Children's Home run by Children of the Mangrove Limited in Merton

Inspection report for children’s home: 1235653 1 Registered provider: Children of the Mangrove Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in April 2016 and is privately owned. 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, two children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2021 and is suitably qualified.

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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: inadequate

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: The home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 15 and 16 April 2025. As a result, two compliance notices were issued under Regulation 12 (the protection of children standard) and Regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard) of The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015. A notice restricting accommodation was issued on 17 April 2025. On 11 June 2025, a monitoring visit took place. The provider had met the compliance notices, and the notice restricting accommodation was lifted. Inspection report for children’s home: 1235653 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/04/2025 Full Inadequate 30/07/2024 Full Good 13/09/2023 Full Good 02/08/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1235653 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children living at the home spoke with the inspector during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last full inspection, children’s safety, experiences, and progress have improved. Children like living at the home and say they feel safe. Staff develop positive relationships with children and are effective in understanding and meeting their needs. Staff have undertaken training on managing professional boundaries and, as a result, are more effective at managing behaviours that challenge. One social worker said, ‘They continue to be firm and place boundaries with [name of child] around expectations.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress at the home. Staff promote children’s health needs and provide support where needed to enable them to look after their health. Referrals are made when health issues may require specialist services, and health concerns are sensitively managed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s education. They support children’s attendance at school by driving them there and picking them up. They encourage children who wish to pursue further education and support them with making applications, visiting colleges, and writing CVs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen and respond to children’s views. Weekly house meetings are held, where children can share their opinions of the home. Children’s feedback on the home’s decor, for example, led to several improvements. This includes the appearance of the front room and redecorating children’s bedrooms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, children’s complaints are taken seriously. Children receive helpful written responses that acknowledge their feelings and consider ways to resolve their concerns, while also being transparent about the actions staff must take to ensure children’s safety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with regular opportunities for enjoyable activities. If children have specific talents and interests, staff provide opportunities for them to engage in related activities and outings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well presented and maintained, with a welcoming atmosphere. There are large communal areas for children to spend time in, including spacious living and dining areas, as well as a games room in the garden. Children’s artwork is displayed in the home. Staff support children in keeping their bedrooms tidy. There are two bathrooms for children, which have recently been refurbished. Any damage to the home is promptly repaired. This has improved since the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 1235653 4

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

Safeguarding practice has significantly improved since the last inspection. Staff have attended training on substance misuse and are more confident in addressing this issue with children where needed. They now routinely carry out bedroom searches when there is a concern around possible substance misuse.

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

Staff provide children with meaningful discussions through key-work sessions. The records of these sessions reflect the practical and emotional support children receive. The best way to support children with complex communication needs is considered. For example, a key-work session plan was produced in consultation with the home’s consultant social worker. The plan provides clear guidance on how to engage the child in a trauma-informed conversation and includes suggested questions for opening the conversation.

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

Staff follow the missing-from-care protocol when children are missing from the home. The relevant agencies are notified, logs of communications are maintained, and return home interviews are requested. Staff assess children’s well-being when they return. However, there are still some shortfalls in recording, and the records do not always include all the information about the incident.

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

Children have detailed individual risk assessments. They are kept up to date and set out strategies to reduce risk. Leaders have recently introduced a 24-hour risk assessment for each child, setting out all aspects of their daily routine. These assessments help new staff to quickly understand how to best support children throughout the day. Leaders work in partnership with placing authorities on a safety plan around known risks.

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

Bedroom searches are proportionate and effective in safeguarding children. However, there is sometimes a lack of management oversight, and children are not always spoken with afterwards.

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

Leaders’ safer recruitment practice is not robust. All relevant identity checks are carried out, and references are obtained. However, leaders and managers do not always obtain full employment histories or make efforts to obtain overseas police checks for workers who originate from other countries. This shortfall could increase the risk of unsuitable adults working with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have worked diligently to address the concerns raised at the last inspection. The compliance notices and several requirements were deemed to have been met at the last monitoring visit.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager was not present at this inspection, and the operations manager led it in her absence. Since the last inspection, the operations manager has worked at the home alongside another manager. They have put systems in place to improve leaders’ oversight of the home. For example, there is now a file of all safeguarding Inspection report for children’s home: 1235653 5 incidents and a tracker for missing-from-care episodes and return home interviews. These systems help managers to ensure that actions are followed up on.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by managers who are always available to them. They collaborate and offer to help one another when needed. Staff know the children well and can describe their progress and risks. One parent said, ‘All the staff are friendly and helpful; they seem to have their best interests at heart.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers provide staff with regular and effective supervision. Supervision covers staff well-being, discussions about children and their current risks, key-worker responsibilities, training, and feedback on performance. Staff are provided with comprehensive records of their supervision, and clear actions are identified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Weekly team meetings are held to help staff maintain consistency in their practice. The meetings cover important subjects, including updates on children, and an experienced social worker provides advice on how staff can use a therapeutic approach when with children. Team meetings also provide an opportunity to boost team morale as individual staff members check in on their well-being. The newly launched home newsletter helps share information and brings the team together.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Not all staff demonstrate adequate knowledge of the policies and procedures relating to whistle-blowing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s most recent review of the quality of care for children fails to meet regulatory requirements because it does not clearly identify actions for improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: 1235653 6

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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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they have a full employment history for staff. 8 August 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality-of-care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing, and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities, and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (1) (2) (a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that the quality-of-care review meets regulatory requirements and includes an improvement plan. 29 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1235653 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should maintain good employment practice and attempt to obtain police information for staff who have lived outside of the UK to ensure that staff recruitment safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s internal whistle-blowing procedures. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.9)  The registered person should ensure that records are kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 46, paragraph 9.31)  The registered person should ensure that all bedroom searches are appropriately recorded, including the reasons for the search, efforts to seek the child’s consent, and

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Recommendations

management oversight of a decision to carry out a search. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 16, paragraph 3.20)

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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: 1235653 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Children of the Mangrove Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Chester House, Fulham Green, 81 to 83 Fulham High Street, London SW6 3JA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Knowlton Crichlow

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Inspector

Jo Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1235653 9 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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