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

Inspection report children's home: 2720159 1 Registered provider: Cedar House (Kent) Ltd

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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 provider. It is registered to provide care for up to 4 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of inspection, one child was living in this home.

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Information about this children's home

The home has not had a registered manager since July 2024. A new manager has been appointed; however, they are yet to submit a successful application to register with the regulator.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 4 November 2025

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following a full inspection in November 2025 the provider was issued with a notice of restriction of accommodation, preventing further children moving into the home, and three compliance notices under Regulations 12, 13 and 6 of the Children’s Homes Inspection report children's home: 2720159 2 (England) Regulations 2015. The restriction notice was lifted following the monitoring visit in December 2025. The compliance notices had also been met. Inspection report children's home: 2720159 3

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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 children's home: 2720159 4

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improvement to be good

Since the last full inspection in November 2025, two children have moved on from the home. One child’s move was premature to their original plans. However, this move was positive for the child who is now living nearer to their family. For the other child, their time in the home ended abruptly and immediately. This was following a significant escalation in serious incidents which resulted in emotional distress for the child.

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improvement to be good

Children make inconsistent progress with their education engagement and attendance. Although some children had started to engage more meaningfully in some aspects of their education provision, this was hindered due them moving on from the home. For the child who continues to live in the home, their educational progress has been limited. Although staff actively encourage the child to engage with their education provision, there are missed opportunities for them to be supported with more meaningful learning opportunities and actives outside of their dedicated education time. One social worker commented that ‘education is not where it could be for the child.’

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improvement to be good

Some efforts have been made by managers and staff to encourage the child to establish daily routines, using daily planners. However, there are times when the child states they are bored and responses from staff are not always proactive. This means that there are missed opportunities for the child to engage in enriching activities outside of the home.

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improvement to be good

Children’s bedrooms are not maintained to a good standard. Damages due to past incidents, or through wear and tear have not been rectified. One child had been sleeping on a mattress on the floor that was torn and of poor quality. Leaders and managers had not identified this nor several other areas in the home that need attention. For example, some carpets throughout the home are heavily stained. In addition, children’s bedroom doors are very heavy to open and close with safety and ease due to their mechanisms. Consequently, the weight of these doors poses challenges to both children and staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff are starting to support the child's independence skills and build their confidence to use the local public transport. Staff provide the child with opportunities to bake and make meals as they aspire to be a chef in the future. This helps the child develop some basic skills to live independently and work towards their chosen career.

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improvement to be good

Children's health needs are met, as they receive appropriate support from health care professionals. Children engage with the therapeutic support that is offered to them. This input ensures that children’s well-being needs are met.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported by staff to see their families and those close to them. This ensures that children maintain relationships with those they hold dear to them. Inspection report children's home: 2720159 5

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improvement to be good

Staff understand children's risks and individual risk assessments are reviewed and updated. This ensures that staff are aware of live safeguarding risks to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Children are spoken to about their behaviours and are provided with support to manage big feelings. Children access and engage in therapy. This means they have a safe space to talk about their feelings, and this supports their wellbeing.

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improvement to be good

There risks of the child in the home going missing are low. When other children have gone missing from home or had an unauthorised absence, staff have responded appropriately. They remained in contact with children while they were away from the home. Consequently, children have returned to the home safely.

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improvement to be good

Generally, staff use consistent strategies to manage behaviour. However, on occasions staff have not always set realistic expectations for one child nor had strategies in place to manage this child’s behaviours. As a result, staff were unable to emotionally support the child effectively and the child’s behaviours escalated, due to them feeling distressed. Consequently, immediate notice was given to the local authority to end the child’s stay at the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. There has been one allegation made by a child since the last full inspection. Appropriate action was taken including reporting the allegation to safeguarding professionals and keeping the child updated at each stage of the process. This ensures that children are listened to and that their concerns are taken seriously.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

This home has not had a registered manager since July 2024. Since then, there have been various managers appointed, but none have registered. This means that leaders have failed to take urgent action to address this vacancy. As a result, Ofsted has not been able to assess the current managers suitability and fitness for the role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders have well placed intentions to reflect and learn from abrupt placement endings. However, these reviews do not always consider or identify the shortfalls and challenges to inform future practice. There is more focus on what has gone well. This compromises their ability to identify the improvements that are necessary. Leaders and managers do not have a realistic understanding of the strengths and weakness of the home. Consequently, the review of a child leaving the home in an unplanned way failed to capture the child’s feelings of rejection due to an abrupt move before Christmas.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Professionals spoken to have mixed feedback about this home. One social worker stated that ‘the way a placement ended for [child] gave me great concern. [Child] has told me they feel rejected from this home.’ This means that there have been missed Inspection report children's home: 2720159 6 opportunities for staff and leaders to seek out an opportunity to have a meaningful parting with this child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have not always worked in line with the ethos of the home and used the therapeutic approaches that they are trained in to support with managing children's behaviours. As a result, an incident escalated due to staff’s poor practice in managing a situation and this led to their dismissal.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not always notified the regulator of incidents in a timely manner. This means that at times the regulator is not fully aware about what actions have been taken to manage serious incidents that occur in this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff team is currently dispersed around the providers other homes. This impacts on leaders and managers providing opportunities to build cohesive relationships as a team and to strengthen and improve on staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff say that they receive supervision and feel supported. However, the manager has not been consistent in completing all staff’s annual appraisals. Inspection report children's home: 2720159 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, 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 registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)) 26 March 2026

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(b)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff have opportunities to work as a team. Any learning reviews should identify and consider shortfalls to improve future practice. 26 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children's home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 26 March 2026 Inspection report children's home: 2720159 8 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)(b) (2) (b)(iii)(a)(c))

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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 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.

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(v)(viii)(ix)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to— 26 March 2026 Inspection report children's home: 2720159 9 meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(c)(i))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 63 paragraph 14.13)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 61 paragraph 13.5)

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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 children's home: 2720159 10

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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

Karen Flanagan de Martinez, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2720159 11 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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