Children's Home run by Canterbury Care and Support Limited in Croydon

Inspection report for children's home: 2652402 1 Registered provider: Canterbury Care and Support Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted on 13 April 2022. The registered manager left in August 2024. The deputy manager is now managing the home and has submitted their application to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living at the home at the time of this inspection. Two of the children were spoken to.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2652402 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/03/2024 Full Outstanding 28/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2652402 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a sense of belonging in the home. They benefit from a calm and nurturing environment. Children are happy living in the home and want to stay there. One child said, ‘Staff are always checking in and making sure we’re okay.’ One parent said that staff are nice and have their child’s ‘best interests at heart.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s voices are heard. Staff know the children well and tailor their care and support to meet their needs. For example, staff support one child’s cultural needs by cooking meals from their favourite menu from home. Two children said there is nothing they would change about the quality of care they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to education, but their attendance is variable. Staff are committed to encouraging academic achievement and work closely with the relevant agencies. One child has recently been reintroduced to full-time education with the support of staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to participate in fun activities. They are offered opportunities to pursue their interests in the home and in the community. For example, children enjoy food tasting, going to the gym and various experience days. One child said, ‘They offer me activities a lot, but I like to stay at home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health. Staff encourage and support them to attend health appointments and have medical attention when needed. Care plans include detailed information on children’s health needs and diagnosis. This helps staff to manage children’s medical needs effectively and understand their impact on children’s daily lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their families. They welcome family members to see children in their home as well as in the community. One parent described the home as a nice home to be in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff keep parents well informed about their child’s progress. One parent said that communication with staff is regular, and their child is safe in the home.

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

Children enjoy living in the home. They like their bedrooms and the meals cooked by staff. One child said the ‘food is very good. I get to eat a bit of everything, sweet potato fries, steak.’ They share positive relationships with the staff and each other, and there have been no incidents of bullying.

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

Children say that they feel safe in the home. One parent and professionals also say that the staff keep children safe. Staff have a good understanding of the whistle-blowing policy, which helps to safeguard children. Inspection report for children's home: 2652402 4 Staff manage missing-from-home episodes well. They follow the missing procedures appropriately, make significant efforts to locate children and work proactively with external professionals to return children safely.

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

Staff take effective action in response to incidents in the home and in the community. This ensures that children are safeguarded. However, they do not carry out regular direct work with children to address ongoing risks. This means that children are not provided with opportunities to develop insight into other safer choices that could be made.

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

Allegations against staff are well managed, and appropriate consultations have been held with the local authority designated officer. This means that children have felt heard and been safeguarded when they have raised concerns.

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

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has left, and the deputy manager is now managing the home. This has reduced management capacity as a new deputy manager has not yet been recruited. These changes have impacted the quality of leadership in the home.

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

Staff receive regular supervision. This focuses on children’s progress and any safeguarding concerns, alongside staff well-being and training needs. Supervision records clearly detail actions.

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

Leaders are aware of the need to improve the quality and accuracy of children’s case records. This is addressed with staff in their supervision but has not led to practice improvements. As a result, there are shortfalls in records of direct work with children. Leaders do not maintain regular oversight of children’s records to ensure that actions have been completed.

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

Leaders do not regularly monitor the quality of children’s care in the home. Auditing activity is low, and inconsistent with the information set out in the home’s statement of purpose. This limits opportunities to learn from children’s experiences and drive improvements in the home.

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

The home is welcoming, and children have spacious bedrooms with their own en-suite bathrooms. However, the home’s cleanliness, decor and repair work need further attention, so that it is a well-maintained environment for children.

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

The staff are all permanently employed and have worked at the home for at least a year. Agency workers are not used. This means the children benefit from having consistent adults in their lives to build trusting relationships with. Staff enjoy working in the home, and they value the strong communication in the team. They know the children well and understand their risks and the progress they have made. Inspection report for children's home: 2652402 5

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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 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff must carry out direct work with children to help them understand their risks and develop strategies to reduce risks. 28 February 2025

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to-

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life at the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(i)(ii)) 28 February 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2652402 6 In particular, staff must ensure that a high standard of cleaning is maintained in the home and any necessary repairs are promptly carried out.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which –

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date (Regulation 36 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff record all work they do with children, and that records are accurate. 28 February 2025

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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-

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h)) 31 March 2025

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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: 2652402 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Canterbury Care and Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Muhammed Choudhary

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Inspectors

Jo Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Natalie Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2652402 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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