Excelcare24 Limited

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Excelcare24 Limited 1 Excelcare24 Limited Registered provider: ExcelCare24 Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This service is owned and managed by a private provider. It can accommodate up to 11 children in three shared or group living homes that are limited to accommodating looked-after children and care leavers. It also provides shared or group living premises that are not limited to accommodating looked-after children or care leavers.

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provider

At the time of this inspection, the service was providing support for six children aged 16 and 17.

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provider

The service manager has been in post since the service registered with Ofsted. They are currently applying for the vacant nominated individual role. A new service manager has been recruited and is applying to Ofsted for registration.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 8 September 2025 and started that day. The inspector was on site on 10 and 12 September 2025.

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Outcome

Inconsistent quality of service delivery adversely affects some children’s experiences, and this may limit their progress. Leaders and managers must make improvements.

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Outcome

The next inspection will be within approximately 18 months.

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Summary of findings

Most children live in clean homes. Children and staff jointly keep the homes clean. However, in one home a consistent approach is not followed in the maintenance and provision of hygienic facilities suitable for children’s needs.

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Summary of findings

Staff support children with their education and future aspirations. A nurturing staff team supports children to develop adult life skills. They help children to settle into their homes and increase their independence. This is recorded in well-planned progress trackers. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Excelcare24 Limited 2 Staff use creative methods to communicate with children. This allows children to express themselves and share their thoughts and feelings. However, these discussions are not recorded. This prevents effective oversight of the actions required to be taken to help children progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children live in clean homes. Both children and staff ensure that their homes are presentable and kept tidy. Children’s bedrooms are well decorated with themes reflecting their religious beliefs, interests and backgrounds. However, a consistent approach is not maintained in the presentation of the homes’ communal areas, and repairs are not completed. For example, the walls are bare and lack a homely feel. Additionally, an ill-fitting carpet in the hallway is a trip hazard, and unsuitable toilet facilities fail to meet appropriate hygiene standards or meet children’s religious needs. These features detract from the homely feel of the homes. Children’s bedrooms do not have secure storage spaces for them to keep their valuables safe. This does not enable children to protect their valuable items.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are looked after by a supportive and friendly staff team. Staff use their knowledge and a wide range of professional and personal experiences from their backgrounds to ensure that children have wonderful experiences and achieve good outcomes. One new child said, ‘I like the staff here; they help me so much, and I now feel at home here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are registered in educational settings from the onset and attend education regularly. Staff support children with educational needs and encourage those who struggle with their education to explore other skill development plans, such as employment opportunities. Staff work alongside colleges and local authorities to promote children’s education and encourage those with jobs to maintain good attendance and work ethics.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff acknowledge children’s views and opinions. They use very creative methods to hold discussions with children in line with their current needs. Where children struggle to express themselves using the English language, staff use online apps and encourage engagement to help them gain confidence in communicating and expressing themselves. Staff patiently give children time to express themselves. However, these discussions are not always recorded by staff, but, instead, by managers who would have not been present when they occur. Therefore, they do not give the factual account of events and follow ups to ensure that children’s needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children independently attend a variety of activities of their choice. Staff encourage children who struggle with social skills to join peers from the homes to access the community and enjoy activities of their choice. Some children meet family members and individuals from their countries of origin and play games such as football. Children also enjoy activities such as bike riding, swimming and attending the gym. This helps them make friends and develop social skills. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Excelcare24 Limited 3 Staff value children’s development and empowerment. They use independent living plans to support children in developing skills and preparing for adult life. Children obtain bank accounts, identification documents and complete housing applications in preparation for their move. One child said, ‘When I move on, I want to study and get a job as an electrician to help earn better money to pay my bills.’

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff understand children’s individual risks. These risks are detailed in assessments that are regularly reviewed. The manager holds reflective discussions with staff in group meetings and handovers on how to manage risks and keep children safe. However, some assessments have failed to effectively identify children’s current risks or guide staff appropriately on how to effectively keep children safe. They also lack the manager’s oversight.

