Harvest Care Group

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Harvest Care Group 1 Harvest Care Group Registered provider: Harvest Care Group Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

A private provider owns and operates this supported accommodation service.

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provider

The service registered with Ofsted on 15 February 2025. The registered service manager left on 30 November 2025. The nominated individual has tended their resignation. They extended their notice period to support the service and facilitate this inspection.

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provider

The director, who has been involved in the operation of the service since 15 February 2025, was involved in the initial and final meetings with the inspectors.

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provider

The service can offer accommodation for up to 36 children in one of the 8 supported accommodation premises. These premises are registered to support looked-after children and care leavers only.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, 13 children aged 16 and 17 years were living across the provider's ring-fenced shared premises.

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provider

The provider closed one of their premises during the inspection.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 23 February 2026 and started that day. The inspectors were on site from 25 to 27 February 2026.

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Outcome

Serious or widespread weaknesses lead to significant concerns about the experiences and progress of children. Leaders and managers must take urgent action to address failings. The next inspection will be within approximately 6 months.

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Summary of findings

There is no effective oversight across the service. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Harvest Care Group 2 Each home operates in a fragmented way, so children do not receive consistent support across the service.

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Summary of findings

Children who are not ready for independence and, therefore, not suitable to live in a supported accommodation provision, have been accepted into the service by the director.

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Summary of findings

The director has accepted young people over the age of 18 into the service. This is outside of the provider's conditions of registration.

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Summary of findings

Information about the children and staff is kept in the children's individual homes. This creates obstacles for the senior leadership team in identifying the risks for the children and the effectiveness of the support provided.

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Summary of findings

Staff try their best to support children. However, failings by the provider mean that the staff do not have the skills or guidance to support children effectively so they are kept safe. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Harvest Care Group 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children's experiences are poor. The provider has failed to prioritise the needs of looked-after children and care leavers so that they receive a positive experience and are safeguarded.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

The director has accepted young people into the service that the current conditions of registration do not allow. As a result, in some instances, the support needs of children in care and care leavers have been overlooked.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children who are not yet ready to live in a supported accommodation service have done so due to poor decision-making from the director. These children have not received adequate care or support as the director has failed to ensure that the staff have the skills and experience to support these children effectively. Consequently, some children have moved on prematurely, and others have experience involvement from the police.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Support for children varies greatly. Some children feel settled and supported. However, others do not benefit from adequate staff support as staff are not supported or equipped to manage the children's needs or advocate for them when they have complex circumstances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children's records do not record accurate information or capture their voices. Children are not supported to share their views on how their support should be shaped so they can make ongoing progress, or how the service can be improved and developed. The provider failed to share the children's survey during this inspection, limiting their ability to fully engage in the inspection process.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff build relationships with children so they settle into their home. Some staff know the children and can sometimes adapt the support that they provider to meet the children's needs. This has helped one child to experience a period of stability as their home environment has been maintained.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Not all children are helped to develop the skills they need to support them with their independence. While staff support children to gain practical skills, such as cooking, washing and cleaning up after themselves, staff do not enable children to gain a deeper understanding of safe relationships, how to behave in different settings and how to constructively manage challenges that they face.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children who are new to the country are helped to understand what is expected of them and what they should expect from others. Children are helped to access local resources and register with local health services so they can access the services that they need. While some children receive support to address their legal status and access immigration support, this is not consistent across the homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children's right to privacy in their homes is compromised as CCTV in some of the homes is intrusive. CCTV is placed in communal areas, such as outside of the Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Harvest Care Group 4 bathrooms, and some cameras also record what is being said. The use of visual and audio surveillance is over and above what children expect to experience when they live in their own homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children's accommodation is poor. While some children like where they live, others complain about the cleanliness of the communal areas and the state of repair of their homes. Inspectors found some premises to be extremely dirty, and others were in a poor state of repair. While repairs are generally identified, they take a long time to address. The nominated individual took prompt action to remove one premises from the registration, address the fire safety issues in another premises, and repair substantial damage to another one of the premises during this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Some children attend education or are in employment. These children make progress and increase their independence skills, so they are better prepared for adulthood.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff fail to engage with children to ensure that they learn how to keep safe. Staff do not consistently spend time with children so that they can discuss and learn about the dangers of some of their behaviours.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers have failed to provide appropriate guidance and support to staff so that they can support children safely and effectively. The lack of written support plans for children means that staff do not have clear guidance on how they should work with children to manage the risks associated with child sexual or criminal exploitation.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff do not take effective action to ensure that they know where children are when children are missing from home and are at risk of, or subject to, criminal exploitation. Progress for these children is limited.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children are not supported to manage complex and unsafe circumstances that they may be experiencing. Risks related to children's personal relationships are not included in their planning support sessions. Furthermore, work around healthy relationships, which was identified for one child prior to them moving in, has not been completed.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children are not fully supported to gain independence safely because the provider implements practices that are restrictive. Staff lock children's medications and sharp knives away in the office, irrespective of the risks for the child. Only in exceptional cases are children allowed to have their medication in their room.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff do not have the skills or experience to implement consistent boundaries and rules so that children can live together safely and in harmony with their local community. Between October and December 2025, some children in one home experienced disruption following escalating behaviours from the other children, young people over 18 and their friends in their home. As a result, a visitor ban was Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Harvest Care Group 5 put in place, the police were called to manage the children and young people's behaviour and neighbours raised complaints.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that all significant incidents involving children are consistently notified to Ofsted as required. Ofsted was not informed of the significant escalation of concerns for one child over at least 4 months. These incidents involved repeated police intervention and involvement of the local authority designated officer (LADO). This failing prevents Ofsted from having oversight of how effective the provider is in safeguarding children.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers take action when concerns and allegations are raised against staff. However, there are delays in contacting the LADO, and the measures taken to protect children are inconsistent. Children's welfare is compromised as clear risk management plans are not in place when staff continue to work with children after they have made allegations against staff.

