Children's Home run by New Path Residential Limited in Southend on Sea

Inspection report for children’s home: 2828710 1 Registered provider: New Path Residential 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

The home is owned by a small private organisation and provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 3 children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in August 2025.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 18 February 2026

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2828710 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/02/2026 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2828710 3

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Summary of findings

Leaders have not equipped staff to be able to support children to manage their feelings and their behaviours effectively. Important information has not always been shared with outside agencies, which has prevented placing authorities from making informed decisions. Significant incidents have happened inside and outside of the home which have left people feeling unsafe. Sometimes, staff have not shown enough curiosity or been sufficiently proactive in keeping children safe when they are missing. Some staff do not understand their safeguarding responsibilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There were 3 children living at the home at the time of the inspection. Two children were spoken with. No children have moved in or out of the home since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff use metal detection devices with children and visitors to scan for sharp objects. Leaders and managers have brought sniffer dogs into the home. These measures have been put in place without the knowledge of some children’s placing authorities. This does not help to create a warm, homely environment for children living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff support children to carry out life skills, including small tasks around the home. One child was using a cordless power drill during inspection to put pictures on the wall, with a box of open screws. Although staff and the maintenance worker were present, this is not included in risk assessments or care plans, despite the concerns around children’s access to sharp or dangerous objects.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There have been incidents involving fire in the home. Leaders have removed firefighting equipment from communal areas in daylight hours. These adjustments, alongside the bolting shut of windows, are not reflected in the fire risk assessment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Some staff have left the home following serious incidents. Staff have not always felt supported by leaders and managers or felt safe in their role. This has limited children’s ability to build trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff ensure children attend education or access the community for activities. Two children are currently out of education, awaiting start dates at local provisions. The staff are involving these children in food shopping, budgeting, helping with chores and helping to complete projects in the home. One child attends a bespoke tutoring programme. Their attendance has increased and they are doing well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children have enjoyed day fishing, visits to local parks, the seaside and weekends away. This helps children to have some positive experiences. Inspection report for children’s home: 2828710 4 When damage occurs, repairs are completed in a timely manner, and the manager has introduced personalised areas with photos of children with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children have regular therapy at the home, with a trained therapist. This provides children with an outlet for sharing trauma.

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

Some staff do not have sufficient understanding of children’s needs and vulnerabilities. There have been several incidents at the home which have resulted in serious injuries to staff. Some staff are not trained in the specific needs of some of the children. Some staff have little knowledge of extrafamilial risks. This limits their ability to manage complex behaviours effectively.

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

Leaders do not always involve other professionals to maintain safe care planning. A child was able to return to the home after a serious incident involving a peer, despite having conditions to not be in contact with the other child. One social worker said they had no knowledge of this and had they done so they would have reviewed the appropriateness of the arrangement.

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

Staff are not always effective at keeping children safe. Some children are subject to deprivation of liberty restrictions. However, one child managed to leave supervision of staff and go missing overnight. When staff were notified of the child’s whereabouts, they did not collect the child, instead advised people at the location the child was at to call the police. This does not help a child feel cared for or valued by the staff caring for them.

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

Staff do not always show sufficient professional curiosity when children return to the home. For example, an incident occurred when a child returned from being missing from care and gave items to a peer at the home. There is no evidence that staff have checked what had been given or spoken to the children about it .

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

Staff are not consistently able to de-escalate situations with children when children become angry. They have missed opportunities to calm situations at times. Incidents have led to children having regular involvement with the police, resulting in children being taken into custody on several occasions. This means children are at a greater risk of being criminalised for their behaviour.

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

Staff have regular discussions with children about carrying weapons and managing their emotions. Despite these conversations, incidents have continued inside and outside of the home, involving the use of objects that can cause harm to others. Several incidents in the home have resulted in serious injuries to staff. During these incidents, children have gained access to keys, phones and other staff belongings. Inspection report for children’s home: 2828710 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager is suitably experienced and holds the relevant level 5 diploma in leadership and management. A new deputy manager has recently begun to work at the home. There are several shortfalls in leadership. Leaders have not always shared information with professionals. Incidents are not always recorded. Managers have not made sure staff have the knowledge and skills to care for children with complex behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Some staff did not understand what was expected of them in respect of raising concerns. When spoken to, some members of staff did not show an awareness of how to escalate concerns raised against senior managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers do not always have effective oversight of incidents involving the children. Some incidents lack vital detail. This means opportunities are missed to look at emerging concerns, patterns of behaviour, or put in effective safeguarding measures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has not always shared information about serious incidents with Ofsted. This undermines Ofsted’s ability to regulate the service and provide the necessary levels of external oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has not ensured that all staff have the necessary skills and knowledge to keep children safe. Some staff have not completed the organisation’s mandatory training, specific to the needs of the children at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The managers advocate for the children. They challenge discrimination and attempt to avoid the stigmatisation of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have regular consultation with staff, with frequent team meetings, discussions after incidents, supervision and welfare checks. Some staff have felt appropriately supported, while others less so. Inspection report for children’s home: 2828710 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other.

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person.

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies.

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii) (b)) 19 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 19 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2828710 7 there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e))

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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

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 experience 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)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that management oversight of incidents helps staff to manage situations better and helps children to be safer. 19 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person 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.

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs. (Regulation 5 (a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that consent is obtained for the use of scanning devices and actively involve professionals in decision-making in relation to children’s care planning. 19 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2828710 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: 2828710 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Path Residential Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 475 Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS2 6NJ

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Inspector

Dan Williams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2828710 10 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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