Children's Home run by DOONAMIS LIMITED in Essex

Inspection report for children's home: 2672782 1 Registered provider: DOONAMIS 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 a private company and provides care for up to 3 children. It provides emergency, short-term and long-term care for children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The previous registered manager ceased managing the home in June. The newly appointed manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2672782 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/07/2025 Full Good 30/04/2024 Full Good 03/04/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/01/2023 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: 2672782 3

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Summary of findings

Children share positive experiences living at the home. Staff support the children to understand the risks they face and develop awareness of certain dangers. Staff provide opportunities for children to have new experiences and make memories. Diversity is celebrated at the home.

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Summary of findings

Managers support the staff to learn by providing training opportunities and reflective support. However, some shortfalls have, on occasion, been noted in the manager's oversight of incidents and staff recruitment. Not all staff have attained the required qualification within the specified timeframe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, there were 3 children living in the home and 2 of the children spoke to the inspector. Staff support the children to try new experiences and have fun. They do activities they enjoy, such as shopping and going to the cinema, and have taken the children on holidays. This supports children to build positive memories. One child said that their experience living at the home has been better than previous homes they have lived in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and help the children to further their education. For one child who struggles to go to school, staff are exploring alternative education and training available to support their career aspirations. This approach helps children to gain knowledge outside of a mainstream provision. One professional said, 'Staff do their best to get [child's name] into school.' They support the children to gain independence. Staff work with the children to create independence plans, which focus on their goals and how the staff can support them to achieve these. This helps children to build confidence and skills for later life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children move into and out of the home in a well-planned way. For example, for one child who moved out of the home, the staff celebrated their achievements and brought them goodbye gifts. Staff have remained in contact with the child. This approach helps children to access consistent support and feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build meaningful relationships with those who are important to the children. They communicate regularly with children's family members and enable them to visit the home and spend time with the children. This supports the children to build and maintain family relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff celebrate diversity. Staff supported one child during Ramadan and hosted an Eid celebration at the home, which their family attended. The home was decorated and a meal was cooked by the staff. The child and their family valued the staff embracing their culture and the time spent with loved ones. Inspection report for children's home: 2672782 4 Staff consider the children's views when making changes to the home. Staff are supporting the children to contribute to kitchen renovation plans and decide a new colour scheme. This helps children to feel valued.

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

Staff have good knowledge of the risks the children face. They follow clear risk management plans, which help them know how to keep children safe. Staff support the children to understand risk. They have creative discussions with the children and provide them with information to improve their understanding of different risks. Subsequently, the children develop an awareness of certain dangers and how to keep safe.

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

Incidents are well managed by staff. Since the last inspection, there has only been one physical restraint. Staff are guided by detailed behaviour management plans, which are considerate to children's individual needs. The therapeutic approach implemented by the staff has resulted in a reduction of restraints. Staff support the children to work towards their goals. Incentives are used to encourage children to make positive choices and staff celebrate children's achievements. This helps children to stay motivated. Staff use therapeutic approaches to support children to understand the impact of their behaviour. This teaches children accountability for their actions without a punitive approach. As a result, consequences are issued minimally.

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

Staff are curious about any concerns when speaking to children. This enables the staff to identify areas of risk and help keep children safe. Staff have a good knowledge of what to do when children go missing. They work collaboratively with external professionals and family members to locate children. This helps to ensure that information is shared effectively and children return safely.

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

Staff ensure that children are listened to. When children raise complaints, these are addressed and taken seriously. This enables children to build trust in those who care for them. Children said that they felt confident that action would be taken if they raised concerns to staff.

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

When concerns arise about staff practice, these are quickly identified by the manager, with clear actions to be taken. Subsequently, the staff strengthen the effectiveness of their practice to provide better outcomes for children. However, on 3 occasions, the manager's written oversight about incidents that have happened was not recorded promptly. This could result in missed learning opportunities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager has recently started their role at the home and has applied to register with Ofsted. The manager has a strong vision of the development of the home and the support of the staff team. Inspection report for children's home: 2672782 5 The staff team feel supported. They receive regular, reflective supervision. Supervision covers areas of improvement identified within staff practice and staff's wellbeing and learning opportunities. When required, staff are offered external support to manage difficult experiences. One member of staff said, 'It is rewarding to be part of a team that genuinely cares and strives to make a positive difference in the lives of the young people we support.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are offered a wide range of training opportunities and benefit from new learning experiences. This upskills the staff and ensures that they are able to meet the individual needs of the children. Staff are supported to attend training in line with their interests. This provides a diverse knowledge among the staff team. While there is a generally good training offer for staff, 2 members of staff have not obtained the specified relevant qualification within the required timeframe. At the time of inspection, there was not a clear development plan to ensure that the staff are supported to achieve this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager facilitates regular team meetings to enable the staff to reflect and share learning experiences. Shortfalls are discussed using scenario-based examples to help the staff identify alternative techniques that will best support children. This helps to identify areas of development and improve staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The provider has not always ensured that robust safer recruitment procedures are in place. For one member of staff, only one reference was obtained at the point of them starting their role. Once this shortfall was identified, attempts were made to obtain a second reference but were unsuccessful. Since this member of staff was employed, the company have introduced more effective ways of managing safer recruitment to ensure better monitoring and oversight. Inspection report for children's home: 2672782 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children's home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b)(3)(b)(d) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)) 25 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2672782 7 In particular, ensure that 2 written references, including a reference from the person's most recent employer, are obtained prior to employment, and staff complete the specified relevant qualification by the required date.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure evaluation of all incidents, including those of children going missing, are recorded in a timely manner to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well in response. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 45, paragraph 9.31)

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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: 2672782 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 117 Kingfisher Close, Shoeburyness, Southend-On-Sea SS3 9YB

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Kirandeep Jamwal

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Inspector

Sophie Levy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2672782 9 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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