Children's Home run by Little Belsteads Care Home Limited in Essex

Inspection report children's home: 1248979 1 Registered provider: Little Belsteads Care Home 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 privately run and provides care for up to 7 children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2025.

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Information about this children's home

There were 7 children living at the home. Inspectors spoke with and/or observed all 7 children during 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

Date of last inspection: 2 December 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 1248979 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/12/2025 Full Good 05/09/2024 Full Good 28/02/2024 Full Good 13/02/2023 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 1248979 3

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Summary of findings

Children have positive experiences and make progress in their development. Staff have warm bonds with the children and keep them safe. They provide the children with consistent routines which help their engagement with education.

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Summary of findings

The home is sufficiently staffed with a permanent workforce. Feedback from professionals and parents is unanimously positive.

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Summary of findings

Some areas of the home need repair. Managers do not have a system to request for return-home interviews following missing incidents. Staff do not consistently have appraisals and feedback from external professionals does not inform these reviews.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by staff who are committed to their individual needs. Relationships between the children and staff are warm. As a result, the children make progress in comparison to their starting points. Staff help children to work towards simple, achievable independence targets in accordance with their complex needs. The children are making progress that is individual for them and developing skills such as the use of cutlery and in managing their personal care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's moves into and on from the home are well managed. The child who has moved in since the last inspection was gradually introduced to the home. They met the other children and staff before moving in. Consequently, the child quickly developed a friendship with another child which is flourishing. They also formed positive relationships with staff. Similarly, support for children moving out of the home is at a pace they can manage. This careful and thoughtful planning helps reduce children's anxieties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain good school attendance and reach their education targets. Staff are working hard to help one child return to school. In the meantime, they provide a consistent routine and support home tutoring. Managers have advocated on behalf of the child to ensure they continue with the same tutor, as the child had developed a positive relationship with them. This consistency has helped the child to engage with their lessons. Staff also provide additional support to another child to manage their anxieties when using school transport and the change over from home to school. School staff have praised this ongoing work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are attuned to the children and understand their preferred methods of communication. Staff use a 'total' communication approach and use varied methods such as Makaton, social stories, short sentences and observing nonverbal cues to help the children express themselves. Children share their views, and this supports their development. For example, one child's verbal communication has significantly improved while another child's confidence to use their communication device has improved. Inspection report children's home: 1248979 4 Children participate in a range of activities that enrich their lives. These include trips to London, the seaside, theme park attractions and planned holidays. The well-planned activities meet children's interests and provide new experiences that they have not previously had. For example, staff provided tailored support to one child to be able to manage car journeys. This has helped broaden the child's opportunities for social

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to maintain relationships with important people in their lives. Staff facilitate regular time between the children and their families. Staff celebrate children's milestones and recognise their achievements. They welcome families to visit the home for these celebrations. Staff capture memorable experiences between the children and their families enabling them to develop a positive identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is spacious and the children enjoy the outdoor spaces. Children make suggestions on what they want for their bedrooms. However, some areas of the home detract the overall homeliness. For example, there are visible damages in one child's bedroom and mould in one of the children's bathrooms.

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

Children receive care and support that is therapeutically informed. Staff work closely with the home's therapist and understand children's support strategies. They have insight into children's emotions and combine this with de-escalation approaches. For example, the frequency of behavioural incidents has reduced for one child indicating that they are more settled. Another child has developed skills to better manage their emotions when they are feeling upset. When physical restraint has been used this has been proportionate and justified.

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

Staff have conversations with children to help them understand how to keep themselves safe. Staff use 'social stories' on specific issues affecting children. This helps children to understand their emotions and develop socially appropriate behaviour.

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

Staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities. They are confident to challenge each other and suggest alternative support strategies. Staff quickly report concerns to managers. This helps managers take immediate action to provide the necessary protective measures required.

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

When there are concerns relating to staff conduct, managers share information with appropriate agencies such as the local designated officer for safeguarding and social workers. Managers complete internal investigations quickly. The manager identifies practice concerns and speaks to staff individually to address concerns and cascade learning to the staff team.

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

Children rarely leave the home without adult permission. However, there have been a few occasions when a child has gone missing from the home. Staff follow clear protocols, including searching for the child and supporting their safe return home. Staff Inspection report children's home: 1248979 5 quickly share information with other professionals such as the police. However, independent return-home interviews are not requested of the child's placing authority following these incidents. This is a missed opportunity to learn why the child goes missing and what actions can be taken to reduce risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The qualified and experienced manager is supported by the deputy manager. Staff value the management team's support and commitment to the children. The home is sufficiently staffed with staff who know the children well. There is consistency in care for the children. The manager leads a culture of learning and reflection. Regular discussions about children's needs and support strategies take place in supervisions and team meetings. When incidents occur, managers cascade the learning to staff to help prevent recurrence. This ensures the quality of care provided to children is continually reviewed and improved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff collaborate with other professionals in meeting the children's needs. They are good advocates for the children. The manager successfully advocated for the virtual school to offer a consistent tutor for a child. Professionals and parents spoke about the positive difference that staff's support has made on children's development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from training tailored to the specific needs of children such as Epilepsy, Autism and therapeutic parenting. Staff value the training offer and say it enhances their understanding of the children's needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

On a few occasions, managers have not notified Ofsted of concerns about staff practice. This has reduced transparency and limited Ofsted's ability to monitor the safeguards in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff do not always have an annual appraisal of their working practices. Managers do not consult external professionals to inform these reviews. This means opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice and development may be missed. Inspection report children's home: 1248979 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing environment that meets the children's needs. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing, they request that the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. Notification should include details of the action taken by the home's staff in response to the event ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 63, paragraph 14.13).  The registered person should ensure staff have their performance and fitness to carry

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Recommendations

out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home's care. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.5).

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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 children's home: 1248979 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Little Belsteads Care Home Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Windsor House, Bayshill Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 3AT

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Inspector

Priscilla Koroka, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1248979 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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