Children's Home run by Next Generation Care Essex Ltd in Essex

Inspection report for children's home: 2726013 1 Registered provider: Next Generation Care Essex Ltd

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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 and manager registered with Ofsted in November 2023. The home is owned by a small, private organisation. Care is provided for up to 3 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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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: 2726013 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/08/2025 Full Good 08/05/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2726013 3

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Summary of findings

Children are kept safe and provided with effective support from staff. Children build trusting relationships with the staff and are making good progress from their starting points. Staff work closely with external professionals to meet the children's needs.

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Summary of findings

The home is well decorated and has a family feel. The children are encouraged to have pets and are supported to develop new hobbies and interests.

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Summary of findings

The management team is stable and experienced. Managers and staff keep the children at the front and centre of every decision made about their care and welfare.

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Summary of findings

Professionals and children's families provided positive feedback about the quality of care. The support provided by staff is having a positive impact on the children's lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved on in a planned way and one child has moved into the home. Two children are currently living at the home, and both contributed to this inspection. The child who moved on did so in a planned way to supported accommodation. When they moved on they wrote, 'I didn't just find a home, I found a space where I felt like I belonged.'

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported to develop trusting relationships with staff. The children identify staff as important figures in their lives who bring stability and nurture. One child wrote, 'A lifetime with you wouldn't feel like enough. I honestly could write forever about why I love you and how amazing you are.'

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff follow a PACE therapeutic approach. This model is threaded into staff practice and captured in the children's records. Staff are skilled at adapting their approach to ensure that children's unique needs are met consistently. They have created a stable foundation for the children, which has helped the children to make significant progress from their starting points. This is particularly noticeable with improved personal safety, education and social skills. The grandparent of one child said, 'The home was the best one my grandchild has ever been; [the child] made massive progress.'

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education. They create clear routines and structure that support the children to engage with their learning in a meaningful way. Staff advocate for the children and work closely with education providers. This joined up approach helps the children to make progress. For example, with support from staff, 2 of the children have progressed from home tutoring to working towards their functional skills. Consequently, one child has successfully enrolled in a college course. Inspection report for children's home: 2726013 4 Staff support the children to have positive experiences in and outside of the home. For example, one child was supported to join the local gym and a go karting club. Staff also set up a boxing bag in the child's bedroom. As a result of these new experiences, children's self-esteem, confidence and social skills have significantly developed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff maintain good-quality records and take the time to capture the children's wishes and feelings in the children's individual support plans. The children's plans are written in a child-focused way and include a comprehensive overview of their lives. This approach helps children to understand their experiences and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the children to take part in routine activities, such as managing shopping budgets, cooking, laundry and cleaning tasks. This helps the children to develop essential life skills to support their independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is welcoming and has a homely feel. Both the indoor and outdoor spaces are well maintained and equipped to a good standard to suit the children's needs. The children are encouraged to care for pets, which helps them to develop a sense of responsibility. The children's bedrooms are personalised, comfortable and decorated in line with their taste and preferences. However, the use of door alarms for the children's bedrooms is not informed by a risk assessment and it is unclear whether these are needed.

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

Children benefit from a nurturing environment where positive behaviour is consistently promoted. Staff use creative ways of helping the children to understand and manage their behaviours. As a result, the level of incidents has decreased. Consequences are very seldomly implemented by staff and, when used, are relevant to the child's behaviour. A strong restorative culture helps children to identify ways they can demonstrate strong emotions in a healthier and safer manner.

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

Staff ensure that the children are effectively safeguarded. Effective planning by staff minimises risks to children inside and outside the home. Children's risks are well understood and are consistently reducing from their starting points. Staff help children to learn to manage risk while maintaining appropriate support. Consequently, children build their skills and confidence as they develop age-appropriate freedoms, such as going into town on their own.

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

Children rarely go missing from home. However, when this has happened, staff have responded appropriately and quickly to help find and return them as soon as possible. Managers work proactively and effectively with external agencies. This multi-agency response helps to reduce these risks. As a result, incidents of children going missing from home have decreased and children are safer.

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

Incidents of restraint are used rarely and only as a last resort. Children and staff are given the opportunity to reflect on incidents and are provided with child-focused aftercare. All interventions are reviewed by the manager, and risk management plans are updated. Inspection report for children's home: 2726013 5 Concerns relating to staff conduct are very rare. When there are concerns, they are managed sensitively and quickly. Collaborative work with social workers and the local authority designated officer ensures that children are kept safe. The manager identifies learning points and addresses these with staff. Learning is then fully embedded in staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The qualified and experienced registered manager is child focused and has a good knowledge of the children's needs. She works closely with the responsible individual. The managers advocate for the children and are committed to ensuring that the children's experiences are positive. They enjoy spending time with the children. As a result, the children see them as significant people in their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers have created a positive and reflective culture. They provide ongoing professional development for staff and ensure that they are well supported. Staff benefit from regular, reflective supervision sessions, team meetings and annual appraisals. This reflective approach helps to inform staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains good communication with, and works well with, children's families and professionals. They are regularly informed about any areas of concern or changes concerning the children. This effective multi-agency working helps to ensure that the children's needs are well met by the wider support network. One professional referred to the manager as 'impressive and child focused'. They said, 'They [the staff] are trying everything to support [the child]. They understand the child's needs and are advocating for [the child].'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have effective systems for monitoring the children's care and the quality of records. They seek feedback to identify and action further improvements. The manager has ensured that the requirements and recommendations raised at the last inspection have been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff model positive practice for newer staff members, which informs their development. Staff say that they feel valued and supported and they praise the culture of the home. Staff retention is good and the team is stable and experienced. This means that staff are confident in delivering a good quality of service to children. Inspection report for children's home: 2726013 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that decisions to limit a child's access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home should only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child's welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child's needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. In particular, the registered manager should ensure that these standards are applied in relation to the door alarms that are currently in place for the children's bedrooms. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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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: 2726013 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Next Generation Care Essex Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 1 Newlands End, Laindon, Essex SS15 6DU

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Inspector

Anda Roddy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2726013 8 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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