Children's Home run by Waltham Children's Services Limited in Essex

Inspection report for children's home: 2819221 1 Registered provider: Waltham Children's Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home is privately owned. The home was registered with Ofsted in March 2025. It provides care for up to 2 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2025.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living at the home. One child was seen and spoken to as part of the inspection.

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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: 2819221 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/08/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2819221 3

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Summary of findings

The home is welcoming and replicates the feelings of a family home. Artwork and creations made by staff and children are displayed around the home. Staff advocate for children to ensure that their voices are heard.

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Summary of findings

Professional feedback identified that positive and effective multi-agency working takes place to ensure children can access the support they need. Any incidents that have occurred are well managed by staff. Staff support children to regulate their emotions. Staff are curious to identify risk and manage this well. The manager is effective in ensuring effective oversight of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home, and none have moved out. Staff assist children to move into and out of the home in a planned way. For one child who is moving out, staff have thoughtfully grouped their items and labelled them in folded piles. They have regular communication with the child about how they would like their items packed and moved. This supports the child to make decisions about their belongings despite not being physically present at the home. Staff guide children through change in a way that supports their emotions. The manager has written several therapeutic letters to explain upcoming changes to a child who is reluctant to speak to the staff. The language and thought that have gone into these letters help show the child that the staff care about them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build meaningful relationships with children. The inspector observed positive interactions between the staff and children. Staff display genuine care for children when supporting them and completing daily activities. This supports the children to feel valued and nurtured.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to make progress. Staff have helped one child who was unsettled at night prior to moving in to have a settled routine and improved sleep. They have helped another child develop skills to manage their health needs independently and spend time in the community unsupervised. As a result, children are healthier and have built confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the children to share their views. Children contribute to their individual support and behaviour plans with their thoughts and feelings. This helps the staff to best support children in line with their wishes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with external agencies well. They have built positive relationships with the professional network and advocate for children's best interests. This helps strengthen the support the children receive. One professional said, 'The home communicated well and Inspection report for children's home: 2819221 4 was able to bring all professionals together, which was tricky to begin with due to the multitude of professionals involved.'

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to access education. For one child who sometimes struggles with emotional regulation, the staff introduced the use of a stress ball and identifying emotions through colour days. This helped the child manage challenges during learning time. This in turn has enabled the child to regulate their emotions in a more effective way in other aspects of their day-to-day life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a welcoming and inviting feel. The house is modern, decorated to a good standard and personalised throughout. Staff have created a 'pride wall', which displays artwork and creations made by the children and the staff in competitions and themed nights. This is reminiscent of a family home. Children are encouraged to grow fruit and vegetables with the staff. This provides the opportunity for the children to learn new skills.

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

Staff support the children in difficult moments to regulate their emotions. They are skilled in de-escalation techniques, and the relationships they have built with the children provide a solid base to use these skills effectively. As a result, there have been no restraints since the last inspection.

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

Staff understand risk and know the children well. They are guided by detailed behaviour and risk management plans, which provide clear direction for staff to follow. This helps the staff to best support children. Rewards and consequences are used effectively. Staff encourage independence through rewards and praise children when they demonstrate independence. When consequences are used, these are fair and proportionate. Clear records are maintained of events that took place that resulted in the consequence. As a result of the clear and supportive boundaries, children are able to make better choices and learn from their behaviour.

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

Incidents are well managed, and staff have good knowledge of the home's safeguarding policies. When concerns arise, the staff demonstrate appropriate professional curiosity. They share information and arrange meetings with professionals to collate information. This helps to identify risk and strategies to mitigate it. When children go missing from home, the staff respond quickly. They follow the correct protocols to ensure that the children are located safely and use the professional and family network to help them. This supports children to return home safely.

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

Staff are insightful and have good knowledge of the online risks children face. At the point of children moving in, online safety is considered. Staff are curious about children's online activity and communications. Staff are guided by detailed risk assessments, which the children contribute to. As a result, the staff understand how children wish to be supported and their perspective of the risks they face. Inspection report for children's home: 2819221 5 One child who has recently moved in told the inspector on arrival what to do in the event of a fire. This shows that the staff support children to understand procedures in place to keep them safe quickly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is enrolled on a relevant management qualification. The manager is motivated to do her best by children and ensures that the children receive good-quality care. She said, 'The kids that have not had someone to be their voice gets the fire in my belly going. I want what is best for them, they all deserve that.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works closely with parents and other professionals. Consequently, they hold her in high esteem. One parent said, 'I never had any sleepless nights worrying about [child's name] whilst [child's name] was at the home. I take my hat off to [manager] as she really understood [child's name] and [their] needs to a tee.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by leaders, managers and the team. They are offered various opportunities to access support. They attend team meetings and have informal and formal supervision with managers. One member of staff said, 'It is just a really good place to work, it is such a nice place to be.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager invests in and upskills the staff. The staff feel supported to develop and further their knowledge. They are supported to complete the relevant required qualification within the timescale and have completed a range of training to meet the specific needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has implemented improved systems to ensure effective oversight of the home. Since the last inspection, the manager has developed the use of an electronic recording system to ensure clear identification of information, documents and oversight. This has helped the manager quickly identify and address any shortfalls in staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer recruitment checks are thorough. When staff apply to work for the home, the manager completes relevant enquires with past employers to verify the information provided. This helps ensure that the staff working with children are safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staffing levels are maintained in line with the needs of children. The senior staffing team has oversight of the rotas to ensure that suitable numbers of staff are available to care for the children. The manager is in the process of recruiting additional staff members to reduce the need of using agency staff at night.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager reviews and reflects on children's experiences living at the home. The manager has produced a report of their review of the experiences of children moving out of the home. This helps the staff to learn from past experiences and continue to develop the quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There were no requirements or recommendations made as part of this inspection. Inspection report for children's home: 2819221 6

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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: 2819221 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Waltham Children's Services Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 46 Hullbridge Road, South Woodham Ferrers, Chelmsford, Essex CM3 5NQ

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Inspector

Sophie Levy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2819221 8 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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Inspector

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