Children's home run by Woodford Children's Services Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 1268886 1 Registered provider: Woodford Children's Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This privately owned home provides care for up to 5 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The home was registered with Ofsted in May 2018.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered in December 2024 and is suitably qualified.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, 4 children were living at the home. Two children contributed their views to 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 outstanding

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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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1268886 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/03/2025 Full Outstanding 22/01/2024 Full Outstanding 22/09/2022 Full Good 26/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1268886 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their individual starting points. Children receive individualised care and are supported to develop positive relationships with staff. As a result, they feel they can talk to staff about important things in their lives. Children enjoy living at the home. They said that they feel safe, happy and listened to. Staff advocate for children and help them to understand and manage their emotions and behaviours. This means that, despite the challenges children face, the children make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of education for children's futures. They actively encourage children to engage in their education and continue to do so even when children are reluctant. As a result, they support children and provide them with every opportunity to reach their full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their health needs. For one child, this has resulted in significant improvement in their health. Previously, the child's health needs were not being met, which impacted on their wellbeing. In this home, this is much better managed, which has enabled the child to enjoy their childhood, social life and live life like other children do.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and staff benefit from regular support from the company's psychotherapist. Staff use an outcome-based measuring tool that supports and measures progress for children. The psychotherapist assists staff in adopting a collaborative, person-centred approach to acknowledge children's achievements. As a result, children are supported in recognising the positive progress they are making, which helps them develop their self- esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively encourage children to participate in a wide range of enjoyable activities. This includes supporting children with their personal hobbies, such as going on a road trip or shopping in vintage shops. These opportunities contribute to children's overall enjoyment and personal growth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop skills to live independently. This focus helps prepare them for adulthood. Through tasks such as cooking, cleaning and budgeting, one child is gaining practical skills and learning responsibility. Staff have also helped one child find work experience in an area they are interested in, and they are currently working voluntarily at a charity shop.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to make a complaint because staff have explained what to do, and there is information in the children's guide about how to complain. The information is available in a variety of formats to make it more accessible to children. The complaint records contain the required details, and complaints are well handled. Inspection report for children's home: 1268886 4 The home environment is welcoming. Staff ensure that the house is beautifully presented. The furnishings and pictures in the home provide a homely feel. The physical environment is well maintained and safe for children. The staff team keeps the home in high decorative order and continually works to improve the environment. However, one child's bedroom was untidy and had not been cleaned for some time. This does not provide children with a good model of how to maintain their own space.

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

Children are helped and protected effectively. The registered manager works collaboratively with the psychotherapist to comprehensively understand the vulnerabilities and risks for children. The registered manager oversees strong multi- agency partnership working, which ensures that the right services are in place to support children to progress from their starting points.

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

Risk assessing and planning for children to move into the home are effective. When children are planning to move into the home, the registered manager undertakes a detailed assessment of the appropriateness of the placement for the child and the potential impact for other children living in the home. Furthermore, the registered manager reviews this assessment after the child moves in to ensure that children continue to be helped and protected effectively.

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

Children's assessments and plans provide staff with comprehensive strategies and guidance to protect children and others. Children's plans are reviewed in line with their circumstances and needs.

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

Incidents are recorded. However, documents are not sufficiently detailed. The recording of incidents does not capture the wider context of the event. This makes it difficult to understand what happened before and after an incident, which is relevant to how the child was supported at the time. Leaders and managers provide oversight of incidents and identify required actions. Following incidents, staff carry out a child-friendly debrief with children, and there is a separate staff debrief. As a result, staff and children reflect on and learn from incidents.

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

Staff know how to respond if children go missing from the home. They work successfully to help children return home safely. Meaningful discussions take place with children, and the registered manager analyses the factors relating to incidents to ensure that staff are proactive in preventing future incidents.

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

Staff follow the whistleblowing procedure when they have concerns about practice in the home. Leaders and managers conduct investigations regarding staff practice quickly. This swift and structured approach allows concerns to be addressed efficiently while maintaining professional accountability. This helps to keep children safer.

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

Safer recruitment processes ensure that individuals are safe to work with children. New staff undergo a comprehensive and supportive induction, and their probationary period is Inspection report for children's home: 1268886 5 subject to regular reviews. All staff understand their responsibilities in raising and reporting any safeguarding concerns. This enhances the safety and wellbeing of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is led by a committed and experienced registered manager who demonstrates strong leadership and passion for her role. She is reflective, inspirational, confident and ambitious, with a clear vision for the home and well-structured development plans to achieve it. She has built strong, positive relationships with the children and acts as an effective advocate for their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager celebrates children's achievements and listens carefully to their views, responding thoughtfully to their experiences. She is aware of both the team's strengths and areas for development, as well as her own, which ensures continuous improvement in practice. Her effective communication with the responsible individual provides additional oversight and accountability, supporting high standards throughout the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has effective oversight of the home. Her oversight and scrutiny are extremely thorough. She uses a range of reviewing and monitoring systems. This ensures that systems are in place to support good practice, which benefits children. As a result, she has an exceptionally well-rounded view of the experiences of the children and the impact that the care is having on their outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager ensures that the therapeutic model is embedded in all aspects of the home's functions. This approach places a high importance on all professionals' understanding of children's perspectives and experiences. This means that the children's views are always at the centre of their care and included in their support plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is committed to staff learning and development. She uses a reflective model to encourage staff to learn from their practice. Staff are encouraged to develop in the home through progression to senior positions and receive support to gain their qualifications. This helps staff feel valued and supports stability in the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has high expectations for themselves and staff. They ensure that staff are well supported and will confidently challenge and hold staff to account for their practice to ensure that this standard is maintained. The registered manager ensures that staff have access to additional clinical support to help them to learn about themselves and how they can personally have an impact on their own practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive annual appraisals and regular supervision that is focused on children's individual needs and experiences. Supervision is also reflective, which further supports staff's practice and development. This enables the registered manager to have oversight of staff performance and any areas for development. Inspection report for children's home: 1268886 6 Staff engage in regular team meetings. These include effective discussions that reflect and focus on children's behaviours, past experiences and known risks. This helps to strengthen staff's understanding and enables them to collaboratively explore how they can respond consistently to children's needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff enjoy working in this home and feel supported and valued by their manager. One member of staff said, 'I feel extremely well supported by the registered manager.' Inspection report for children's home: 1268886 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff enter children's bedrooms if necessary to allow for them to check the conditions of the room and for it to be cleaned regularly. ('Guide to The Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 16, paragraph 3.20)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home's policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording regarding incidents. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 1268886 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Woodford Children's Services Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 37B Chipstead Valley Rd, Coulsdon, Croydon CR5 2RB

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Inspector

Sadia Akhtar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1268886 9 regulates 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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Inspector

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