Children's home run by CareTech Community Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1245823 1 Registered provider: CareTech Community Services Limited

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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 seven children with physical and learning disabilities. The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2024; they are suitably experienced and in the process of completing their management qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of time of the inspection, there were 6 children living in the home and all were seen and spoken with.

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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: 13 January 2025

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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: 1245823 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/01/2025 Full Good 30/10/2023 Full Good 06/09/2022 Full Good 22/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1245823 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make very good progress from their starting points because of the level of care they receive. They are cared for by staff who know them well and who they have positive relationships with. One child has been helped to make significant progress with their toilet training, meaning that they no longer need staff support in this area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of activities and hobbies that they are involved in choosing. One child has a keen intertest in football and another enjoys attending youth clubs. Staff provide individualised support to allow these activities to take place and reduce the support as the child’s confidence grows.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school and are making good progress. One child had been out of school for an extended period when they moved into the home. Staff completed daily educational activities with the child, and the manager was an excellent advocate for them, which helped them to secure tutoring and then a school place. The child is now attending their new school and is progressing well with their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are consistently met and staff are very proactive in advocating for changes in children’s medication where they feel it would help them. Several children have had their medication reduced because of the progress they have made with their health conditions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Staff are committed to supporting long distance relationships which helps children to spend quality time with family members. Family members are very complimentary about the care provided in the home and the efforts staff make to assist them in seeing their children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are consulted and listened to. Staff use children’s individual communication methods to engage with them, and this helps children to play an active part in decisions around meals, activities and all children have chosen the decoration for their bedrooms. On one isolated occasion, a child asked to speak to their social worker after an incident but this did not take place.

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

Children said that they feel happy and safe in the home, and that they trust the staff to care for them. They know that they can speak to staff about any worries and observations during the inspection showed that this takes place regularly. Staff respond in a supportive manner that helps children to explore their feelings and get answers to any questions they may have. Inspection report for children’s home: 1245823 4 Children are helped to stay safe through thorough planning of safety measures and clear risk assessments that staff understand. Children have clear protocols for health needs such as epilepsy, and these help staff know how to respond if a seizure occurs. One child has also been supported to transition from a secure bed to a standard bed thanks to the planning and monitoring that was implemented. This helped the child to remain safe at nighttime without unnecessary restrictions in place.

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

Children are supported to understand risks at a level they can understand. For example, one older child has recently had a phone and is also having a small amount of free time away from the home. Staff have had discussions with the child about how to stay safe and have clear boundaries in place that the child understands. When an incident occurred with the child’s phone, staff responded promptly to remove the phone until the child had demonstrated that they understood the expectations well enough to have it returned.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted in the home and there are a low number of incidents. Staff’s understanding of the children’s needs and triggers helps them to de-escalate situations quickly, and physical interventions are only used by trained staff as a last resort. One child has seen a significant reduction in physical interventions as a result of staff understanding and responding to his needs better.

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

Allegations are managed well. The manager has a clear understanding of how to keep children safe and there is good partnership working to resolve issues as quickly as possible. Whilst staff understand what immediate action to take if they have any safeguarding concerns, some staff lack a clear understanding of the role of the Local Authority Designated Officer and the part they play in keeping children safe.

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

Medication is administered safely by trained staff and there is effective monitoring in place. For example, on one isolated occasion staff failed to record giving the child their medication but this was quickly identified and addressed resulting in some good learning for staff. There have been no further incidents since.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an established manager who is committed to the home and the children. He is focused on providing a high standard of care and is ambitious for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses a wide range of monitoring tools to ensure they have good oversight of the home and the care that children are receiving. They have been creative in developing their own bespoke systems for themselves and staff. This has improved the running of the home by helping staff to have a clear understanding of the tasks to be completed. Inspection report for children’s home: 1245823 5 The manager is an excellent advocate for children. They are proactive and tenacious in their chasing and challenging of other professionals when needed. One child’s independent reviewing officer said that they are one of the best advocates she has come across and they are able to challenge professionals in a positive way. This advocacy has helped children to access new schools and have their health needs reassessed, therefore resulting in positive changes in children’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Both professionals and children’s families recognised the high standard of care that is being provided in the home. Children’s families described being welcomed into the home and feeling included in their child’s care. Professionals discussed positive communication and partnership working.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The continuity of staff and lack of experienced staff has been a concern over the last year. A number of staff leaving has resulted in high agency use which means some inconsistent practice for children. Several new staff have been recruited, and the situation is now starting to improve. In addition, because of the staffing difficulties and recruitment challenges, several staff have been promoted to more senior roles even though they are relatively inexperienced and not yet qualified. Leaders and managers are acutely aware of the challenges this brings. They have effective systems and oversight to ensure that staff have the support they need and that the standard of care is not affected. Inspection report for children’s home: 1245823 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 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

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 has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(d)(e)) In particular, the registered person must ensure that the home has sufficient permanent staff to provide consistency of care to children and to avoid high levels of agency use. It also relates to ensuring that there is a better balance of experienced and unqualified staff so that all staff have the support that they need when caring for the children. In addition, they must ensure that all staff have a clear understanding of their own and other’s roles in safeguarding children. 23 April 2026

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Recommendation

 Any child who has been restrained should be given the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. Children should be offered the opportunity to access an advocacy support to help them with this. In particular, the registered person must ensure that children are supported to discuss the Inspection report for children’s home: 1245823 7 incident with their social worker if they wish to do so. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards, page 50 paragraph 9.60).

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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: 1245823 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: CareTech Community Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4th Floor, Parkview, 82 Oxford Road, Uxbridge UB8 1UX

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Inspector

Vicky Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1245823 9 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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