Children's Home run by McRae Residential Care Services Limited in Croydon

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC025813 1 SC025813 McRae Residential Care Services Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to 8 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in March 2007.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living at the home at the time of this visit.

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This monitoring visit

This home was judged requires improvement to be good for overall experiences and progress of children and inadequate in leadership and management at the full inspection on 7 and 8 October 2025. Compliance notices were re-issued under Regulation 13, the ‘Leadership and management’ standard, and Regulation 32, the ‘Fitness of workers’ standard. A monitoring visit took place on 22 December 2025 to monitor the compliance notices. After that visit the compliance notice under Regulation 32 was reissued for the fourth time. This monitoring visit was carried out to review the provider’s progress against the requirements set out in that compliance notice.

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This monitoring visit

Overall, leaders and manager have improved their oversight of recruitment. Leaders and managers have now made suitable efforts to ensure that they have appropriate references for staff. Gaps in employment have been suitably addressed.

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This monitoring visit

Staff and managers now receive regular and effective supervision where they discuss the child’s progress, their responsibilities and how they can improve their practice. Written records of the manager’s supervision are not provided to them in a timely manner. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC025813 2 Leaders and managers now have better oversight of the progress of staff who are working towards the appropriate qualification to work in children’s homes. Staff are yet to complete this but are making some progress. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC025813 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/10/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/05/2025 Full Inadequate 26/02/2025 Full Inadequate 06/09/2023 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC025813 4

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

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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

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”).

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(b) (4)(a) (5)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 27 April 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they have regular and effective monitoring and oversight systems to ensure that staff provide high quality care for all children living in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)  The registered person should ensure that the professional carrying out the registered manager’s supervision records and shares this with the registered manager in a timely way. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, including the quality standards, page 61, paragraph 13.3) Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC025813 5

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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: SC025813 6

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Inspector

Chelsea Agyeman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC025813 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 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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