Children's Home run by Essex County Council in Essex

Inspection report for children’s home: SC044975 1 SC044975 Registered provider: Essex County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides care for up to 5 children who experience social and emotional difficulties. It provides a solo placement for one child and shared provision for up to 4 children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2025.

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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 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: 28 October 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC044975 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/10/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/08/2025 Full Inadequate 15/10/2024 Full Good 05/12/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC044975 3

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Summary of findings

Children living in the home are making good progress from their starting points. Children experience planned transitions when moving in and out of the home. Children have good structure and routines to support educational engagement. Staff promote activities and hobbies to support children’s physical and emotional health.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers have good oversight. They ensure that staff receive regular supervision to help them in their roles. Staff speak positively about the registered manager, and overall feedback from professionals is positive. However, shortfalls were identified in respect of accurate record keeping and children not consistently being spoken to about physical interventions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 4 children have moved out of the home and 3 children have moved in. There were 3 children living in the home at the time of inspection. One of these children moved out of the home in a planned way during the inspection. One child spoke to the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points. Feedback from those who know children well reflects the positive difference that living at the home has made. One child who has moved on contacted the registered manager to say that they recognised the progress they had made during their time at the home. A professional for another child said that there had been real improvement in the child’s behaviour and presentation, and that the consistent support from staff helped to secure a smooth move to their new home. Although 2 children are relatively new to the home, early signs of progress are evident. They have settled well, formed positive relationships with staff and are beginning to build positive relationships with each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop trusting and meaningful relationships with staff. One child said, ‘It’s really lovely here. The staff are friendly and helpful, and I get on well with them.’ Another child is able to speak openly with staff about their emotional wellbeing, which shows that they feel safe and trust staff. Children who have moved on remain in touch with staff, which further reflects the strength and value of these relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from thoughtful and well-planned moves into and out of the home. Where appropriate, staff meet children before they move in and children are given opportunities to visit the home. This helps children to begin building relationships with staff and gives staff the opportunity to prepare for their arrival in ways that are meaningful to them. For example, staff purchased items a child liked for their bedroom before they moved in, helping to create a sense of familiarity and welcome. When children move on, staff support them through carefully planned transitions and make Inspection report for children’s home: SC044975 4 sure they experience a positive ending. Children are given cards, gifts and a warm send- off, which helps them to feel valued and cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to make good progress in their education. Children have clear routines in place that help them to attend education full time. One child was not in education when they moved into the home. The home’s education lead worked closely with the school to support a successful return to full-time education. Another child is being helped by staff to address gaps in their learning, in line with guidance from their school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s wishes and feelings are listened to and acted on. One child said that staff listen to them and that they can raise their views in weekly meetings or speak to staff individually if they prefer. Children are also able to make choices about their day-to-day lives, including how they decorate their bedrooms and the activities they would like to do.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a comfortable, welcoming and nurturing home. The environment has improved significantly and is well decorated and suitably furnished. Children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms, helping them to feel settled and at home. One child spoke positively about their room and the way they had been able to make it their own.

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

Children have individualised risk assessments and safety plans in place. These identify known risks and how these present for each child. They provide staff with clear guidance about the actions needed to reduce risk and support children to stay safe.

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

Staff understand children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities. They take appropriate action when concerns arise and follow agreed plans to help keep children safe. Practice is generally consistent and supports children’s safety and wellbeing.

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

Missing-from-home incidents are managed appropriately. Staff take suitable action, including attempting to contact children, looking for them and speaking with relevant professionals. Children are welcomed back to the home and return home interviews are arranged. Feedback from professionals shows that these incidents are responded to appropriately.

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

Staff talk to children about risks and support them to understand how to keep themselves safe. Through regular conversations, children are helped to reflect on their behaviours and make safer choices over time. Positive behaviour is encouraged through rewards, and any consequences used are proportionate and support children to reflect on their behaviour.

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

When children have raised concerns about the conduct of staff members, these incidents have been responded to appropriately. Referrals are made to the local authority Inspection report for children’s home: SC044975 5 designated officer when necessary, and safeguarding procedures are followed. Action is taken to ensure that children are protected. This helps children to feel that their concerns have been understood and taken seriously.

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

Physical intervention is used as a last resort and only when necessary to keep children and others safe. However, records do not consistently demonstrate that children receive debrief conversations following these incidents. This means that children may not always have the opportunity to talk about what has happened, share any worries or concerns and reflect on their experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is currently working towards their level 5 diploma. They are supported by the deputy manager and a clinical specialist team. Leaders and managers know the children well and take pride in their progress. They are able to identify the difference the home has made for children, including where placements have been short. This helps to ensure that care is purposeful and focused on achieving positive outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a clear understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. Improvements have been made following recent inspections, and systems are in place to support more consistent practice. For example, regular reviews of children’s plans and multi-agency meetings help to reduce delay and support more timely planning for children’s futures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers advocate for children and work effectively with partner agencies to promote their best interests. They maintain regular communication with professionals and take appropriate action to challenge and escalate concerns when needed. This helps to ensure that children receive the support they require.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are committed to staff development. Staff receive relevant mandatory training, as well as additional training reflective of children’s individual needs. Opportunities are available for staff to develop their roles and responsibilities. This supports their confidence and contributes to a stable and increasingly skilled workforce. Induction processes are being strengthened to better support new staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular team meetings and consultation with the home’s clinical lead. This provides staff with therapeutic insight into the children’s needs. It also supports them to reflect on and develop their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from professionals is positive. They describe staff as approachable, invested in children and effective in their communication. One professional noted that staff are consistent in their approach and easy to work with, while another said that children appear happy and well supported. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044975 6 Although records have improved, they are not yet consistently clear or sufficiently detailed. For example, following one physical intervention, a child made an allegation about an agency member of staff. While this was appropriately followed up by leaders and managers, the written records do not clearly demonstrate the actions taken or the outcome of the enquiry. This limits the ability for effective oversight and does not provide a clear audit trail of how concerns have been responded to. Leaders and managers have not consistently notified Ofsted of serious incidents within the required timescales. This

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

limits Ofsted’s ability to maintain effective oversight of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044975 7

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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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for 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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must review records to ensure that there is a full and accurate record. This requirement has been restated 26 June 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any child who has been restrained is given the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age Inspection report for children’s home: SC044975 8 of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. In some cases, children may need longer to work through their feelings, so a record that the child has talked about their feelings should be made no longer than 5 days after the incident of restraint (regulation 35(3)(c)). Children should be encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. Children should be offered the opportunity to access advocacy support to help them with this (regulation 7(2)(b)(iii)). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified to the appropriate people within 24 hours. Notification must include details of the action taken by the home’s staff in response to the event. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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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: SC044975 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Chelmsford CM1 1QH

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Inspector

Emilja Myers, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC044975 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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