Children's home run by Barnardo’s in Redbridge

Inspection report for children’s home: SC025940 1 SC025940 Registered provider: Barnardo’s

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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 owned by a national charity. It is registered to provide care for up to 4 children with learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 4 children were 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: 19 February 2025

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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: SC025940 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/02/2025 Full Good 12/09/2023 Full Good 31/10/2022 Full Good 18/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC025940 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children in this home are well cared for and make good progress. The home is childfocused and makes a positive difference to children’s lives. Children receive good support to help them succeed throughout their childhood and as they prepare for adulthood. A committed staff team provides this support. Staff build positive and purposeful relationships with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to make progress and develop independent living skills, tailoring support to their learning needs and personal journeys. Staff recognise the challenges children face, while continuing to encourage them to develop and ‘dream big’. This means that children feel valued and gain the confidence to try new things.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from care planning informed by professionals. Multi-agency contributions to this planning help to improve children’s life experiences. Children usually live at the home for several years, developing a strong sense of belonging and self- worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Many children come to live at the home after experiencing poor school attendance and disruption to their education. Staff provide consistent support and encouragement to help children attend school or alternative education provisions regularly. As a result, children attend more consistently and make good progress in their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy living in this home and take part in a wide range of activities, both within the house and in the local community. Staff make a conscious effort to identify each child’s interests and talents. Some children particularly enjoy music. Staff play and sing children’s favourite songs and encourage them to express themselves through dancing. The large garden provides opportunities for children to enjoy the swings, trampoline, slide and table tennis, which support the development of their social and life skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have appropriate care plans and regular key-work sessions that provide structure and consistency in their care. However, staff do not consistently reflect children’s views, wishes and feelings within these documents and sessions. Records do not clearly capture children’s voices, meaning their experiences and perspectives do not consistently inform planning or decision-making. In addition, children are not always informed about what advocacy support or services are available to them, or how they can access this support. This limits opportunities for children to feel heard, valued and actively involved in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a warm and welcoming home that is decorated beautifully. Children personalise their bedrooms and are helped to maintain them to a good standard of tidiness. Children enjoy spending time in their bedrooms and feel comfortable and Inspection report for children’s home: SC025940 4 relaxed in communal areas. However, some bedrooms have damage that require repair, and leaders and managers plan to address this.

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

Children live in a safe environment, where staff clearly identify, understand and effectively manage risk. Staff complete thorough and detailed individual risk assessments, that provide clear guidance and strategies to reduce and manage potential risks. Staff tailor these assessments to each child’s needs to promote safe and positive experiences. Staff regularly review and update risk assessments to reflect changes in circumstances, ensuring children’s ongoing safety, consistency in practice and continued wellbeing.

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

Staff take a consistent approach to supporting children’s behaviour. They promote positive behaviour and demonstrate a strong understanding of each child’s individual needs and behaviours. Staff use physical intervention only as a last resort. In each instance, staff used it when it was necessary and proportionate to support the child during a period of crisis. Staff complete debriefs after incidents to support reflection, learning and continuous improvement across the staff team.

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

Staff manage medication appropriately and follow clear procedures. Following a medication error, the registered manager acted promptly and implemented effective measures and clear strategies to prevent recurrence. These actions strengthened oversight of medication, improved staff practice and reinforced safe procedures. Since staff introduced these changes, no further medication errors have occurred. This demonstrates the home’s commitment to learning from incidents, improving practice and maintaining a safe environment for children.

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

Staff respond appropriately when children are distressed and manage these situations well. They spend time talking to children about risks and help them understand how to keep themselves safe and make safer choices. However, the registered manager does not consistently review or evaluate the records of how children were supported during these moments. This limits oversight of how effectively children are helped when they are upset and need support from staff.

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

The registered manager demonstrates a clear passion for the home and the children. The ethos of the home prioritises children’s needs, and this is reflected in the commitment and dedication of the staff team. However, leaders and the registered manager have not established effective monitoring systems. This limits their ability to assess and improve how consistently children receive high-quality support and guidance.

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

Staff do not receive annual appraisals, and supervision sessions are infrequent and largely ineffective, with some staff going several months without formal supervision. This Inspection report for children’s home: SC025940 5 limits opportunities for professional guidance, reflective practice and staff development. There is also no evidence of recent team meeting minutes, creating gaps in communication and shared learning across the staff team.

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

The registered manager has not implemented a system to track staff progress in training, making it difficult to monitor completion of child-specific or additional courses. Several staff members, including the registered manager, have not completed updated mandatory training. These gaps limit opportunities for professional development and reduce staff confidence in consistently applying best practice.

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

Leaders and the registered manager, with support from the wider senior leadership team, have developed an action plan in response to the areas for improvement identified during this and previous inspections. While progress is being made, some requirements have not yet been consistently met, highlighting the need for continued focus and sustained action to strengthen leadership and management. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025940 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, 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 registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development. receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year.

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Requirement Due date

The requirement for regular supervision was made at the last inspection and is restated. 17 March 2026

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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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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.

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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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 17 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC025940 7 and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must implement effective monitoring systems to gain clear oversight of the care provided to children and take prompt action to address any gaps. They must ensure that all staff have the skills, training and support needed to meet children’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

The requirement for monitoring and review was made at the last inspection and is restated. The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child and

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that an explanation is given to each child as soon as reasonably practicable after the child’s arrival about—

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Requirement Due date

what advocacy support or services are available to the child, how the child may access that support or those services and any entitlement the child may have to independent advocacy 17 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC025940 8 provision.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(b)(iii)(d)(iii))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure the children’s home continues to provide a nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs for children. In particular, the registered person should ensure that all necessary repair work is completed to address existing damage. (‘Guide to the 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: SC025940 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Barnardo’s, Tanners Lane, Barkingside, Ilford IG6 1QG

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Inspector

Sadia Akhtar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC025940 10 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

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Inspector

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 Inspection report for children’s home: SC025940 11 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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