Children's Home run by Karenest Ilford Limited in Redbridge

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2744586 1 Registered provider: Karenest Ilford Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in September 2023 and is privately owned. It provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager in post since 29 November 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector was aware during this inspection that a serious incident that occurred at the setting since the last inspection is under investigation by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate incidents of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the incident were considered where appropriate alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform the inspector’s judgements.

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Information about this children’s home

Ofsted has issued a notice to restrict accommodation at the home. At the time of this visit, there were no children living at the home, and the provider cannot accept new admissions while this restriction is in place. Ofsted will continue to monitor the provider’s compliance with the restriction of accommodation notice.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers are ineffective in making appropriate decisions about who should come to live at this home. When considering children moving in, leaders and managers consider how some risks and vulnerabilities known for them could affect other children. Despite this, one child’s placement assessment lacks critical analysis as it does not include how a known risk of exploitation will be managed.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers do not consider learning from placement endings, missing opportunities for end of placement reflection and evaluation to inform care practice in the home. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2744586 2 In consultation with local authorities, leaders and managers make appropriate decisions to reduce the levels of supervision that staff provide to children. Children make progressive steps towards becoming more independent and start to have increasing time in the local community.

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This monitoring visit

Children spend time with the psychologist who works with the staff and children at the home. Clinical assessments consider how children present when staff identify concerns for their emotional health and well-being. Children tell staff the things they can do to help them when they are emotionally distressed. Agreed strategies are included in children’s support plans, but there is a lack of detailed guidance to help staff implement them. It is not clear, for example, how long staff should wait before checking on children who are given time and space to self-regulate, and how they are expected to document their observations. Leaders and managers are reliant on individual staff members’ vigilance, professional curiosity and parenting skills to make these decisions. Children’s plans are open to interpretation; this has the potential to increase children’s vulnerability.

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This monitoring visit

The review of children’s risk assessments and support plans lacks detail and critical evaluation. Reviews do not include strategies to mitigate against all known risks, for example when children who are vulnerable to exploitation start to spend time in the local area.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders, managers and staff call time away from the home ‘free time’ and it is also described this way in children’s records. This is institutional language which may not be helpful for children.

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This monitoring visit

Following a serious incident at the home, leaders and managers did not effectively fulfil their responsibility to ensure that partner agencies had timely, accurate information. This has impacted negatively on the child’s placing authority’s understanding and ability to report and share information. The notification sent to Ofsted also did not include sufficient detail. This hinders the regulator’s oversight of safeguarding practices in the home.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers are responsive to complaints that children raise about the support they receive. Thorough independent investigations take place when children make a complaint. Through mediation and social events, children reconnect well with staff.

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This monitoring visit

Staff are suitably checked and they have the skills to work with children. Leaders and managers follow safer recruitment practices and ensure that staff access training and support to fulfil their role. Staff value the emotional support that leaders, managers and the psychologist provide at times of crisis.

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This monitoring visit

Staff are caring and child focused. They enjoy working together, with positive working relationships forged over time. Staff show resilience and provide stability at the home when experiencing multiple managerial changes. Staff understand their Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2744586 3 responsibility to raise concerns and are confident in leaders and managers’ responses.

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This monitoring visit

Instability in the leadership team has at times had a negative effect on how children feel about living at this home. Managers have been recruited and appointed; however, there has been no registered manager for the last 10 months. The fragility in management arrangements continues. Currently, an experienced deputy manager who was recently recruited to the organisation has day-to-day responsibility for the home. This interim manager has not applied to register with Ofsted. This means that the regulator is unable to assess the manager’s fitness and suitability for the role.

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This monitoring visit

The interim manager ensures that staff have reflective supervision. Together, they talk about professional development, safeguarding and ways of working with children. The responsible individual regularly visits the home. However, the interim manager has not received formal practice-related supervision since being appointed. This does not demonstrate good practice and could weaken support for the manager at a time when they are new to their role. The quality and frequency of supervision is a repeated concern at this home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/04/2025 Full Good 21/05/2024 Full Good 26/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2744586 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, 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that they fully consider the needs of children moving into the home as well as those of the children already living in the home.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated from the last inspection. 17 October 2025

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that support strategies to mitigate emerging risks for children are well defined in behaviour support plans. Also, that there is clear guidance 17 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2744586 5 for staff on the expectations around observations and checks made on children who are vulnerable at times of emotional distress and when they are at risk of exploitation and spend time out of the home with new acquaintances.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and the registered provider—

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home.

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person so appointed; and

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Requirement Due date

the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation (27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

The person appointed in day-to-day charge of the home must submit a complete application to register with Ofsted. 17 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that all staff, including the manager, receive regular practice-related supervision. 17 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that 17 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2744586 6 the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that information shared with children’s placing authorities is timely and sufficiently detailed to ensure that they have a full understanding of incidents that occur in the home.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

and any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter. (Regulation 40 (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that formal notifications to the regulator are sufficiently detailed for an assessment to be made of the provider’s response to the management of children’s safety and risk. 17 October 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff use language that is helpful to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2744586 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Karenest Ilford Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2a, 420 Eastern Avenue, Ilford IG2 6NQ

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Inspector

Alexandra Howitt, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2744586 8 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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