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How well children are helped and protected

When children go missing from home, staff work closely with other agencies to ensure that children are contacted, located and returned home safely. Staff have discussions with children regarding the dangers of being in the community late at night. Well-documented protocols are in place to guide staff in the event children go missing.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff help children understand and adhere to the homes’ rules and guidelines. When children struggle with their emotions, staff use verbal de-escalation and positive disruption techniques to help them calm. As a result, all children are settled well in the homes, and children openly seek emotional support from staff and request external support from mental health organisations when required. However, incidents are not always recorded by staff, but, instead, by managers. This third-party information means that it is not factual, and incidents are not effectively accessed to ensure that appropriate action was taken to manage behaviours.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and the manager adhere to safer recruitment processes. All checks are completed, and staff are thoroughly vetted before employment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The service has undergone a management restructure. The registered service manager is the new proposed nominated individual, and the care coordinator has been promoted to the proposed registered service manager role; both are in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have, on occasion, failed to trust and empower staff with skills to support children and effectively report conversations and actions taken to support children. Managers have completed children’s records using information provided to them by staff. This has impacted on staff development and distorted information about the support given to children. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Excelcare24 Limited 4 Staff receive regular supervision where they discuss practice issues and the support children receive. Regular staff meetings and handovers promote good practice. Staff share a positive working relationship with the manager and feel supported. One staff member said, ‘It’s good to have managers who support and listen to us; they are always there to help when needed.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The manager and leaders promote staff’s professional development. Staff receive regular training aligned with children’s current needs. This enhances staff’s knowledge of supporting and keeping children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers fail to recruit a diverse team of staff. This means that the cultural needs of children are not always met consistently. Staff are not always able to respond to children’s individual needs due to their lack of understanding of the child’s culture and beliefs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have not notified Ofsted about serious events. This means that Ofsted has not been able to maintain the required level of regulatory oversight between inspections. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Excelcare24 Limited 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including 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 supported accommodation undertaking that puts children first and prioritises their wellbeing and development.

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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 supported accommodation undertaking in a way that is consistent with the ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the undertaking’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills appropriate for the work that they are to perform.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that internal monitoring systems support managers to evaluate and continually develop the service. 10 November 2025

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Requirement Due date

The accommodation standard is that children experience a comfortable and secure living environment.

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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

are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child individually and all children collectively;

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Requirement Due date

The accommodation standard is that children experience a comfortable and secure living environment. In 10 November 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Excelcare24 Limited 6 particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used as supported accommodation—

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Requirement Due date

are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child individually and all children collectively; are suitable for the purposes of supported accommodation and are accessible, safe, secure and well-maintained;

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Requirement Due date

offer a comfortable, positive and nurturing environment, while respecting children’s need for privacy; ensure that each child is provided with a private bedroom—

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Requirement Due date

with sufficient space to accommodate a reasonable number of personal possessions,

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Requirement Due date

which is equipped to meet the child’s individual needs, which is physically secure.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 6 (1) (2)(b)(v)(vi)(vii)(d)(i)(ii)(iv))

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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

ensure that staff— have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of abuse, neglect, exploitation or any other harm, and act to reduce such risk.

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to ensuring that staff recruitment addresses diversity and is well balanced to meet the needs of children from all backgrounds. 10 November 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a behaviour management policy setting out—

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Requirement Due date

Where there is use of a measure of restraint (“the measure”) of a child in premises used for supported accommodation, the registered person must ensure that— 10 November 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Excelcare24 Limited 7 within 24 hours of the use of the measure, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure, and of any other individual present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment(18) administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered service manager, or a person who is authorised by the registered service manager to do so (“the authorised person”), has—

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Requirement Due date

signed the record, completed under sub-paragraph (a), to confirm it is accurate.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation22(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to ensuring that risk assessments provide guidance to staff about the evolving risks to children and how to best support children to reduce the risk of harm.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify the CIECSS and any relevant person without delay if— 10 November 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Excelcare24 Limited 8 an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child and the registered person considers that incident to be serious. (Regulation 27 (3)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the supported accommodation provider’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording, in particular when recording daily events, key-work sessions and interactions with children. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 58)

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Excelcare24 Limited 9

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: ExcelCare24 Limited

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: Kemp House, City Road, London EC1V 2NX

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Sharon Francis

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: contracts@excelcare24.co.uk

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Inspector

Alphie Khumalo, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Excelcare24 Limited 10 regulates and inspects 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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