Children's Home run by Kelwel Care Homes Limited in Havering

Inspection report for children's home: 2787169 1 Registered provider: Kelwel Care Homes Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and provides care for up to 5 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 4 children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in April 2025.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor, and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 22 September 2025

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2787169 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/09/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2787169 3

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Summary of findings

Children’s experiences, progress and safety are inadequate. Ineffective planning, poor admissions decisions and weak leadership oversight have resulted in some children living together without sufficient consideration of their individual needs, risks and vulnerabilities. Consequently, some children have experienced difficulties in their relationships, do not consistently feel safe and are not always supported to make progress in areas such as education, interests and daily routines. Risk management is not consistently effective, and leaders cannot demonstrate how living in the home reduces risks for children. Children receive appropriate support with their health needs, have regular opportunities to share their views and receive support to maintain important family relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Since the last inspection, 6 children have moved into the home, and 3 children have moved on. Most children moved into the home in emergency circumstances, limiting opportunities for effective planning and assessment of whether children’s needs could be met alongside those of the children already living there. As a result, some children experienced difficulties living together. This has had a negative impact on children’s experiences and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not consistently support positive relationships between children. The lack of effective support has left some children feeling vulnerable and unsafe. One child raised concerns about bullying in the home. They left the home to live with a family member and have not returned to the home because of this. Another child says that they ‘do not have much to do’ and they ‘do not get on as a group’. This child’s social worker and family have also raised concerns about relationships between children living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not consistently identify and promote children’s interests. As a result, some children are not pursuing their interests and have become disengaged from group activities. This is a missed opportunity to help children build positive relationships with other children in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s care plans are tailored to their individual needs. However, it is not evident how staff monitor progress against children’s plans or evaluate the difference their support is making. Inspectors observed staff prioritising practical tasks in the home over direct work with children. Although children regularly engage in key-work sessions, they said they do not find these sessions helpful in improving their circumstances. Work recorded from these sessions is not consistently translating into meaningful progress or positive outcomes for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not consistently support children to access education, training or employment opportunities. Some children said they would like to engage in training and employment. Inspection report for children's home: 2787169 4 Leaders and managers have not ensured that effective plans are in place to help children pursue these aspirations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not consistently support children to develop and maintain productive daily routines. Children spend large parts of the day in their bedrooms. Staff said children are often awake during the night and asleep during the day. One child says that they have no routine other than seeing their family once a week, while another child described the home as ‘boring’. Leaders are aware of these shortfalls but have not taken timely action to improve children’s experiences and the quality of care they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Some children’s bedrooms are untidy. Staff do not consistently provide effective support to help children maintain a clean and personalised living space. In addition, the garden and lounge require improvements to provide children with a welcoming and homely environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children benefit from some positive experiences. Their health needs are appropriately responded to. Children’s meetings take place regularly. Staff support children to maintain meaningful relationships with their families, including facilitating travel to visits a considerable distance from the home. One child’s social worker spoke positively about staff’s commitment to supporting family relationships.

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

Leaders are unable to demonstrate how living in the home reduces risks for children. A younger child has been adversely affected by the behaviour of an older child, and relationships between children have contributed to increased vulnerabilities for some children. Leaders do not review the dynamics of relationships in the home in a timely way or take effective action to address emerging concerns. Consequently, there is little evidence of effective planning and action to manage and reduce risks to children.

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

Risk assessments identify children’s vulnerabilities but do not provide staff with clear and consistent guidance about how risks should be reduced. One child does not feel safe in the home and is staying with a family member. Their risk assessment does not consider how staff will promote the child’s safety during this time. For another child, regular room searches form part of their agreed care plan, in response to welfare concerns. However, staff said these searches take place after incidents rather than forming part of a proactive approach to managing risk. Managers recognise the limitations of this approach but have not taken effective action to address these shortfalls.

