Children's Home run by Alicie Enterprises Limited in Ealing

Inspection report for children’s home: 2793659 1 Registered provider: Alicie Enterprises Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

All the children and staff have moved house this year. This has resulted in the provider being required to re-register to reflect the change of address in September 2024. Although this is the home’s first inspection under the new registration, the service has been running since August 2019. The previous home was registered under the following reference number: 2544885.

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to five girls who experience social and emotional difficulties. Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection and were all spoken with by the inspectors.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: The inspection started 5 and 6 November 2024. Two inspectors returned on 19 November 2024 to gather additional evidence in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2793659 2

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improvement to be good

Since moving into the new house, the children have continued to make progress physically, socially and educationally. Care was taken to ensure that the move did not interrupt children’s school placements.

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improvement to be good

The home is well maintained, clean and tidy, with modern decor and a welcoming feel. The children and staff are enjoying having more space. Children have been able to personalise their bedrooms and have played a role in choosing the new furnishings for their new home. The kitchen is the hub of the house and a place where staff and children spend time together including sharing mealtimes.

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improvement to be good

Records made by staff about children when their behaviour is challenging are sometimes written in a punitive tone and demonstrate a lack of understanding of the reasons why a child might be behaving in a certain way. This contributes to a culture in the staff team of setting excessively high expectations of children’s behaviour that do not take into account their additional needs or their adverse life experiences.

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improvement to be good

Regular children’s meetings take place, and children are encouraged to participate. Children also have weekly keywork sessions where they are encouraged to share their wishes regarding their care.

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improvement to be good

Children make good progress at school. Staff are proud of the children’s achievements and support their educational progress and future ambitions.

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improvement to be good

Staff talk to children about their health and cover important topics related to child development. Children are registered with the relevant health professionals and supported to attend appointments.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to engage in a wide range of activities outside of school and the home. One child attends a Saturday drama school, which they love. Recently, children have been to the circus, visited a theme park and enjoyed going swimming. Activities are also provided in the home, including children being able to help with the cooking and enjoying movie and games nights.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to see their family and to stay in touch with friends.

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improvement to be good

There is a clear protocol in place that staff must follow when children go missing from the home. Staff understand this protocol and respond to the risks that children may Inspection report for children’s home: 2793659 3 face when they go missing. They work closely with the police, family members and social workers to ensure that everyone stays informed. Not all staff have the necessary skills to de-escalate situations when children are in distress or to safely apply physical intervention when it becomes necessary. On one occasion, a physical restraint was used by members of staff who had not received the necessary training.

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improvement to be good

Incidents, including physical restraints, are not always fully recorded, and children’s plans are not routinely updated. This lack of detail reduces leaders’ and managers’ oversight of risk and the monitoring of children’s progress. This means that effective strategies to support children are not consistently in place. The home’s approach to restraint is not clearly set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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improvement to be good

Since the move took place, not enough priority has been given to the recruitment checks of new members of staff. This failure to follow safer recruitment practices has compromised children’s safety.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not proactive in promoting positive relationships in the home. When a child’s behaviour has impacted on others, staff have focused more on reducing the time the children are together rather than supporting an understanding approach to the situation.

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improvement to be good

Rewards and consequences are occasionally used. However, these are not linked to clearly defined expectations of behaviour in a way that supports children to make positive behavioural choices.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There have been changes in the leadership team. The long-standing registered manager has recently stepped down from their post and intends to be the new responsible individual. The long-standing responsible individual who was in post for four years, has recently stepped down, but was present during the initial inspection on 5 and 6 November. There is a new manager in post. At this stage, the new manager has not applied to Ofsted to be the new registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Management systems that help managers to monitor and review the quality of care are not always effective. As a result, managers are not always aware of shortfalls. For example, managers had not picked up on the shortfalls in safer recruitment or that not all members of staff have the required training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive regular supervision sessions. However, managers have been slow to address shortfalls in training that were identified at previous inspections. As a result, staff are still without the training that they require to understand and respond to children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There have been occasions when staff’s practice has fallen below expected standards of care. In one case, this resulted in the police having to attend the home during an Inspection report for children’s home: 2793659 4 incident. This resulted in the police sharing information with the local authority designated officer. Once the provider was made aware of the concerns they acted quickly to respond and have followed the organisation’s disciplinary procedures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Despite, the shortfalls found during the inspection, feedback from professionals and family members is positive.

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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 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 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 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

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the 20 February 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2793659 5 competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(vi)(vii)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that behaviour is managed in a meaningful and consistent way, including securing the children’s views. 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 promotes their welfare.

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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

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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff have received training in the use of physical intervention, in autism awareness and in contextual safeguarding. 20 February 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only—

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that 20 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2793659 6 individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)— 20 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2793659 7 has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv)) The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1)) In particular, details of the home’s approach to behavioural support, including information about—

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Requirement Due date

the home’s approach to restraint in relation to children; and

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Requirement Due date

how persons working in the home are trained in restraint and how their competence is assessed. (Regulation 16(1)(a)(b)) 20 January 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2793659 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Alicie Enterprises Limited

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Inspectors

Richard Wyper, Social Care Inspector Jo Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Matilda Clode, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2793659 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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