Children's home run by Residential Child Care Community (Town Hall) Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2788293 1 Registered provider: Residential Child Care Community (Town Hall) 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 and managed by a small private provider. The home provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, the home was providing care for two children. Both children were spoken to as part of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in June 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspectors were aware during this inspection that serious child protection allegations were being investigated by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the allegations were considered alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ judgements.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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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: 2788293 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/03/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2788293 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care and support from a dedicated staff team. Staff understand the importance of building trusting relationships with children and create a welcoming, relaxed environment in which children feel comfortable.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, four children have moved into the home. Two children left after staff identified that they could not consistently meet the children’s needs. The registered manager worked closely with children’s social workers and other professionals to ensure that children’s moves from the home were managed sensitively and prioritised the children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have faced significant challenges, which have impacted on their ability to engage effectively in education. Staff work closely with schools to identify any barriers to children’s engagement and to identify solutions. When children are not in education, staff attempt to implement daily routines and incorporate learning into everyday tasks, such as baking, shopping and animal care. Although children’s engagement is not always consistent, staff use incentives to encourage progress and support children’s development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children are registered with relevant health services. When one child recently refused to attend a dentist appointment, staff completed work with the child to explore the reasons for this and to educate them on the importance of regular dental check-ups.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged by staff to develop essential independence skills. These include independent travel, keeping their bedrooms tidy, budgeting and self-care. Children are beginning to make positive progress in developing these skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand how important it is for children to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Staff support children to spend time with their family when it is in the children’s best interests. The registered manager provides financial assistance and food vouchers to children’s family members when this is identified as a barrier to safe and positive family time.

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

Children say that they feel safe at the home. They can identify trusted adults that they would approach with any concerns or worries.

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

Staff respond quickly and effectively when children go missing from the home. When incidents occur, staff follow clear procedures to ensure that children return to the home as quickly and safely as possible. The registered manager has good oversight of these incidents. Children engage in work with staff to help them understand the Inspection report for children’s home: 2788293 4 reasons they go missing and identify any areas of support. As a result, the number of such incidents is beginning to reduce.

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

Staff help children to take age-appropriate risks as part of developing their awareness of potential concerns in the community. One child expressed anxieties about meeting peers in the community that they no longer wished to associate with. Therefore, staff supported the child to create a safety plan. This plan gave the child clear steps and responses to help them feel confident and safe.

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

The registered manager develops individual risk management plans for children, which are regularly reviewed and updated. However, these plans do not always include all known information. For one child, important details about bail conditions and known associates were not included. While this information appears in other documents, it does not give staff clear, accessible guidance. The registered manager sought to address this issue on inspection to improve recordings moving forward.

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

Children currently living at the home know how to make a complaint and feel confident in staff’s responses. One child who has now left the home raised a concern about a staff member’s behaviour. The manager addressed the concern directly with the staff member and identified actions to improve practice. Although this ensured that the child’s views were heard, it is not recorded whether the child was offered support to make a formal complaint. There was also no record of the child being updated about the actions taken, which does identify some inconsistency in staff’s responses.

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

Staff are skilled in de-escalation techniques and physical intervention is rarely needed, with only two incidents recorded. These incidents are well documented and the child involved was spoken to directly about what happened. However, there is no record of the staff involved in the incidents being spoken to. This limits opportunities for reflection and reduces the overall effectiveness of behaviour management oversight.

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good

The home is led by an experienced registered manager who is child-focused in her approach. The manager is also registered to manage another home in the organisation, and staff regularly work across both homes. The manager has a good understanding of the strengths of the home and accepts that there are areas for development regarding management oversight.

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good

Staff have access to a range of training, both online and face to face. The registered manager regularly seeks additional training to help staff to meet individual children’s needs. She also provides training to staff in team meetings on subjects relating to children living at the home. However, some staff have not completed refresher training in the provider’s required mandatory areas. Specifically, some staff had not Inspection report for children’s home: 2788293 5 refreshed key areas of training in safeguarding and self-injury, as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose.

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good

Leaders and managers do not always follow safe recruitment processes when new staff are recruited to work at the home. For one member of staff, no checks were made to explore a seven-month gap in employment. This potentially places children at risk of being cared for by unsuitable staff.

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good

The home has had several changes in its independent person. Reports have been submitted late to the regulator and sometimes lack accurate information or clear independent evaluation. The management team is aware of these shortfalls and has taken steps to make improvements. However, this is yet to be embedded.

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good

Staff benefit from regular supervision, which provides them with the opportunity to reflect on their practice and professional development. The staff team is overwhelmingly positive about the support it receives from the registered manager. Staff have annual appraisals to review their practice. However, these are brief and do not include feedback from children, other staff or professionals. Inspection report for children’s home: 2788293 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 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)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff complete all mandatory training within timescales. The registered person must also use an effective monitoring system to identify when refresher training is due. 8 January 2026

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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

that staff— 8 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2788293 7 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

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

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the children’s individual risk management plans contain all known risks and provide staff with clear, accessible guidance to support risk reduction.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that staff provide consistent responses to children when they raise concerns.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 8 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2788293 8 In particular, the registered person must ensure that gaps in employment are scrutinised and evidence of scrutiny is recorded.

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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

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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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. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that there are records of discussions with staff members involved in any restraint. 8 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires; and

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether— 8 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2788293 9 children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

upon request, the local authority for the area in which the home is located;

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Requirement Due date

the registered provider and, if applicable, the registered manager; and

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Requirement Due date

the responsible individual (if one is nominated). (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)(b) (4)(a)(b) (7)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should include the views of the children and other professionals when completing appraisals with staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: 2788293 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Residential Child Care Community (Town Hall) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 843 Finchley Road, London NW11 8NA

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Inspectors

Carrie Mayes, Social Care Inspector Michelle McGrath, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2788293 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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