new member of staff, who was new to their role, had no supervision for four months. Other staff had gaps of over three months. This does not ensure that staff are fully supported in their roles, or that they are supported with opportunities to develop their practice. Despite these shortfalls, staff said that the felt supported by the manager and responsible individual and enjoyed working at the home.

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

Leaders and managers have completed safer recruitment checks when appointing new staff. However, managers did not fully explore one staff member’s employment history or another staff member’s gap in employment. This does not ensure that safer recruitment checks are completed to a satisfactory standard.

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

Feedback from professionals and the parent spoken to was largely positive. This relates to the support provided to children and achievements some children have made.

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

Leaders and mangers are reflective regarding the identified shortfalls in practice at the home and have begun to make necessary improvements. Inspection report for children’s home: 2596906 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

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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

the children’s risk assessments contain details of all identified risks for the children and strategies in place to minimise these; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that risk-reduction measures set in children’s relevant plans are followed by staff. 20 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 promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the 20 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2596906 7 registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

staff receive regular, reflective supervision sessions and support;

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Requirement Due date

managers and staff receive training to meet the needs of the children; and

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Requirement Due date

managers take action when identifying necessary improvements and that these are put into place.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; 20 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2596906 8 help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the Level 3 Diploma’); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1 April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1 April 2014, 1 April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that managers have a clear plan to enable staff who are out of timescale to complete the required qualification, as set out in regulation, without further delay and that this plan is kept under review. In addition, that the timeliness of all staff completing the qualification is monitored moving forward. 31 January 2026

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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

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or 20 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2596906 9 if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). The requirements are that—

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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

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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: 2596906 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Indigo Children’s Care Homes Limited

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Inspectors

Syvanna Matthew, Social Care Inspector Sallie Bloomfield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2596906 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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