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

Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2720159 1 Registered provider: Cedar House (Kent) Ltd

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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. 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.

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This monitoring visit

A full inspection was carried out on 4 November 2025. At that inspection, serious and widespread failures were identified and the home was judged to be inadequate. Following the inspection, the provider was issued with a notice of restriction of accommodation, preventing further admissions, and three compliances notices. The notices were in response to significant failures in help and protection, leadership and management and the quality and purpose of care.

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This monitoring visit

The purpose of the monitoring visit was to ensure compliance with the restriction of accommodation notice and to monitor the provider’s responses to the compliance notices.

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This monitoring visit

Since the full inspection, the previous manager has moved on from the home and a new manager has been appointed. The new manager has brought focus and positivity to the team, whose members value the support and guidance that they receive. The approach of the new manager has also had a positive impact on the response to the compliance notices.

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This monitoring visit

Since the full inspection, no children have moved into or on from the home. Improvements have been made to the home environment, which was decorated in readiness for Christmas at the time of the inspection. Damage has been repaired, children’s bedrooms are now well presented, and all maintenance issues have been Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2720159 2 addressed. There are no longer any restricted areas and children can access all areas of the home freely.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have carried out positive work with the children to ensure that their self-care skills remain a priority and that their bedrooms are kept in good condition, with the appropriate level of support. Managers also carry out monitoring checks throughout the premises to ensure that the home environment is kept to a reasonable standard. Any identified issues are promptly addressed.

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This monitoring visit

All children’s risk management plans have been reviewed. They have been updated and now provide useful information that clearly identifies children’s risks. They provide staff with the necessary guidance and strategies to reduce risks. Staff know these plans well. Their knowledge has been further reinforced by the new manager, who held a specific session which focused on the children in terms of their risks and needs, along with discussions about how to manage them. Staff talk positively about this work and how it has helped them to better understand the children.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have received further training that relates to safeguarding. In particular, this has included training in understanding and managing harmful sexual behaviours in children, and updates to the organisation’s mandatory safeguarding training. The manager ensures that staff have understood the training by asking staff to provide reflections on training and by testing their knowledge. This has enabled staff to improve their understanding of pertinent safeguarding matters and the overall safeguarding culture in the home.

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This monitoring visit

There have been no physical interventions in the home since the arrival of the new manager. This has been achieved, in part, by focusing on early identification and de- escalation techniques. Furthermore, the strategies in place to manage incidents are better understood by staff, who implement these well. For instance, one child was experiencing varying levels of emotional distress. Staff responded with kindness, patience and empathy. This enabled them to calm the situation and to engage meaningfully with the child. Past handling of similar incidents has led to increasingly destructive behaviours. Instead, positive solutions were identified and the child felt listened to and validated.

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This monitoring visit

Staffing sufficiency has improved. Leaders and managers have increased staffing levels consistently, both during the day and at night. This enables staff to fulfil their roles and responsibilities and to ensure that safety plans are consistently followed. This has enhanced children’s experiences and has helped to reduce risk.

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This monitoring visit

The frequency of missing-from-home incidents has reduced. This is specifically in relation to one child who previously went missing regularly. Although missing-from- home incidents still occur, staff are clearer on the protocols and have made links with the places that the child often frequents. Due to the improved staffing levels, Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2720159 3 there are more options for how the child can be safely returned to the home when they have been missing.

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This monitoring visit

There have been no allegations made against staff since the full inspection. There are now clearer arrangements in place to manage allegations. For instance, there are no longer allegation protocols in place for individual children, and leaders and managers are clear about the statutory responses they need to make when an allegation is made. This has helped to improve the safeguarding culture of the home.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers escalate concerns with relevant agencies when there are concerns about children’s safety and welfare. In one example, the new manager informed the police and the child’s social worker of an incident that occurred with one of the children while in the community. This ensured that the child received appropriate responses from key professionals.

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This monitoring visit

The new manager is in the process of developing better monitoring systems. However, this work is recent and there has not been sufficient time to fully embed the measures.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have reviewed and updated the policy that relates to consequences and positive behaviours. However, the policy focuses on what acceptable consequences staff can use, and there is a lack of emphasis on how staff should promote positive behaviours. Nevertheless, since the full inspection, children have not had any consequences in response to challenging behaviours.

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This monitoring visit

Not all requirements raised at the full inspection were considered at the monitoring visit, so they are reissued. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2720159 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/11/2025 Full Inadequate 11/12/2024 Full Good 13/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2720159 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 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 with the given timescales.

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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)) 19 January 2026

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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;

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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 19 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2720159 6 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)) 19 January 2026

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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;

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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; 19 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2720159 7 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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Requirement Due date

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)) 19 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2720159 8 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 19 January 2026

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2720159 9

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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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Inspector

Kelly Marchmont, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2720159 10 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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Inspector

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