Children's home run by Castle Homes Care Limited in Hammersmith and Fulham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 1 SC065378 Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2023 and is suitably qualified.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home. Both spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector only inspected the social care provision at this site.

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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

Date of last inspection: 12 November 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/12/2024 Full Good 08/03/2024 Full Good 14/02/2023 Full Good 28/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive relationships with the adults who care for them, and describe staff as positive mentors who are caring and loving. The children are settled and are looking forward to what the future holds for them. Because of the support of staff, children believe that they can achieve their aspirations and dreams.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved out of the home since the last inspection. The move was thoughtfully planned, and the child was helped to develop good independence skills in preparation. Outreach support from staff is helping the child to settle into their new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff work well with teachers, social workers and reviewing officers. This helps them to understand the children’s lived experiences, trauma and how to meet their needs. All children have made progress from their starting points, including meeting their individual education targets. Two children have achieved the necessary qualifications to access their chosen college courses.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage children to lead healthy lifestyles. Children enjoy nutritious meals and staff encourage them to participate in various sporting activities to promote their physical and emotional well-being. Staff mostly support children to attend their scheduled health appointments. However, on one occasion, a recommendation from a child’s health assessment was not responded to promptly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to express their wishes and feelings in various ways including spending quality time with staff, contributing to meetings about the plans for their care and through children’s meetings. This ensures that children are involved in making decisions about their day-to-day care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to various activities at the home and within the community. They have enjoyed playing basketball in the garden, riding their bicycles, going to the gym, cinema trips, sleepovers at friends and friends coming over for tea.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is mostly warm and welcoming. However, there are some areas including the dining area which need redecorating. The manager has a plan to address this shortfall.

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

The children have lived at the home for a significant period and staff know them well. Children benefit from consistent routines and boundaries. Because of the relationships staff have with children, they can identify and de-escalate situations quickly. As a result, incidents are few. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 4 On the rare occasions when there has been a safeguarding incident, for example a child being missing, the manager and staff have followed safeguarding procedures and have worked in collaboration with other professionals to formulate safety plans to keep the child safe.

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

Children’s plans are kept up to date and give staff clear, step-by-step guidance about how to support the child. Individual work with staff, which includes reflection, helps children to understand appropriate behaviour. Staff reinforce children’s positive behaviour by giving them positive praise and writing positive affirmations to them daily.

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

The registered manager implements safer recruitment processes. This means that the suitability of staff to work with children is assessed prior to them working in the home.

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

Although the manager reviews the locality risk assessment annually, he has not consulted partner agencies to satisfy himself that all known risks or local amenities have been considered. This is particularly important, given that one child goes into the community independently as part of their plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a dedicated and experienced leader and has effective monitoring and reviewing systems in place. Consequently, he is aware of the areas of strength and areas that need development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children speak highly of the registered manager and believe that he has their best interests at heart. He is a positive role model and invests in developing staff through providing opportunities for them to increase their understanding and skills. For example, some staff are enrolled on management courses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from a stable staff team. Staff enjoy caring for the children and say that they feel listened to and valued by the registered manager. Staff have received a range of training that helps them to understand the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External professionals report that there are effective working relationships with staff. Communication is reported to be very good. This helps to ensure that the wider team around the child provides the right support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff champion equality and diversity. Workshops with the children help them to understand, respect and celebrate differences in religion, culture, race and sexual orientation. This supports the children to feel settled in the diverse community where the home is located. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home meets children’s basic day-to- day needs and physical necessities. In particular, the registered person should ensure that recommendations from children’s health assessments are addressed promptly and that areas of the home are redecorated in keeping with plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that the home is suitably located so that children are effectively safeguarded and can access services to meet needs identified in their relevant plans (see regulations 12(2)(c)). Under regulation 46, the registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. Specifically, the registered person should

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Recommendations

consult partner agencies to inform the location risk assessment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: SC480161 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Barton Close, Grove Park, Enderby, Leicester LE19 1SJ

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Inspector

Rumbi Mangoma, Ofsted Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 7 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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