Children's Home run by Leighview Social Support in Southend on Sea

Inspection report for children’s home: 2783264 1 Registered provider: Leighview Social Support 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 and provides care for up to 2 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2026.

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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

Date of last inspection: 17 December 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2783264 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/12/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/11/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2783264 3

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Summary of findings

Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have worked hard to improve the care provided to children. They have created a positive and reflective culture, which has helped to improve the service.

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Summary of findings

Children’s backgrounds and complex lived experiences are well understood, and staff provide personalised care that meets their individual needs. Staff work closely with other support services in the community and have developed effective multi-agency strategies to safeguard children.

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Summary of findings

The home environment is safe, well decorated and personalised, and it has a family feel. Children are encouraged to actively participate in decisions about the daily running of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 2 children have left the home. One child moved on in a planned way. The other child moved into the home on an emergency basis and stayed for only one month. The location proved unsuitable for this child, and staff were unable to keep them safe. At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home. This child had moved into the home very recently as part of a planned transition. The child spoke with the inspector during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children who have lived in the home have complex needs, including histories of going missing from home, substance misuse, offending behaviour and vulnerability to exploitation. Staff and managers have a good understanding of children’s backgrounds and lived experiences. They provide personalised care that meets children’s individual needs and helps to keep them safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are skilled at adapting their approach to ensure that children’s unique needs are met consistently. They follow a therapeutic model that is embedded into practice and reflected in children’s records. This helps staff to take a considered approach to supporting children and promoting their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s wishes and feelings are integral to the stability and development of the home. Staff recognise the importance of ensuring that children feel heard and have opportunities to influence decisions about the running of the home. Staff meet with children regularly to consult them about changes to their daily routines, including weekly shopping and meal planning, changes to the decor of the home and activities inside and outside the home. This helps children to feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to make progress in their education. Staff understand the importance of education and create clear routines and structures that support children to Inspection report for children’s home: 2783264 4 engage with their learning in a meaningful way, taking account of their needs and abilities. Staff advocate for children and work closely with education providers. For example, one child improved their attendance as a result of the support provided by staff while living in the home. Staff helped another child to access home tuition, in consultation with the virtual school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

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

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is welcoming and has a homely feel. The indoor space is clean, well maintained and equipped to a good standard to meet children’s needs. The bedrooms are spacious and decorated to reflect children’s interests and preferences.

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

Any risks associated with children offending, misusing drugs or alcohol, self-harming, going missing from home, affiliating with gangs, or being sexually or criminally exploited are known and understood by the adults who care for them. Individual, up-to-date risk assessments identify each child’s vulnerabilities and clearly set out the actions staff should take to manage risks. As a result, children are safer.

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

Since the last inspection, children have frequently gone missing from home. However, staff have consistently acted promptly and appropriately, in line with safeguarding protocols, to keep children safe. Staff work closely with external agencies to ensure a coordinated response when children go missing, with the aim of locating them quickly and supporting their safe return. When children return, staff show compassion and care. They encourage children to meet with their social workers to discuss the reasons for going missing and where they have been. This multi-agency response helps to reduce risks.

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

Staff attend meetings with internal specialists, including the in-house therapist, to help keep children safe. Together, they analyse risks and review the progress children are making. They assess new and emerging risks both inside and outside the home. This joined-up approach to supporting children’s safety and wellbeing helps staff to respond positively to children’s needs and behaviours.

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

Physical restraint is used proportionately and only as a last resort. The manager ensures that children and staff are given the opportunity to reflect on incidents. Children are provided with child-focused aftercare and support. The manager reviews all physical interventions to ensure that they are fairly and appropriately used and to identify any emerging patterns and trends. The manager ensures that all risk management plans are regularly updated.

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

Staff help children to understand healthy and safe relationships. Staff have positive discussions with children and guide them on how to ensure that they can have positive Inspection report for children’s home: 2783264 5 relationships with people outside the home. This is reflected in the regular planned conversations held with the children.

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

Concerns relating to staff conduct are very rare. When they arise, 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. Such learning is fully embedded into staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified and ambitious. Leaders and managers are child focused and know the children well. They are committed to ensuring that children’s experiences are positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have worked to create a positive and reflective culture. They provide ongoing professional development opportunities for staff and ensure that they are well supported. Staff benefit from regular, reflective supervision and annual appraisals. Staff value feedback from the manager and use this to inform their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular therapeutic support to fulfil their roles effectively. The manager ensures that staff regularly receive suitable training and opportunities to broaden their knowledge through focused meetings and workshops. This helps them provide high- quality care for children. Staff access various further learning opportunities relevant to the children’s individual needs, such as neurodiversity, exploitation and training related to specific health needs. Staff also benefit from consistent mentoring and guidance from managers. As a result, staff feel suitably equipped and confident to understand and manage children’s complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have effective systems in place to monitor children’s care and the quality of records. They seek feedback to identify any shortfalls and act on further improvements. The home has a learning culture. Leaders and managers consider recommendations from external feedback and discuss these with staff during team meetings. Managers also reflect on children’s endings when they move on from the home, identifying lessons learned and opportunities to improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Communication between the manager and professionals is good. Partner agencies and professionals are kept regularly informed of any concerns or changes relating to children. There is evidence of effective multi-agency working, which contributes positively to the progress children make. One professional said:

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

‘From my interactions, it was clear that the home was willing to collaborate with professionals and addressed the challenges posed by [name of child]’s complex circumstances effectively. Their response after [name of child] went missing was timely, and they maintained communication about significant events.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2783264 6 The manager ensures that the home is sufficiently staffed. Staff speak positively about their experiences of working in the home, and they work together as a team to support the children. One member of staff said, ‘From my experience since joining the home, I believe the staff’s teamwork, safeguarding practice and genuine care have a positive impact on the young people’. Consequently, the home has a stable workforce and rarely uses agency staff. This provides children with continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have not submitted a quality of care review report to Ofsted as required by regulation. Although there are no concerns regarding the quality of care provided to children, this omission undermines Ofsted’s ability to maintain a suitable level of oversight. This requirement was made at the last monitoring visit and has been restated. Inspection report for children’s home: 2783264 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 registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (3) (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and has been restated. 28 November 2026

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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: 2783264 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Leighview Social Support

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 23a Orsett Road, Grays RM17 5DS

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Oluwatitofunmi Olajide

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Inspector

Anda Roddy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2783264 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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