Children's Home run by Achieving for Children Community Interest Company in Richmond upon Thames

Inspection report for children’s home: 2576346 1 Registered provider: Achieving for Children Community Interest Company 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 September 2020 and is privately run. It provides care for up to five children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2024.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2576346 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/07/2024 Full Good 10/10/2023 Full Good 14/06/2022 Full Good 23/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2576346 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences living at the home. They make progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s transitions into the home are well planned, allowing them to settle well. Planning at this point includes consideration for all the children in the home. The ethos of the home is one of strong commitment to children; one child has lived at the home for over two years.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff advocate for children to ensure that they can meet with services that support their health and well-being. When children are unwell, staff frequently check their well-being and support them in attending follow-up appointments with health services.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise each child’s achievements. With their encouragement and support, all three children at the home are making progress in their education. Two children are attending school. The third child has recently completed their examinations and is exploring opportunities for further education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work to create a caring, nurturing environment in which children can seek help and guidance and express any concerns. One child said, ‘Staff really care.’ This allows staff to get to know the children well and to provide them with tailored care and support that take into account their individual interests and hobbies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a safe space for the children. Increased attention is required on communal areas and general maintenance to ensure that children feel fully comfortable.

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

Children feel safe at the home and are comfortable in the company of staff. Regular conversations with family members and other agencies support the staff in safeguarding the children who live at the home.

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

Risk assessments consider relevant risks and how they may affect children. They inform actions that staff take to reduce risks to children. The likelihood of children going missing has reduced because of the care they receive and the relationships they build with the staff. If a child goes missing, staff know how to respond, and they welcome them back to the home in a warm, nurturing way.

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

Children are rarely restrained. Staff are trained and confident in using alternative approaches before restraint is necessary. On the few occasions when it has been necessary, staff have used restraint as a last resort, doing so safely and following up with conversations with both the child and staff member involved. The recordings of these events are detailed and include appropriate management oversight. Inspection report for children’s home: 2576346 4 Staff engage in meaningful conversations with children to support them in making safe choices. Records of these conversations do not include the child’s views or reflections about the topic.

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

Staff are aware of the whistle-blowing policy. Allegations and complaints are managed effectively, and steps are taken to maintain the well-being of children and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are passionate about achieving positive outcomes for children, and this is mirrored in the staff team. There are upcoming changes to the home's staffing structure; the managers are considering how they can minimise the potential effects of these changes on the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team confidently challenges other services to ensure timely care and support for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel valued and supported by the leadership team and by each other. The staff team highlighted an emphasis on supporting well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular supervision allows staff to reflect on their practice and the children’s needs. Supervision does not include measurable timescales for actions that are agreed. This makes it difficult to monitor progress and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive relevant training that helps them support children in achieving positive outcomes and having enjoyable experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children's records often lack the oversight of leaders and managers. The home’s filing system does not always ensure that other important documents are included in children’s files, so their records are not always complete, and they do not always fully reflect their experiences and progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2576346 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.

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s local authority care plans are available to children and are regularly updated. 5 August 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan that can fulfil the workforce- related requirements of Regulation 16, Schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should detail the process for managing and improving poor performance and include the process and timescales for supervision of practice, including measurable target setting for supervision tasks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that all staff encourage children to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’, supporting them to view and contribute to the records in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.9)  The registered person should ensure that children are provided with a welcoming and homely domestic environment. This specifically relates to ensuring that the cleaning

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Recommendations

schedule is regularly reviewed and that repairs are addressed within a reasonable time frame. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children’s home: 2576346 6

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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: 2576346 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Achieving for Children Community Interest Company

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: First Floor, Civic Centre, 44 York Street, Twickenham TW1 3BW

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Inspectors

Richard Wyper, Social Care Inspector Zafer Yilkan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2576346 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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