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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2784900 1 Registered provider: ANKH-A Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in July 2024 and is privately run. It provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since the home registered.

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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/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2784900 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/03/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2784900 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The inspector was aware during this inspection that serious child protection allegations were being investigated by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the allegations were considered alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform the inspector’s judgements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are at risk of harm due to serious and widespread shortfalls in child protection and leadership and management of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home. However, they were not present during the inspection. On the day of the inspection, the local authority terminated the child’s residence at the home with immediate effect. Both children who have lived in the home since the last inspection have had to move on in sudden and unplanned ways.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Managers have not ensured that plans on how to care for children are complete or up to date. One child was in the home for an assessment period of 28 days. There are no instructions about what this assessment period means or what staff should be doing to support the child in making progress in key areas of their life. Staff have not received clear and sufficient guidance on how to care for children. As a result, one child spent much of the day in their bedroom. As plans are incomplete, planned discussions with children are minimal, do not address meaningful matters in their lives, and do not help them make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff are not attuned to the children and do not prioritise spending time with them. One child spent a lot of time in their bedroom. On one occasion, the child requested that staff spend time with them in the lounge watching television. The staff member declined, saying they had work to do. This does not demonstrate to the child that they are valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not consider how children should see family members safely. One child was contacted by family members who they had not spoken with since early childhood. There was no curiosity about the consequences or how this might affect the child’s mood, behaviour or well-being. This new contact was not detailed in care plans or risk assessments. Staff were not made aware of the importance of this situation and how to respond appropriately.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff have helped one child to develop an improved sleeping routine. Previously, the child had an unhealthy sleeping and waking cycle, spending most days asleep and nights awake. Staff encouraged the child to be more active around the home and out and about with staff. The improved sleeping routines also enabled the child to join community activities, including youth and boxing clubs. This is especially important as the child does not have a peer group available to them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2784900 4 Children have access to various activities. One child played pool on a regular basis at a nearby recreation centre, and another joined the cadets. Staff took the children shopping and to trampoline parks. These activities helped boost the children’s self-esteem.

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

Safeguarding practice is not robust and does not promote children’s safety and welfare. There is not a strong and proactive response to managing and minimising risks. Managers and staff are unclear about the risks associated with self-harm, dynamics between children, and compliance with specific court orders. Consequently, they fail to take effective action to reduce the known and potential risks for each child. This has left children at risk of harm.

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

Staff do not understand children’s risks and how to keep them safe. One child was at significant risk of self-harm and disclosed an episode of attempted self-harm. However, staff provided the child with a razor, which they were able to use unsupervised for a significant length of time. Staff have failed to recognise the significance of this situation and have not taken sufficient action to minimise the risks for the child. Consequently, children have been left at risk of harm.

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

Leaders and managers have not ensured that staff understand and protect children from known risks. Children’s risk assessments are not up to date or accurate, and they fail to detail children’s particular vulnerabilities. A court order outlined the supervision arrangements that staff were required to provide for one child. These arrangements were not assimilated into risk assessments, and staff were not provided with clear instructions. Consequently, staff were not aware of how to provide safe and appropriate supervision to the child.

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

Staff and managers have not managed relationships between children effectively. The staff observed ‘constant play fighting’ among the children, which they also documented in daily records kept in the home. Leaders, managers and staff did not demonstrate sufficient professional curiosity. As a result, they failed to understand or assess the risks associated with the situation effectively. This resulted in an escalation in behaviour between the children, culminating in an allegation of sexual assault.

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

Following the allegation of sexual assault, children’s safety plans were not reviewed and updated. Despite known emerging risks and one child being subject to a court order that stipulates supervision arrangements, records do not demonstrate how staff provided appropriate supervision. The manager has reviewed daily and incident records but failed to identify the shortfalls in staff practice or understand the importance of ensuring appropriate supervision. This failed to safeguard both children.

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

Leaders, managers and staff have not always responded appropriately to safeguarding matters or consistently implemented effective strategies to safeguard the children. Managers failed to act quickly and effectively when a child alleged peer-on-peer abuse. They did not develop and implement appropriate safety plans or report this allegation to Inspection report for children’s home: 2784900 5 multi-agency partners for over 24 hours. This prevented the local authority from taking decisive action to safeguard the children and affected the forensic window for collecting evidence. These delays also hindered the implementation of broader measures to mitigate the risk of harm to children.

