Children's Home run by ANKH-A Ltd in Luton

Inspection report for children's home: 2784900 1 Registered provider: ANKH-A 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. There was one child living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since the home was registered in July 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection since the home opened.

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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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: 2784900 2

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improvement to be good

Since the home was registered, four children have lived there. One child was living at the home during the inspection. The manager was present throughout the inspection.

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improvement to be good

The child spends much of their day in bed and is awake at night playing games on a console. The child often gets up in the early afternoon, which was the case on both days of the inspection. This has led to poor routines and sleeping patterns.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not helping the child to learn. As a result of being asleep for most of the day, the child is not taking part in educational activities. Tutors had been arranged to provide two hours of learning four days a week. This was reduced as the child was not getting up in time to take part in the learning.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not have an appropriate structure and routine in place to help the child get up in the morning. Records show that staff attempt once an hour to wake the child. This is not an effective approach to help a child who has had little sleep. There has been no specialist support sought from health partners.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not make sure that children move in and out of the home in a thoughtful way. The statement of purpose states that there will be a minimum of two visits before children move in. This has not been the case for any child. This is despite there being enough time for these visits to take place. One child moved out of the home in a planned way. Staff did not celebrate the child’s time at the home with a gift, meal, or card. The staff failed to recognise their role in ensuring that endings for children are positive.

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improvement to be good

Staff have helped the child at the home to take part in a community group. The child attended a similar group before moving to the home and has continued to attend. This gives the child a sense of purpose and is particularly important as they are not attending school. Children have enjoyed activities such as a sightseeing trip to London and trampolining. Staff capture these moments in photos.

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improvement to be good

Staff notice small things that the child does and praises them when appropriate. For example, staff acknowledge when the child is looking smart and when they seem happy. This lets the child know that staff are attentive.

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improvement to be good

Children are helped to see people who are important to them. One child is supported to see family members regularly. Another child rebuilt a relationship with a family member after a long break. Inspection report for children's home: 2784900 3

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improvement to be good

Managers are unrealistic about meeting children’s needs. Until recently, staff did not have the necessary training to help them to work with children. This has meant that they have not managed challenging behaviour or been able to use physical restraint and de- escalation. The first child who moved into the home had experienced multiple moves from other children’s homes. The staff were unprepared to meet this child’s needs because of a lack of training and knowledge. This culminated in an incident when the child was arrested. Managers said that the child could not return to the home, resulting in another move for them. This contributed to the child’s trauma.

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improvement to be good

Two children had formal court orders in place advising staff of the steps they should take to keep them safe. This included that staff who are trained in physical restraint could use permissible force to safeguard the child. However, at the time, the staff had not all received restraint training. This means that staff were not able to implement the court order designed to safeguard the child. This conflicted with the organisation’s statement of purpose and policies.

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improvement to be good

Although staff had no physical restraint training, restraint was being used. These incidents were not recorded effectively, and it is not clear how the child was held. One record details that the child was restrained by holding her hands behind her back. The manager has evaluated this as appropriate. This type of restraint and incident requires further exploration from leaders and managers to understand what happened.

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improvement to be good

An allegation was made against a member of staff in relation to the use of restraint. The investigation identified that the staff member had no restraint training and should have been on shift with a staff member who was trained. The rota shows that this had not been considered and there were days when the untrained staff member worked with other untrained staff. Leaders and managers do not fully understand the outcomes of their own investigations and fail to meet the actions that they set. Following the investigation, there has been no follow-up with the child to acknowledge what has happened or to apologise. This does not support relationship-building with the child.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are often not up to date. They include information from previous homes which is irrelevant. Children have safety plans, however, staff have differing ideas about the action to take in certain situations, such as when children are missing from the home. This means that staff are not clear about how to ensure a child’s welfare when they are in the community alone.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not always curious about children’s experiences. A room search was conducted during which items including a spanner, two broken phones, a ski pole and broken glass were retrieved. There has been no follow-up discussion with the child about this. The child has a historic risk of criminal exploitation. The child does not often go out on their own, however, staff have not considered whether the items found could be linked to an emerging associated risk. Inspection report for children's home: 2784900 4 There is no sensible or safe approach to internet safety. A child has unfiltered access to their mobile phone and console. Staff do not carry out checks on devices and have no idea what the child may be accessing. While there is no immediate risk, there is no understanding that the internet and social media pose a risk and how this could impact the child.

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improvement to be good

One child felt able to let staff know that a family member had sent them a ticket to enable them to travel in an unplanned way. This meant that staff were able to intervene quickly and liaise with family members.

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improvement to be good

Staff have provided the child with some stability. This has led to the child’s court-ordered restrictions being gradually reduced.

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

The manager is experienced and is working towards a relevant qualification. He is supported by a responsible individual who is a qualified social worker. They are both committed to providing improved outcomes for children in a therapeutic and holistic way. However, there has been naivety in respect of operating a children’s home and meeting the regulations.

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

Leaders and managers have not provided staff with appropriate training. Some staff, including senior staff, have not completed safeguarding training. Several members of staff have not completed other basic training such as food hygiene. Leaders and managers have not ensured that staff have an effective induction before working with children. Staff have not been provided with training to ensure that they can provide the service described in the statement of purpose. This relates to providing trauma-informed practice and social pedagogy. This is misleading for commissioners and has led to children living at the home whose complex needs cannot be met.

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

Leaders and managers have not identified that training for staff was needed to implement a court order. This was the case for two children. Following the first child moving out, a thoughtful and meaningful lessons-learned session was carried out with staff to better help them to understand the realities of working with children with complex needs. However, leaders and managers did not identify the lack of training as a contributing factor to the child moving.

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

Managers provide supervision sessions regularly, however, these do not cover practice issues. This means that staff are not helped to understand that their response to children has not been effective, and they have not been offered guidance and support to help them learn.

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

Staff say that the manager is approachable and visible. Feedback from a social worker about a child’s progress was positive. Inspection report for children's home: 2784900 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(a)(c)(f)(g)(h)) 10 April 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2784900 6 In particular, ensure that staff have been provided with the training needed to meet the needs of children who are subject to court orders.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure staff complete basic induction training, such as safeguarding and food hygiene training.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that staff are equipped and trained to meet children’s needs and to adhere to the ethos that is set out in the statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure monitoring identifies shortfalls in training and practice issues are identified and dealt with appropriately.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that actions set from investigations are followed and changes show that lessons are learned.

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e)) 10 April 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2784900 7 In particular, ensure that allegations are followed up appropriately, to include referral to the local authority designated officer and children’s social workers.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that risk assessments and safety plans provide accurate information and that staff understand and follow children’s plans.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure a sensible, age-appropriate approach to internet safety.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(c) (2)(a)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff support children to have healthy routines.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that when there are problems with healthy routines and sleep patterns, staff seek professional advice from health partners. 10 April 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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff— 10 April 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2784900 8 understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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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. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that managers understand the ethos of the home, the statement of purpose and that staff are equipped to provide the service set out.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that children’s needs are met, especially for those who are subject to deprivation of liberty safeguards orders.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that leaders and managers follow the home’s policies and procedures.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each permanent appointment of an employee is subject to the satisfactory completion of a period of probation; and

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1)(a)(b) (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that staff complete an appropriate induction within a set time frame, to include completion of basic training.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that staff receive supervision sessions that cover practice issues. 10 April 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2784900 9

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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: 2784900 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: c/o GP Accountancy & Taxation Solutions Ltd, 77 Butler Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 4DS

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Inspector

Hannah Phillips, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2784900 11 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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