Children's Home run by 1st Class Support & Housing Ltd in Thurrock

Inspection report for children’s home: 2636403 1 Registered provider: 1st Class Support & Housing Ltd 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 private provider. It offers care for up to 2 children aged between 11 and 17 who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

During the inspection, the inspector was aware of incidents being investigated by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate incidents of this kind, the inspector considered the actions the home has taken in response to the incidents, alongside other relevant evidence available to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 25 November 2025

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2636403 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/11/2025 Full Good 22/10/2024 Full Good 23/01/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2636403 3

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers have not ensured that staff consistently provide the right care and support for children to experience stability or achieve good outcomes. Consequently, while some children have made progress in particular aspects of their lives, others have not.

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Summary of findings

Children are generally safe, and there are no serious or widespread concerns. However, leaders and managers have not ensured that staff consistently understand and act appropriately to keep children safe. There have been some instances when staff have maintained poor professional boundaries or failed to follow children’s safety plans.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers have not always worked well together to promote children’s best interests. Children have not always been protected from conflict and poor dynamics in the team.

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improvement to be good

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living in the home. The inspector spoke with both children. Since the last inspection, one child has left the home. Shortfalls in leadership and management have sometimes negatively impacted children’s welfare and overall experiences.

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improvement to be good

One child has achieved stability and is making progress in their development. Their social worker highlighted the positive impact that staff support has had on the child’s development. The child is now able to go out independently due to reduced risks and has developed improved nighttime routines. Another child has made some progress with managing their emotions. As a result, behavioural incidents in the home have decreased. However, staff have not always provided safe and appropriate care and support to another child. As a result, this child’s local authority moved them, which led to further disruption.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not consistently built positive relationships with children. Consequently, children’s relationships with staff are varied. One child’s social worker said that the child has positive relationships with staff, and a child who recently moved in has begun to develop these. However, staff did not develop positive and appropriate relationships with another child. Inconsistent approaches from staff and blurred professional boundaries led to the child forming an unhealthy attachment to a staff member. This affected the child’s ability to develop relationships with others and increased dependency.

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improvement to be good

There are clear systems in place to manage medication administration. Staff support children to attend their medication reviews and use strategies to improve their sleep. However, staff do not record observations or the effectiveness of medical interventions Inspection report for children’s home: 2636403 4 and are therefore unable to share this information with healthcare professionals. This has the potential to affect the effectiveness of these medication reviews.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers use a garden cabin as an office. There are some protruding cables that potentially pose a safety risk to children. It is concerning that this has not been addressed, despite having been raised at the last inspection.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide children with appropriate educational support. Leaders and managers advocate on behalf of children to secure education provision that meets their needs. One child who is not in full-time education engages with home tuition. Another child has good attendance at college and is making progress in their learning.

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improvement to be good

Children have a voice in their day-to-day care. Staff consult children about their care plans, activities and food choices. Staff spend time with children engaging in activities that interest them; this helps to improve children’s confidence and wellbeing.

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improvement to be good

Staff are guided by individual safety plans on how to care for the children safely. However, staff have not always followed these safety plans. Consequently, on occasion, children have been exposed to further risks.

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improvement to be good

Leaders’ and managers’ responses to incidents of concern, including allegations against staff, have not been consistent. For some incidents, managers have shared information promptly with the local authority designated officer and social workers. However, in other cases, there have been unnecessary delays.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not always maintained appropriate professional boundaries. On one occasion, a male staff member took a female child to a lingerie shop despite being aware of an unhealthy attachment the child had formed to him. Leaders and managers failed to identify this as a safeguarding matter.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not consistently followed children’s safety plans to keep children and others safe. On one occasion, a staff member, contrary to the child’s safety plan, left a child unsupervised for a significant length of time. While this did not result in an incident of concern, on this occasion, it placed the child and others at potential risk. On another occasion, staff allowed a child to travel independently to a planned sleepover at a friend’s house instead of taking them as instructed by the child’s local authority. This failure meant that the child was exposed to risks and had an altercation with a friend’s parent.

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improvement to be good

Staff rarely use physical intervention and only when necessary. They are trained in de- escalation strategies. When difficult situations occur, they de-escalate them and help children to calm. Managers review incidents of restraint and the appropriateness of holds used. However, children and staff are not consistently spoken to afterwards about the Inspection report for children’s home: 2636403 5 incidents. This results in missed opportunities to support children and staff and to learn how to manage future situations more effectively.

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improvement to be good

Children rarely go missing from the home. When they do, staff search for children in the local area and share information with the police. Staff request that the child’s local authority carries out a return home interview when children have gone missing and use the learning from these interviews to improve care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager was away and not actively managing the home at the time of the inspection. The responsible individual and interim manager supported the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leadership and management of the home have been poor. Leaders and managers have not ensured that staff consistently provide the right care and support for children to experience stability or achieve good outcomes. They have not always worked well together to promote children’s best interests. Monitoring of the service has been ineffective. As a result, children are not yet receiving good enough care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not ensured that staff consistently understand and act appropriately to keep children safe. Inconsistent approaches from staff, blurred professional boundaries and a failure by staff on occasion to follow safety plans have not always been quickly identified and addressed. This has on occasion undermined children’s safety, wellbeing and experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not always built positive partnerships with other professionals. Professionals report that staff and managers do not communicate effectively. One professional described managers’ responses to concerns relating to staff practice as ‘defensive’. This does not foster a culture of reflection or set clear expectations for staff to do their best for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children have been exposed to conflict among adults. For example, staff have undermined a child’s social worker in front of the child and spoken negatively about other professionals to a parent in the presence of a child. In addition, team dynamics among staff have not always been positive, and leaders and managers have not taken appropriate and decisive action to address this. This undermines partnership working to secure the best outcomes for children and affects children’s emotional wellbeing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff say they feel well supported. They receive regular supervision and attend team meetings that focus on their wellbeing and children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff access a range of training that is in line with children’s needs. Most staff members hold the relevant level 3 qualification, and new staff are enrolled on the course.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers are aware of the issues raised during the inspection. While they have a plan to improve practice, this is yet to be fully implemented. It is of concern that Inspection report for children’s home: 2636403 6 action to address the recommendation to safely secure cables, raised at the last inspection, has not yet been addressed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2636403 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 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 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

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

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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(b)(d)) 1 July 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

promotes their welfare. 1 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2636403 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(g)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 1 July 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;

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (a)(d)) 1 July 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff inform and engage with healthcare professionals regarding children’s health and medication to ensure that their health needs are met. This should include ensuring that observations of, and responses to, Inspection report for children’s home: 2636403 9 prescribed medication are recorded and shared with healthcare professionals. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.11)

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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: 2636403 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: 1st Class Support & Housing Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 8 Realgar Court, Sittingbourne ME10 5JZ

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Inspector

Priscilla Koroka, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2636403 11 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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