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How well children are helped and protected

Recruitment practice is poor. Pressures from the senior manager affects safer recruitment practices. The director has influenced recruitment processes. Key roles in the organisation are not advertised when the director has a candidate in mind.

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How well children are helped and protected

There are no records on file for staff recruited prior to the recruitment of the new human resources manager. Inspectors could not access recruitment files related to staff currently working who are subject to ongoing internal investigation. Human resources has no access to updated police checks for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers do not have an effective overview of the service and cannot ensure that staff and children are adequately supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The lack of management oversight and joined up working between senior leaders and staff mean that children receive different responses in different premises.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Concerns from managers around the suitability of some children and young adults are dismissed. The director has admitted young people who were already 18 years old at the point of referral, allowing the service to operate outside its category of registration.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

A suitable admission and matching process is in place that the nominated individual has followed. While the nominated individual has made attempts to support the provider to work within this, the director has made independent decisions for the organisation. This has resulted in the provider operating outside of their conditions of registration and excepting children whose needs the managers and staff do not have the skills and expertise to support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The provider has offered training to a small number of staff in March 2024 to support them in deescalating children's behaviours. However, this training has not been offered more widely to all staff or revisited since 2024. As a result, the staff Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Harvest Care Group 6 are unable to manage the children's behaviour appropriately. The escalation of incidents for one child has resulted in further criminalisation of the child. This child's needs fall outside the readiness for supported accommodation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that children are supported by staff who receive good support and supervision. The provider has failed to construct a workforce development plan so that leaders, managers and staff know what training they will carry out and when to aid them in their roles. This, coupled with some staff not receiving a formal induction, means that they do not have the skills, or fully understand the service and their responsibilities, to ensure that children receive good support. Furthermore, the provider was unable to demonstrate that any staff have undertaken an annual appraisal, highlighting the staff's strengths and areas for continued development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The statement of purpose does not reflect what is provided to children. Information about the ages and needs of the children that they provide support for is inaccurate, and the organisational structure is not included. This prevents parents, commissioners and children from knowing which children can be supported and who is responsible for providing support to children. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Harvest Care Group 7

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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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the 'Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including 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 supported accommodation undertaking that puts children first and prioritises their wellbeing and development.

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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 supported accommodation undertaking in a way that is consistent with the ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the undertaking's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work effectively as a team, where appropriate, to meet the needs of children;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the supported accommodation undertaking has sufficient staff to support and accommodate children safely and effectively;

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Requirement Due date

implement recruitment practices that ensure staff are suitable to work with children and to keep them safe from harm;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place to manage referrals of children to the supported accommodation undertaking and admissions of children to premises used as supported accommodation, including, where relevant, emergency referrals and admissions;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place for the supervision, training and development of staff;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that a workforce plan (see regulation 10) for the supported accommodation undertaking is in place. (Regulation 4 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(j)) 24 April 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Harvest Care Group 8 * The accommodation standard is that children experience a comfortable and secure living environment.

