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

Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2784900 1

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Information about this children's home

This privately run home provides care for up to three children.

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Information about this children's home

There were no children living in the home at the time of the monitoring visit.

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Information about this children's home

There has been no registered manager since 2 May 2025.

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This monitoring visit

At the full inspection on 29 April 2025, the home was judged inadequate. Following this, compliance notices under regulation 12, the protection of children standard and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard, were served. The purpose of this visit was to monitor the progress that the provider has made in meeting the steps in the compliance notice.

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This monitoring visit

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has been dismissed. They have not yet submitted their voluntary cancellation form. A consultant has been commissioned. However, their involvement ceased on 13 June 2025. At the time of the visit, the responsible individual was suspended from working at the home. A director had stepped in to fill this role.

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This monitoring visit

The inspector found continued and widespread failures to provide effective leadership and management of the home. These failures have resulted in children being at risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

There has been insufficient oversight of safeguarding matters. Following concerns about allegations about staff, risk assessments have not been provided. Several staff are suspended with current allegations against them. Safeguarding partners have requested information from the provider in respect of two of these allegations. There are also two separate records when a child has referred to an allegation they have Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2784900 2 made against staff. There is no evidence to demonstrate that any of this information has been shared with safeguarding partners. This limits investigations and prevents appropriate decisions from being made about incidents.

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This monitoring visit

Records show that police are involved in two of the allegations made against staff. The director was unaware of these. She has not sought formal verification, or discussed these with safeguarding partners. The status of the allegations is unknown. This is unhelpful for the staff involved and demonstrates a poor understanding of the importance of clear records and information-sharing.

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This monitoring visit

A safeguarding tracker has been devised. This functions as a chronology of action taken in response to allegations and investigations. This document has not been completed for any of the current allegations. The poor management of safeguarding concerns demonstrates that children and others may be at risk of further harm.

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This monitoring visit

Staff who are currently suspended from working at the home have taken part in face-to-face training with other staff members. This could compromise investigations. During the visit, the director had arranged for these staff, to come to the home to talk to the inspector. The inspector had to explain that this would not be appropriate. This demonstrates a lack of understanding of contextual safeguarding in a children’s home setting and the level of risk assessment required.

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This monitoring visit

At the time of the visit, four allegations had not been notified to Ofsted. A request to notify Ofsted was made at the inspection in April 2025, then again at the beginning of May 2025 and advised by the inspector at the last visit in June 2025. The director had said that she would send these, however, these have not been received. This limits the oversight that Ofsted has of the allegations against staff.

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This monitoring visit

Several monitoring tools have been created. However, these tools have not been used to evaluate the current situation at the home. This has contributed to leaders and managers being unaware of the progress towards meeting the steps in compliance notices.

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This monitoring visit

Most staff have completed mandatory training, including safeguarding and first aid. Face-to-face training sessions on risk assessments and safeguarding have taken place. Staff were able to articulate some of what they had learned and how they feel this will improve their practice. However, the training matrix does not clearly identify who has completed the face-to-face training and who is still required to attend. Other important training linked to the shortfalls identified in the compliance notices has not yet been planned. Although this was confirmed in an email sent by the consultant, this was not delivered in a timely way.

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This monitoring visit

The staff induction document has been modified. At the previous two inspections, it was identified that staff have not had appropriate induction periods. Despite this, there is no evidence to show that existing staff have benefitted from the new full Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2784900 3 induction. Leaders and managers have not understood what is required to ensure that staff are competent to begin working in their roles.

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This monitoring visit

The agency staff who were previously working at the home had received relevant physical restraint training. This means that those staff had the relevant skills to restrain children safely.

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This monitoring visit

The previous responsible individual has been holding supervision sessions with staff. Overall, these are meaningful and encourage reflection. However, supervision sessions were provided to staff who were suspended. These sessions do not include an appropriate discussion with the staff member about what an allegation and suspension from work mean. This does not provide staff with a full understanding of the current situation regarding their suspended employment.

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This monitoring visit

The previous responsible individual is currently suspended pending an investigation. The new responsible individual is a social care professional. However, she does not have experience of managing children’s homes. The supporting consultant is no longer involved with the organisation. A new manager has been recruited. However, at the present time, the management arrangements are not effective and fail to provide enough reassurance that children will be safeguarded.

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This monitoring visit

Ofsted is not satisfied that the provider has the capability to improve the service.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 29/04/2025 Full Inadequate 10/03/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2784900 4

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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, 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 with 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 July 2025 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2784900 5 This requirement is restated.

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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

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; (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;

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Requirement Due date

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. 18 July 2025 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2784900 6 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.

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

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

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; ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child's welfare; treat each child with dignity and respect; provide personalised care that 18 July 2025 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2784900 7 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

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))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 18 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction;

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— undertake appropriate continuing professional development; receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. 18 July 2025 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2784900 8 (Regulation 33 (1)(a)(4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter; must be made or confirmed in writing.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 18 July 2025

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children's home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2784900 9

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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 - monitoring visit: 2784900 10 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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