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

Leaders and managers have not always managed allegations made by children against staff effectively. Both children have made documented allegations against staff. The manager has read and signed these documents but has not identified these allegations or reported them appropriately to the local designated safeguarding officer (LADO). The failure to report relevant safeguarding events to the LADO prevents them from understanding the gravity of allegations and undermines their ability to decide on the correct course of action. This lack of action potentially exposed children to the risk of harm as staff continued to work at the home without a clear safety plan.

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

Staff do not provide children with clear boundaries and consequences for their behaviour. Records do not demonstrate what help and support staff provide for the children to help them understand and learn from any incidents. One child caused harm to a member of staff. However, there is no evidence of any guidance given to the child following this or any discussion about the incident. This does not help the child reflect on their actions and the impact they have on others or express their emotions in healthy ways.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not have effective monitoring systems in place to identify and respond to shortfalls in children’s care. Weaknesses in incident monitoring and evaluation have contributed to the failure of leaders and managers to identify and address significant safeguarding issues. The manager's failure to acknowledge poor staff practice has left unsafe practices unaddressed, putting children at risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children have not always received care from a consistent or skilled staff team. Staff shifts have been routinely covered by agency staff. The manager is unable to demonstrate the agency staff’s experience, training or adequate induction. Agency staff have been provided with irrelevant and out-of-date documents to read. Inexperienced and untrained substantive staff have often been on shift with agency staff who have not received an induction. As a result, staff have lacked clarity about their roles and responsibilities in relation to providing safe care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff team is inexperienced and not yet able to deliver high-quality care that protects children. Leaders and managers have not provided clear and sufficient guidance to staff on how they should work with children. Staff have not always received regular supervision sessions. When they take place, there is a lack of focus on practice and ensuring that actions have been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is poor oversight of staff training. This has resulted in occasions when there is no staff member with a first-aid qualification or safeguarding training on shift. Children’s physical safety and welfare are potentially compromised as a result. Inspection report for children’s home: 2784900 6 When children have disclosed allegations against staff, the manager has not always taken appropriate action. This does not help children feel safe or have confidence that their concerns are taken seriously.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not always notified Ofsted or other relevant professionals of significant incidents. This undermines Ofsted’s and other professionals’ ability to carry out their roles effectively. They are unable to maintain clear oversight of safeguarding practice and ensure that all necessary actions to keep children safe are addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual acknowledges and understands several of the issues raised during this inspection. However, leaders and managers have not taken effective action to address the shortfalls identified at the last full inspection. This has resulted in several requirements being restated. Inspection report for children’s home: 2784900 7

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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

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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure leaders and managers are skilled safeguarding practitioners and that they respond to safeguarding matters in the appropriate way.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that leaders and managers have effective monitoring tools and that they are skilled in identifying, and address, poor practice in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that staff have a clear understanding of care plans, risk assessments and other relevant documents and that these are kept up to date. 18 June 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2784900 8 Ensure that all staff have completed induction training such as safeguarding training, first aid training and any other relevant training.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that records of agency staff, including any training that they have completed, is held in the home, to demonstrate that they can provide appropriate care to children living in the home.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated * 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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

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

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi) (b)

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Requirement Due date

leaders and managers are skilled at recognising safeguarding matters;

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that safeguarding matters are reported without delay in line with safeguarding policy and procedure; 18 June 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2784900 9 Ensure that following any safeguarding incidents, effective action is taken to keep children safe;

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Requirement Due date

Ensure risk assessments are thorough and cover all known risks and vulnerabilities for children and provide staff with clear guidance and instructions on how to keep children safe. Ensure that managers and staff understand the requirements and expectations placed upon them in fulfilling risk assessments and Court orders;

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Requirement Due date

Ensure staff are aware of the action to take when risks increase including follow up work to ensure children's safety. Ensure that incidents are reviewed, evaluated and risk assessed, with strategies to minimise risks identified, understood by staff, and actioned when needed.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure managers and staff are alert to the dynamic relationships between children. Ensure current and relevant information is included in risk assessments, and that staff are provided with effective strategies to respond.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure leaders and managers are skilled in safeguarding practice and are able to identify and respond to allegations against staff appropriately, including reporting to multi-agency partners and strategies to assess whether staff are able to continue to work safely with children, with appropriate action taken where necessary to safeguard children and others.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated 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

understand and apply the home's statement of purpose; 18 June 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2784900 10 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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated 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

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

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)) 18 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction; 18 June 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2784900 11 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.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 40 (4)(c)(5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 18 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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 12

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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 13 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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