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

Some children often go missing from the home together and are exposed to increased risks. One social worker expressed concern that relationships with other children are contributing to their child going missing more frequently. Staff understand their responsibilities when children go missing, and professionals commend staff efforts to locate children and support their safe return. However, leaders have not ensured that feedback from all return home interviews is obtained and considered. As a result, opportunities are being missed to fully understand why children go missing and to identify actions to reduce future risk. Inspection report for children's home: 2787169 5 Some safeguarding concerns involve several children encouraging each other to use harmful substances. There is multi-agency work to reduce these risks. However, leaders and managers do not consistently escalate safeguarding concerns to these agencies

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

when risks for children increase. They do not consistently assess or review the impact that children's individual risks, needs and vulnerabilities may have on one another. As a result, opportunities to identify and respond to increased safeguarding risks are missed.

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

Leaders work closely with safeguarding professionals, including the local authority designated officer, when safeguarding allegations against staff arise.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders have not maintained effective oversight of the home, and the quality of care provided to children has declined. Decision-making about children moving into the home has been inconsistent. Staff said their views are not always considered when decisions are made about children moving into the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders’ ethos of care and support for children is not consistently understood or implemented by staff. As a result, children do not always receive a consistent approach from staff. Staff turnover, difficulties retaining staff and the frequent use of bank staff further affect the quality and consistency of care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff receive regular supervision. Although supervision sessions focus on children’s experiences and progress, they do not sufficiently support staff to develop and maintain positive relationships with children. As a result, staff lack confidence in engaging and working proactively with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Although staff receive training relevant to children's needs and vulnerabilities, this is not consistently reflected in their practice. Leaders have not effectively monitored the impact of training or ensured that gaps in staff knowledge and understanding are identified and addressed. Furthermore, not all staff have achieved the required qualification in residential childcare within the timescales set out in the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Communication with others involved in children's care is inconsistent, meaning that children do not always benefit from clear and timely information-sharing between the adults responsible for their care. While one external professional described leaders as responsive, a parent said that staff do not always share important information about their child. There was also a delay in senior leaders sharing information with the manager, which reduced the managers' ability to plan and coordinate support for a child effectively. Inspection report for children's home: 2787169 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background; and

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(iv)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff have a clear understanding of the aims of the home and the outcomes they are seeking to achieve for children. They must also ensure that children receive care that is tailored to their individual needs and that staff actively support children to establish and maintain positive and productive routines. 3 November 2026

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 3 November 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2787169 7 that staff—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(ix)(x))

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

develop the child’s interests and hobbies;

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and

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Requirement Due date

make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 3 November 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2787169 8 The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same; 3 November 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2787169 9 de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(x)(xi)(xii)(xiii))

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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 (1) 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; and

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff have the skills to understand the risks that children face and are able to engage children in meaningful conversations about how to keep themselves safe. 3 November 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 3 November 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2787169 10 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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that important information about children is shared promptly and effectively within the leadership team and with parents when appropriate.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must maintain effective oversight of staff practice and assure themselves that staff have the skills, knowledge and support required to meet the needs of children living in the home.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must monitor the quality of care that children receive, ensure that children’s records are accurate and up to date, and provide staff with clear guidance about how they should support children to make progress.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. 3 November 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2787169 11 (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a)(b)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they fully consider the needs of children moving into the home as well as those of children already living in the home when deciding on a child moving in. They must also assess whether the staff have the skills to meet all the children’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b)(5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff achieve the relevant qualification within the expected time frame. 3 November 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they receive the feedback from all children’s independent return home interviews. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that the interior of the home and the garden are welcoming, child friendly spaces. Children’s bedrooms should be a clean and safe space. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children's home: 2787169 12

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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: 2787169 13

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kelwel Care Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 Jubilee House, The Drive, Great Warley, Brentwood, Essex CM13 3FR

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Inspectors

Chelsea Agyeman, Social Care Inspector Zafer Yilkan, His Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2787169 14 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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