Children's home run by Strides Childcare Services Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2772134 1 Registered provider: Strides Childcare Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned home that provides care for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted on 8 August 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 29 January 2025

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2772134 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/01/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2772134 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to assess children’s needs effectively and whether staff have the skills to meet their needs before the children moved into the home. This has led to children having negative experiences and leaving the home prematurely, causing disruption and instability for children. Leaders and managers have not prioritised the needs of children and have failed to acknowledge or accept the impact that their decision-making has had on the children’s overall experiences and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home environment is not suitable for children. At the time of this inspection, there was significant damage throughout the property. For example, there were broken door frames, cracks and stains on the walls, exposed piping and broken furniture. This does not provide children with a hygienic, safe and comfortable place to live. There are plans in place to repair the damage in the home, and some repair work has been undertaken to begin to make the home safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff lack a full understanding of children’s individual complex needs. Staff’s ability to meet these needs is limited due to their lack of experience and insufficient training. As a result, children are not receiving the individualised care and support needed to keep them safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff have failed to manage situations effectively where one child negatively influences another child. This has allowed harmful behaviours to continue without proper intervention from staff. Additionally, staff do not remain vigilant, intervene promptly, or provide the necessary support to prevent negative behaviours. This lack of action has placed children at risk, harming their safety, well-being and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Despite the identified shortfalls in the care provided to children, some children have made progress. One child has been supported and encouraged to engage with education, and they are making progress in line with their individual education plan. However, there is no education in place for another child currently living in the home. In addition, staff are not providing structured opportunities for alternative educational activities or learning experiences in the home while the child is not attending formal education.

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

Incidents in the home are not always well managed. There are occasions when staff struggle to manage incidents and de-escalate behaviours of concern. As a result, the police and the responsible individual have been contacted on occasions to manage situations in the home. One incident led directly to the disruption of a child’s placement. Case recordings sometimes lack detail about the actions that staff have taken during incidents. This compromises safeguarding practice and reduces opportunities to learn from incidents of concern and address any practice issues. Inspection report for children’s home: 2772134 4 Leaders and managers fail to take effective action to prevent children from smoking cannabis, both inside and outside of the home. Despite clear evidence that children are misusing substances, there have been insufficient actions taken to address or reduce this harmful behaviour. Staff’s lack of action has resulted in a failure to implement timely or

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

effective interventions, leaving children exposed to illegal drug use and associated dangers.

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

Although children’s risk assessments are completed and are regularly reviewed, the strategies implemented are not effective for all children in the home. In many cases, the identified risks are not appropriately managed, and the control measures in place do not sufficiently address the complex needs and behaviours of the children. The lack of tailored, responsive planning leads to inconsistent and sometimes ineffective care practice from staff.

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

Leaders and managers do not follow the home’s safeguarding procedures when there are allegations or concerns about staff. On one occasion, leaders and managers did not report an allegation to key safeguarding agencies in line with their statutory responsibilities. The concern and subsequent investigation were not shared outside of the organisation. Additionally, records of allegations and complaints are not sufficient, with staff consistently failing to properly document incidents and allegations made by children. The lack of thorough documentation compromises the ability to track concerns, follow up on issues and take effective action.

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

Conflicts of interest are not recognised and managed well. Several staff have pre-existing personal relationships with leaders and managers, which are known about among the wider staff team. As a result, staff feel unable to speak openly or raise concerns about colleagues who are known by the leadership team. This culture undermines transparency and professional accountability and has prevented safeguarding concerns from being appropriately addressed.

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

Staff are not always recruited safely. One staff member was recruited by the responsible individual, who is not suitably independent due to their relationship to the member of staff. Furthermore, the staff member’s work history had not been fully explored and properly verified.

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

Staff understand the risks for children who go missing from the home. The registered manager escalates her concerns to all professionals when needed. The registered manager works well with the local community to reduce risks for children when they are away from the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are significant concerns relating to the leadership and management of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2772134 5 Leaders and managers do not adequately challenge staff’s poor practices. Staff take little responsibility for their actions, and consequently, children are not safeguarded. In addition, the lack of reflection and challenge from managers limits learning and contributes to poor development of strategies to safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Monitoring and reviewing systems are ineffective. This leads to shortfalls in children’s records and documents and in day-to-day practice. The poor oversight of incidents means that individualised care plans and risk assessments for children are not reviewed, updated and monitored effectively. This has an impact on the quality and consistency of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not always notify the placing authority and Ofsted when there are serious incidents. The lack of information-sharing reduces the regulator’s and professionals’ understanding of safety and quality of care in the home. This weakens the overall management oversight for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Partner agencies have mixed views about the service. Some professionals are pleased with the care provided to children. However, other professionals recognise that managers and staff have failed to safeguard children effectively, and systemic failures have allowed serious incidents to occur.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

High staff turnover has affected the consistency of care, limiting opportunities for children to build secure relationships with familiar adults. Although new staff have been recruited to maintain the required ratios of staffing, the lack of continuity impacts children’s emotional well-being and sense of security. Regular staff changes make it harder for children to feel settled, which can affect their confidence, behaviour and engagement with the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff training is not effective. Most staff have completed mandatory and specialist training to meet children’s needs. Despite this, there have still been concerns about how staff act on allegations and follow children’s risk assessments. In one case, a staff member subject to an allegation of poor practice was reinstated without receiving further safeguarding training following a recommendation from the investigation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Due to the concerns found at this inspection, two compliance notices have been issued. One requirement from the last inspection has not been met and has been restated. Inspection report for children’s home: 2772134 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 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

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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. 23 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2772134 7 (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that that children’s care plans and risk assessments are followed. Leaders and managers must ensure that staff are skilled and able to manage relationships between children to prevent them negatively influencing each other.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that staff are equipped to manage incidents and use effective de-escalation techniques specific to the needs of each child. Leaders and managers must ensure that staff are able to intervene and take effective action to preventing children from making unsafe or unhealthy choices.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must have robust and effective safeguarding procedures and processes in place. Procedures must ensure that conflicts of interest are managed appropriately in the recruitment, supervision and investigations into allegations of staff.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that significant or safeguarding incidents and allegations are accurately recorded and appropriate documentation is maintained in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that safeguarding incidents and allegations are reported to relevant safeguarding agencies.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that the home is a safe and suitable environment for children.

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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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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; 23 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2772134 8 ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that management of the home is effective and there is an understanding of the impact care is having on children.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure there are effective monitoring systems to gain an oversight of the care provided to children. Where shortfalls are identified, leaders and managers must take effective action to address these.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that staff have the appropriate skills, training and support to meet the needs of children in the home. This includes having the skills to engage with children effectively and manage children’s behaviour appropriately.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that staff are appropriately supervised and that poor practice is effectively challenged.

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 23 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2772134 9 that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must fully consider the needs of children moving into the home, as well as those of the children already living there, and the impact these will have on other children living in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children’s home from abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect.

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Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

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Requirement Due date

Provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response.

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Requirement Due date

Describe the measures which may be necessary to protect children following an allegation of abuse or neglect. (Regulation 34 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that there are records of complaints and allegations and the actions taken in response to concerns raised.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 23 November 2025

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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. (Regulation 40(4)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they inform the relevant professionals and the regulator of any serious incidents and allegations. Leaders and managers must 23 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2772134 10 always ensure that all allegations and concerns are properly recorded.

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: 2772134 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Strides Childcare Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 39 Woodgrange Avenue, Enfield EN1 1EW

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Patrick Nnebedum

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Inspector

Sadia Akhtar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2772134 12 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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