Children's home run by Protea Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2702515 1 Registered provider: Protea 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 owned and operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to 4 children who may experience emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 4 children were living in the home. All of the children were seen and 3 were spoken to.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2022. They were present for both days of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2702515 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/06/2024 Full Good 25/04/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2702515 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers understand and value the importance of long-term, stable homes for children they care for. Children have lived in the home for several years, and when a child has moved on, this has been to live independently as an adult, with staff and the manager maintaining contact with them. The core staff team has also remained stable over several years, enabling them to build positive relationships with the children and develop a strong understanding of their needs. This means that children experience continuity of care and secure relationships with staff, which supports their sense of stability and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in supporting children’s relationships with their families. Children are supported to remain in contact with their family members through indirect communication as well as staff driving them to spend direct time with family, regardless of the distance involved. Plans for children reflect an understanding of attachment needs and how past trauma may influence how children respond during and after family time. As a result, children are supported to maintain meaningful family relationships in a way that reflects their emotional needs and promotes positive family connections.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of supporting children to develop healthy lifestyles. They provide guidance and role modelling around balanced diets and positive activities. For example, recent discussions with children have focused on the impact that ultra- processed foods can have on health, which has led to some changes in the food purchased for the home. Meals are prepared using fresh ingredients and children are involved in planning meals and cooking. Staff and managers ensure that children benefit from consistent daily routines that promote wellbeing, school attendance and opportunities to participate in activities. This means that children are encouraged to develop healthy habits and routines that support their physical health, wellbeing and engagement in everyday activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and well maintained and reflects the children’s personalities. The children have been involved in choosing colours and decor in their bedrooms and in other areas of the home. This helps to create a space that feels personal and comfortable for them. As a result, children live in an environment where they feel settled, comfortable and able to express their individuality.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Independent monitoring of the home has not been sufficiently robust. The independent visitor has not consistently spent time with the children to gather their views about their experiences of living in the home, and there has been limited evidence of feedback being sought from family members and professionals involved in children’s care. This reduces the effectiveness of independent scrutiny of the home and reduces opportunities to gain a fuller understanding of children’s experiences. Inspection report for children’s home: 2702515 4

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

Staff are sensitive to children’s unique needs. They recognise when children find particular times of the day difficult and have implemented a range of strategies to reduce distress during these periods. For example, when a child has struggled during the night, staff have sought advice from a sleep clinic and introduced strategies such as the use of adjustable lighting to create a calmer environment. These approaches have led to a gradual reduction in incidents and children feeling calmer and safer.

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

Staff are trained in the use of physical intervention and maintain clear records which show that it is proportionately used. However, as staff understand how to de-escalate children’s behaviour well, holds are used only as a last resort, after a range of other strategies have been attempted.

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

Staff record incidents where children have hurt themselves using child-focused, supportive language. In most cases, they then spend time with the child and talk to them about what they are worried about. This means that children are supported by staff who respond quickly to keep them safe and work with them to understand and reduce behaviours which may further heighten their vulnerability.

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

Allegations are recorded and responded to appropriately. Managers have systems in place to ensure that investigations are completed with independent oversight. Where significant concerns about a member of staff have arisen, swift and appropriate action has been taken, including referral to external agencies. When issues relating to practice have been identified, these have been addressed by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager demonstrates strong commitment and tenacity in advocating for children. For example, when supporting a child approaching adulthood, the manager undertook detailed research into adult social care legislation and gathered evidence to demonstrate the need for ongoing support for the young person’s needs beyond the age of 18. This included challenging the local authority when previous complaints had not resolved the issue. This determination has ensured the young person’s needs have remained central to planning for their future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is stable and consistent, which supports the continuity of care for children living in the home. Staff speak positively about working in the home and feel supported by the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer recruitment processes are followed and there is a clear induction and probation process that aligns with the home’s statement of purpose and development plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is up to date, ensuring that staff have the knowledge and skills required to meet children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2702515 5 Team meetings are held regularly and are well attended. These meetings provide opportunities for staff to share practice that has worked well for children and reflect on learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions take place regularly. However, the current supervision format does not consistently support staff to reflect deeply on their practice. Despite this, staff say that they feel supervision is a helpful forum for sharing learning and reviewing children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring arrangements are not always sufficiently analytical. They do not consistently draw together information and identify areas of strength and weakness in the home along with evidence-based actions to drive good practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has not obtained the views of children, families or professionals as part of the quality of care review. As a result, these perspectives have not informed the evaluation of the home. This shortfall has not been identified or addressed through the manager’s existing oversight and quality assurance processes. Inspection report for children’s home: 2702515 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to ensuring that children, parents and professionals are regularly consulted. 30 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”). 3 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2702515 7 The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (5))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to ensuring that the registered person has a system to seek feedback from children, their parents and relevant professionals and to use this information as part of their evaluation of the quality of care provided for children.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. In particular, they should use monitoring processes to evaluate and understand the home’s strengths and weaknesses, prevent shortfalls and set aspirational goals. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: 2702515 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Protea Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Howard Roth & Co, 317 Horn Lane, London W3 0BU

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Inspector

Terrianne George, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2702515 9 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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