Children's home run by London Borough of Hillingdon

Inspection report for children’s home: 2785128 1 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: London Borough of Hillingdon Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in May 2024 and is owned and operated by a local authority. It provides care for one child who experiences social and emotional difficulties. One child has moved out of the home since the last inspection, while another child has moved into and out of the home.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, no children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left the home in December 2025. A new manager was appointed before they left. They have applied to register with Ofsted.

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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: 3 September 2024

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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: 2785128 2 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/09/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2785128 3 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who live in this home long term make good progress over time. They develop a positive sense of self and make strides in their development. For example, one child transitioned from home tutoring to returning to school education. This was well supported by staff to increase the chances of success. Staff are very proud of how the child adapted to this change and how well they did.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care is highly personalised and tailored to their individual needs. Children who live at the home long term have positive day-to-day experiences. For example, one child was acutely aware of the dishes that certain staff members prepared well and frequently requested them from them. Staff are happy to share their cultures and experiences with children, and children benefit from this by developing deeper relationships and an improved cultural understanding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who live at the home for a long time build reliable, trustworthy relationships that help them feel safe and make progress. Staff appreciate the importance of relationships and work hard to try to develop these with children. A child who moved into the home at very short notice, and for a very short period, had a variable experience. However, staff continued to make efforts to positively connect with the child, as they understand how important relational connections are for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with children’s professional networks to support children when they move on from the home. For children who have long-standing relationships, this means spending time with staff, reminiscing and having leaving parties. When children arrive and leave at short notice, due to the urgent and short-term nature of their time in the home, staff and the manager work closely with other professionals to manage risk and ensure that children have the best possible transition. External professionals praise the staff’s focus on children and their desire for them to succeed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff strive to understand children’s health requirements, including their mental health needs. Where children are prescribed multiple medications, staff work hard to ensure that these are offered, but, on some occasions, records are incomplete, and there are discrepancies between documents about the medication children take.

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

Leaders use all available information to consider whether staff can support children before they move in. Leaders accept urgent, short-notice admissions and accept the challenges this can bring. Staff try to quickly adapt to children’s needs, despite sometimes considerable complexity. Leaders’ decisions to accept children into the home at short notice are child focused in the widest sense regarding those children’s situations. Leaders and staff understand their corporate parenting responsibilities for the children they care for. Inspection report for children’s home: 2785128 4 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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

Staff understand risks for children, and risk assessments provide clear guidance to staff. In addition, staff develop plans to guide them in managing children’s sometimes complex or risky behaviours. Staff also carry out sessions with children that address their individual situations, and, over time, the level of risk for children reduces.

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

When children go missing, staff follow protocols that are agreed with children’s social workers and professional networks. Staff attempt to follow children and carry out searches in the local area. When staff know where children are, they go to those places to check on their welfare. Staff are not always successful in persuading children to return to the home and have occasionally needed to ask for support from the police. When this happens, it is proportionate to the risk at the time.

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

Staff and leaders respond well to self-harming behaviour and suicide risks. They have clear protocols in place that help staff support children effectively. When children have to attend or stay in hospital, staff stay with them. During these times, staff take the opportunity to try to build relationships with children and engage them in activities and discussions about their worries.

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

Staff have no reservations in reporting any allegations to leaders. Leaders and the manager take these seriously and respond appropriately. Children are kept updated so that they are fully involved in the process. When allegations are unfounded, staff and the manager work with children to understand this, showing curiosity to children with the aim of offering additional support if needed.

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

Staff work together and are consistent in their approach to children. For one child, staff’s reliability and consistency helped them settle well. This led to the restrictions on their liberty being ended and them making good progress in all areas of their life.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The provider has appointed a new manager, who has been in post for 3 months. They have applied to Ofsted to register as the manager of the home, and this application is being considered. The manager has identified some shortfalls in practice and is already working to address them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by colleagues, supervisors, managers and leaders. Regular supervision and team meetings give staff time and space to consider their practice, share their experiences of children and their needs, and gain support. Managers and supervisors also use these spaces to challenge staff to reflect on their work and improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have faith in managers. They are approachable, and staff are confident they will take appropriate action if concerns arise. External professionals report good contact from managers, helping to ensure that children experience effective multi-agency support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders’ and the manager’s monitoring systems support them in overseeing children’s progress. The previous manager identified in their biannual review of the quality of care Inspection report for children’s home: 2785128 5 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

that the quality of recording needs to improve. However, sufficient action has not been taken to rectify this. The current manager has started to address this shortfall, but practice is not yet consistent. In addition, reviews of the home’s statement of purpose have failed to identify some inaccuracies in the document, and leaders have not provided an updated version to Ofsted as required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s voices are taken account of in day-to-day interactions. One social worker referred to the home as ‘familial’, somewhere children can talk to staff and get the support they need to make progress. Children engage in organised, planned individual sessions to address specific areas of concern or development, as well as general day-to- day conversations about growing up and the challenges of life. These factors all help children to feel central to the work of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2785128 6 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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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

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 8 April 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records are of high quality, clearly written and accurate. If necessary, leaders and managers should identify where development is needed in staff’s recording approach and promptly address these issues. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the actions identified in their review of the quality of care are addressed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that medication records are maintained for all days during a period when medication is prescribed to children and that there is clarity across documents about which medications are prescribed, the dosage, and the timings for administration. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the

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Recommendations

quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)

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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: 2785128 7 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: London Borough of Hillingdon

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge UB8 1UW

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Inspector

Karol Keenan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2785128 8 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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