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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 the premises used as supported accommodation offer a comfortable, positive and nurturing environment, while respecting children's need for privacy;

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Requirement Due date

are adequately maintained so as to provide a welcoming and homely environment within both individual and shared living spaces;

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Requirement Due date

only use devices for monitoring or surveillance in communal areas and then only if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to each child's need for privacy. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(b)(vii)(viii)(c)(iv)) 24 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

* The registered person must notify the CIECSS and any 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 or child criminal exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the supported accommodation undertaking or a person working for it; a child protection enquiry—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

there is an incident involving the use of a measure of restraint of a child;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. 24 April 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Harvest Care Group 9 The registered person must ensure that a notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

any other individuals or organisations who or which have been notified;

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

is made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 27 (3)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)(f) (4)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The protection standard is that children are enabled to feel safe and that their needs are met.

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of abuse, neglect, exploitation or any other harm, and act to reduce such risk;

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Requirement Due date

work collaboratively with children to help them understand how to keep safe, by offering guidance and support on how to minimise any potential risk of harm. (Regulation 5 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(f) (ii)(iii)) 24 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

“the 2022 Regulations” means the Care Standards Act 2000 (Extension of the Application of Part 2 to Supported Accommodation) (England) Regulations 2022(1); 24 April 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Harvest Care Group 10 “category of supported accommodation” means one of the following types of supported accommodation—

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Requirement Due date

supported accommodation in a self-contained unit, where the accommodation is for the sole use of the child or for the child and other individuals living with the child as agreed by the accommodating authority or the supported accommodation undertaking;

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Requirement Due date

supported accommodation in a shared or group living situation in premises used to accommodate only looked after children or care leavers;

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Requirement Due date

supported accommodation in a shared or group living situation in premises which are not limited to accommodating looked after children or care leavers;

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Requirement Due date

supported accommodation provided by an individual or individuals in a private residence which is the main residence of that individual or those individuals. (Regulation 2 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that only those children who fall within the correct category of registration are supported in the service.

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Requirement Due date

The support standard is that children receive individual and tailored support that meets their needs.

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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 children are encouraged and enabled to take a lead role in determining the support they receive and to participate in and influence how the supported accommodation operates;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that plans for support are based on initial referral information, are meaningful and are created in full consultation with the child, taking account of relevant plans for the child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure a plan for support is in place to support the child to develop the resilience and skills required to transition out of supported accommodation when the child is ready to live more independently. (Regulation 7 (1) (2)(a)(b)(k)) 24 April 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Harvest Care Group 11 The registered person must compile a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the following matters in respect of the supported accommodation undertaking—

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Requirement Due date

the category or categories of supported accommodation it offers;

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Requirement Due date

the characteristics of the children for whom it is intended the supported accommodation undertaking will provide accommodation and support, including the age range, number and sex of the children;

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Requirement Due date

the organisational structure, including management structure and staffing arrangements. (Regulation 9 (1)(b)(d)(h)) 24 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile, in relation to the supported accommodation undertaking, a plan (“the workforce plan”) which covers the following matters in respect of the recruitment and employment of all staff—

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Requirement Due date

the experience and qualifications of managers and other staff, and any further training required for those managers and staff;

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Requirement Due date

the processes and timescales for staff to complete induction, probation and core training, including in safeguarding and health and safety;

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Requirement Due date

the process for managing and addressing poor performance;

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Requirement Due date

the process and timescales for supervision and monitoring of staff.

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Requirement Due date

keep the workforce plan under review and, where appropriate, revise it, and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the workforce plan available on request to the CIECSS. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e) (2)(a)(b)) 24 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) in relation to each child accommodated by the supported accommodation undertaking which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 2, 24 April 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Harvest Care Group 12 are kept up to date. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Harvest Care Group 13

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Harvest Care Group Ltd

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: 78 Queens Road, Watford, Hertfordshire WD17 2LA

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: duty.aldine@harvestcaregroup.org.uk

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Inspectors

Daniela Ferrario, Social Care Inspector Ann Adesoye, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Harvest Care Group 14 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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