Children's home run by Cedar House (Kent) Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2720159 1 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Registered provider: Cedar House (Kent) Ltd 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 provider. It is registered to provide care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has not had a registered manager since July 2024. The former deputy manager is overseeing the day-to-day running of this 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 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: 11 December 2024

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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: 2720159 2 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/12/2024 Full Good 13/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2720159 3 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures in how well children are helped and protected, and the leadership and management arrangements are significantly weak. This has contributed to children’s poor overall experiences and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are not making progress with their education and are yet to be enrolled in a school or college. The manager has made some effort to work effectively with children’s local authorities to find suitable education provisions; however, this has been without success. In addition, leaders and managers have failed to ensure that children have suitable daily routines and activities. Consequently, children are not supported to engage in educational or meaningful activities while not in school. This has a detrimental impact on their educational development and overall progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

One child spends a significant amount of time alone in their bedroom. There are no clear plans in place for them to make progress. This means that they are not helped to build positive relationships and are not provided with enriching experiences. Staff typically communicate with this child through their mobile phones. Some children have been supported to explore their interests and have been encouraged to take part in new experiences that support them to develop their self-esteem. Children who are new to the home are establishing generally positive relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s bedrooms are poorly maintained. These rooms have damage that has not been addressed promptly. One child’s bedroom has no window coverings to ensure that their privacy is maintained. Another child commented that their shower had been out of use for a significant period due to being broken. In addition, children are not supported by staff to maintain self-care routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are unable to access all areas of the home freely. This is because they are restricted by staff. There is no clear rationale for this, and this practice is not assessed for risk or regularly reviewed. For example, the downstairs bathroom is routinely locked, and this practice has remained in place since the start of the year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children receive support from appropriate health professionals and are helped to access mental health services and therapeutic support. The police liaison and the sexual health nurse are welcomed into the home to engage in direct work with children.

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

Staff do not adequately identify risks to children, nor the risks that some children pose to others. When children experience harm, staff do not provide them with support to understand what options are available. As a result, a child was left feeling unsafe and uncomfortable when a peer assaulted them, which was witnessed by staff. This is Inspection report for children’s home: 2720159 4 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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

because staff did not intervene or identify the incident as an assault. Furthermore, the follow-up was poor and the child’s wishes were not acted on.

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

Managers have not ensured that the identified staffing and supervision levels for children are maintained. Staffing levels have not been fully considered when admitting new children. There have been at least two incidents where a child with known risks of harmful behaviour towards others has not been appropriately supervised.

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

Leaders and managers have moved children into the home without consideration of the risks and impact on the children already living in the home. This is because their compatibility with children who already live in the home is not fully considered. For example, a child who was subject to a deprivation of liberty order came to live alongside a child who did not have one. This resulted in the child already living in the home being inadvertently subjected to the restrictions set for their peer.

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

Allegations are not managed in line with statutory guidance. For one child, an allegation protocol was implemented without consultation with safeguarding partner agencies. As a result, allegations and concerns that should have been raised with the local authority designated officer were not. In addition to this, managers failed to notify Ofsted of several allegations raised by another child who lived in the home. This lack of appropriate communication and consultation with external professionals has compromised children’s safety.

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

Children frequently go missing from the home and are not effectively supported by staff to return home. For instance, when children are located, they are not always collected or collected as quickly as they could be by staff. This shortfall in practice is exacerbated by the failure of managers to consistently maintain appropriate staffing ratios in the home. On one occasion, a child spent a significant period waiting for staff to collect them. This resulted in them feeling distressed and presenting behaviours in the community that could cause upset or pose a risk to both themselves and others.

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

Staff’s approach to managing behaviour is inconsistent. This is because staff do not help children to develop socially aware behaviour. Staff take a punitive approach to behaviour management; when consequences are used, they do not always link to children’s behaviours or encourage positive behaviours. Staff say that they choose responses to behaviour based on children needing to ‘feel the consequence’. This includes the removal of mobile phones, turning off the Wi-Fi and restricting monetary allowances.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has been no registered manager since July 2024. The manager who fulfilled the role during the last inspection withdrew their application and did not register. Changes to management, and the failure to ensure that there are consistent management arrangements in the home, have impacted negatively on the oversight of care and support provided to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2720159 5 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders’ and managers’ monitoring and reviewing systems are ineffective. Information held about the number of restraints, allegations and police interventions is unclear and often conflicting. As a result, leaders and managers do not have a secure understanding of the level of care and support children need and receive. This also undermines their ability to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers fail to meet the regulatory timescales for reviewing incidents and physical restraints. There is insufficient oversight and review of the necessity and proportionality of restraint use in the home. As a result, children’s behaviour strategies are not reviewed to ensure that they are still effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children’s rights to confidentiality and privacy are compromised. A staff group chat app has been set up on their personal devices, on which the lived experiences of children have been shared. This undermines data protection principles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not have the necessary training to support the needs of the children. For example, staff have not received training to support children who display sexually harmful behaviours. Some staff, including the manager, have not completed all mandatory training within their induction period. This compromises their ability to better understand and support children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers and leaders are not meeting the aims of the home’s statement of purpose. They have failed to identify the shortfalls in the quality of care and safeguarding that they provide to children. Consequently, children are not receiving the care needed to reach their full potential. Inspection report for children’s home: 2720159 6 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)(b)) 8 December 2025

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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 8 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2720159 7 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for 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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(d)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

*The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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— 8 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2720159 8 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(iv)(vii) (c)(i)(ii))

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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.

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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

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;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a)(c)) 8 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study; 8 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2720159 9 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(v)(viii)(ix))

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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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 8 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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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; 8 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2720159 10 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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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 ("the user"), and of any other person 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

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 8 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2720159 11 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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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: 2720159 12 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cedar House (Kent) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 86-90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE

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Inspectors

Karen Flanagan de Martinez, Social Care Inspector Georgia Carty, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2720159 13 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Inspectors

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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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