Children's Home run by Care2rise Ltd in Hounslow

Inspection report for children's home: 2697534 1 Registered provider: Care2Rise 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 privately owned and provides care for up to 4 children who may have social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children's home

The home registered in December 2022. The manager registered with Ofsted on 15 January 2026.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living at the home.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2697534 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/08/2024 Full Good 07/09/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2697534 3

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improvement to be good

Despite some areas of positive practice, leaders have not always taken appropriate action to manage the home effectively. This impacts on the quality of care that children receive and their safety and welfare have been compromised at times.

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improvement to be good

Before children move into the home, leaders and managers do not thoroughly assess their individual risks and needs or consider the needs of the children already living there. They fail to consider the impact this will have on children, which has negatively affected children's day-to-day experiences. Additionally, leaders and managers do not ensure that they have up-to-date care plans from placing authorities. As a result, staff have not fully understood children's needs, and they have not met their needs consistently or in a child-centred way.

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improvement to be good

Leaders, managers and staff are not able to effectively assess when a child may be at risk or take appropriate action to ensure their safety. The condition of one child's bedroom is of particular concern. Although staff are carrying out bedroom checks, these checks are not effective in helping the child to maintain a safe and suitable living environment. Staff provide only limited support because they are not consistently monitoring the condition of the child's bedroom or taking prompt action when issues are identified.

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improvement to be good

Children are not given opportunities to share their views, wishes and feelings about their care. Children do not participate in their care planning, risk assessments, or children's meetings to ensure that they are effectively involved in the decision-making processes that impact significantly on their lives. This hinders the children's ability to influence matters that affect them and help staff to understand children's issues from their perspective.

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improvement to be good

Children are making progress with their education and are achieving their goals. There is good communication between education providers and staff.

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improvement to be good

The staff team is very caring and supportive. This helps children to develop positive relationships with the staff, who they are beginning to trust. One child said, 'I like living at this home and get on with the staff.' As a result, children feel secure in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand that it is important for children to maintain relationships with the people who are special to them. Staff support and arrange for children to spend quality time with their family and friends when it is safe for them to do so. Inspection report for children's home: 2697534 4

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, safeguarding practices in the home have not consistently been effective. More recent improvements are supporting children more effectively, but it is too soon to see the full impact of these changes.

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improvement to be good

Practice around risk management is weak. Leaders and managers do not complete children's care plans and risk assessments until several months after they have moved into the home. This has resulted in staff having a limited understanding of children's individual needs, risks, behaviours, and vulnerabilities. Additionally, staff did not identify the potential risk of exploitation for one child. As a result, staff did not consider the relevant information to ensure that risk is understood and adequately managed. This practice has the potential to compromise children's safety.

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improvement to be good

There have been inconsistencies in staff practice when managing incidents and supporting children’s behaviours to de-escalate, which have, at times, impacted on their experiences. Historically, there have been occasions when the police were contacted to assist with incidents, linked to some staff lacking confidence in applying positive behaviour support and de-escalation strategies. More recent incidents demonstrate increased staff confidence and improved use of de-escalation techniques, although further work is required to ensure that practice is consistently effective across the staff team.

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improvement to be good

On the first day of this inspection, running records identified that one staff member had left the home early following the nightshift without informing managers or handing over to other staff. This resulted in only one staff member being present with the children, which leaders were not aware of. While there was negligible impact to the children on this occasion, handover and safeguarding arrangements were ineffective. This increased avoidable risk to children and to staff within the home.

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improvement to be good

Historic recruitment practices have not been sufficiently robust. Ineffective procedures mean that leaders and managers have not effectively assured themselves of the suitability of staff and how children are adequately safeguarded.

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improvement to be good

Staff follow procedures when children go missing from the home. Staff make efforts to locate children and follow children's safety plans. Children are welcomed back into the home when they return from going missing, and they are offered the opportunity to have a debrief about the incident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, there has been a change in manager. The new manager is very new in post. During this inspection, he shared a commitment to address the identified shortfalls. Inspection report for children's home: 2697534 5 Staff speak positively about current leaders and managers, highlighting their knowledge and understanding of children's needs and risk management strategies. Despite the challenges, staff say that they feel well supported in their roles and appreciate the guidance and encouragement they receive. Staff demonstrate genuine care and passion for their work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Team meetings take place regularly and are informative, supporting the running of the home. The registered manager sometimes uses these meetings as an opportunity to refresh staff's knowledge on safeguarding. This ensures that staff remain aware of their safeguarding role and responsibilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Management systems that help managers to monitor and review the quality of care are not always effective. This is particularly in relation to bedroom searches, risk assessments, oversight of incidents and how learning from incidents is discussed in supervision. This means that the registered manager does not always have full oversight of incidents in the home. Recording by staff is not of a consistently good standard. Additionally, on some occasions, when the registered manager has scrutinised staff recordings of incidents, some important information has been missed. This has meant that potential learning from events has not always been identified in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The oversight of staffing arrangements does not consistently ensure that children are supported safely. Leaders and managers are aware of this and are acting. However, the impact of changes is not yet embedded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff supervision sessions are brief and lack meaningful professional discussion and reflection. Staff supervision does not focus on children's plans and needs. This does not enable staff to reflect on the care they need to give children to help them make good progress. Managers do not focus on staff's skills and development, which further hinders their ability to meet children's needs and provide good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Children's records are not suitably stored or accessible to staff or managers. Leaders and managers could not access all the necessary information during this inspection. This lack of accessible information hinders effective monitoring and evaluation of practice. Furthermore, this impacts on the ability of the registered manager to oversee safeguarding practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Although it is recognised that there have been challenges and difficult times at this home that have impacted on children, professional feedback contains positivity. Other professionals recognise that improvements are being made which will positively affect children's experiences. Inspection report for children's home: 2697534 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child's relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)(vi)(b)(d)) 3 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2697534 7 In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff are able to keep children safe from harm, manage incidents and are confident to manage risk well.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that staff maintain regular oversight of children's bedrooms to ensure that they are a safe and suitable environment for children.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that the staffing arrangements are safe and suitable.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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

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)(a)(b)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that the management of the home is effective and there is an understanding of the impact that care is having on children.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that there are effective monitoring systems to gain an oversight of the care provided to 3 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2697534 8 children. Where shortfalls are identified, leaders and managers must take effective action to address these.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that staff receive effective supervision and support to carry out their roles.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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—

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that there is effective care planning for all children and consider the needs of children moving into the home as well as the children already living there. They must also consider whether the staff have the skills and training to meet the needs of all children in their care. 3 March 2026

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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

employ an individual to work at the children's home; or

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d)) 3 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which— 3 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2697534 9 are kept up to date;

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Requirement Due date

and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff maintain accurate records and that records are safely stored and accessible when required.

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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: 2697534 10

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 118a Barking Road, Royal Victoria Docks, London E16 1EN

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Inspector

Sadia Akhtar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2697534 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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