Children's home run by ERA Care Limited in Epping Forest

Inspection report for children’s home: SC462951 1 SC462951 Registered provider: ERA Care 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 run by an independent provider. It provides care for up to 3 children aged between 11 and 18 with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2023.

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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: 14 January 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: SC462951 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2025 Full Good 16/05/2023 Full Good 20/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC462951 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were 3 children living at the home at the time of this inspection. One child has moved out of the home, and 2 children have moved into the home since the last inspection. Two children spoke to the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making good progress from their starting points. Staff encourage children to understand the importance of education. This has helped the children make progress in their education. All 3 children have college placements secured, and one child is preparing to sit their GCSEs. Staff have positive relationships with the children. They use these to promote and support children to develop age-appropriate independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children engage in activities that they enjoy and speak positively about them. The children spoken to said they would not change anything about the home. One child said: ‘I feel like this is my home, not just a home.’ Another child said that they were happy living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children identified staff whom they can talk to if they are worried or upset. Positive, warm and nurturing interactions were observed between the children and staff. The children are very comfortable in the company of the staff and have built trusting relationships with them. One professional said staff are patient, nurturing and caring and that their child ‘loves’ living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work hard to ensure that children maintain links with those who are important to them. A parent said that their child was safe and comfortable living at the home and that the staff really care about their child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have benefited from access to the home’s in-house therapist to support their mental health. This helps children understand their health needs and access the right support to help them make positive changes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive personalised care. Children influence the design and decoration of their bedrooms, which are decorated to their tastes and liking. Children were proud to talk about their bedrooms. Two children also have pet rabbits. Having pets helps children to learn responsibility.

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

Staff have completed the organisation’s mandatory safeguarding training. Staff are confident in their roles of reporting and escalating any child protection concerns. They understand the whistleblowing policy. Inspection report for children’s home: SC462951 4 Physical interventions are rare. When they do occur, they are managed well. Children know how to complain, and complaints are responded to appropriately. There have been no allegations against staff since the last inspection.

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

When children go missing from home, staff have responded promptly and in line with missing-from-home protocols. Staff take appropriate action, including searching for children and keeping relevant professionals updated. Staff welcome children back to the home in a warm and supportive way. This helps reduce risks to children while they are missing and supports their safe return.

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

The children’s guide is child friendly and gives children a sense of what it is like living at the home. The guide also contains information to help children understand who to speak to if they are worried or if they need support outside the home.

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

Children say they feel safe living at the home. When asked if they felt safe living at the home, one child said: ‘Yes, knowing I will always have staff there if anything happens.’ Parents and professionals spoke positively about how children are safeguarded.

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

There have been some significant incidents at the home which staff have responded to. However, when these incidents have taken place, leaders and managers have not always notified Ofsted. This meant that Ofsted’s capacity to monitor safeguards on these occasions was reduced. These issues were also identified at the last inspection.

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

The manager is experienced and has a relevant qualification. She is supported by an experienced deputy manager. The manager was present during this inspection.

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

Leaders and managers do not have oversight of children’s plans and risk assessments. Some records are poorly written and do not provide clear guidance for staff. This is of particular significance as on some occasions, there are agency staff working at the home who do not know the children well.

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

The manager regularly consults professionals. However, she has not ensured they always have the children’s most up-to-date local authority plans to inform the children’s plans.

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

Leaders and managers review the quality of care provided in the home, but they have not gathered feedback from children, parents, professionals and staff. This limits the depth and value of the review.

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

Leaders and managers have reviewed the workforce development plan but they have not ensured the plan contains all relevant information. This means opportunities may be missed to monitor staff performance and support development. Staff receive regular supervision and annual appraisals. However, the manager does not always receive regular supervision or have her performance appraised. Inspection report for children’s home: SC462951 5 Staff turnover is low. Only 2 staff have left and no new staff have joined since the last inspection. All permanent staff working at the home hold a relevant residential childcare qualification. The staff speak positively about the home and are enthusiastic and energised. Staff say they feel happy working at the home and are supported by the management team to fulfil their role.

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

A therapist supports the staff team to understand the impact of trauma on children. Team meetings and workshops encourage discussion about policies and provide staff with safeguarding scenarios to develop their understanding of keeping children safe.

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

Feedback from external professionals is positive. A parent and a professional said the staff are good at communicating, which helps them feel supported and listened to. Inspection report for children’s home: SC462951 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 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

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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they maintain oversight of children’s plans and risk assessments to ensure that they are recorded clearly and support staff to mitigate risks to children. 30 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 30 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; 30 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC462951 7 seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there are no delays in obtaining updated care plans from the local authority after a children’s care review meetings have taken place.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, as set out in regulations 31–33, they maintain good employment practice. They should ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, the registered person should ensure that all staff, including the manager, receive regular practice-related supervision and annual appraisal of their performance. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that as set out in regulation 45, they undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. In particular, the registered person should ensure that when they carry out a review, they ascertain and consider the opinions of children,

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Recommendations

their parents, placing authorities and staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)  The registered person should ensure that they have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should:  detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training (such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications)  detail the process for managing and improving poor performance  detail the process and timescales for supervision of practice (see regulation 33 (4) (b)) and keep appropriate records for staff in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8) Inspection report for children’s home: SC462951 8

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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: SC462951 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 3a, The Maltings, Station Road, Sawbridgeworth CM21 9JX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Francis Williams

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Inspector

Anver Rose, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC462951 10 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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