Children's Home run by Pillar Care Group Ltd in Bexley

Inspection report for children's home: 2844647 1 Registered provider: Pillar Care Group 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 registered with Ofsted on 22 January 2026. The home is operated by a private provider and is registered to care for up to 3 children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

This is the home's first full inspection since registration.

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Information about this children's home

The home has not had a registered manager since March 2026.

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Information about this children's home

There was one child living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2844647 2

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Summary of findings

The child feels safe, listened to and cared for and is making good progress. Staff have taken steps to ensure that the child accesses education and that their health needs are met. The home is nurturing and staff are focused on preparing the child for independence. Parents provided positive feedback about the staff and current managers, who have built positive relationships with the child. Staff have a good understanding of the child's needs. However, management oversight and the responses to the reports by the independent visitor are not sufficiently strong, and there is currently no registered manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child lives in a home where staff take time to understand what they need, in a warm and patient manner. The child feels listened to and well supported. The child likes living in the home and likes the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to take part in a variety of activities they enjoy and that enable them to develop peer relationships outside the home. This helps to build the child's confidence for future independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have built a strong, trusting and open relationship with the child's family, who speak positively about the home. The child can meet with family members independently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child's health needs are met effectively. The child is registered with relevant healthcare providers, and staff ensure that the child attends all appointments as planned. Staff are also proactive in ensuring that the child's emotional and mental health needs are met through making referrals to local services while they wait for the local authority to complete their assessments. This shows forward-thinking about ensuring that the child has appropriate support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in making sure that education is part of the child's routine. Staff support the child to have access to educational opportunities in an area of their interest. This ensures that the child does not lose education momentum as they prepare for independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a realistic transition support plan for the child. This is focused on helping them to develop independent living skills as they prepare for adulthood. Staff encourage the child to engage in activities that help them to develop life skills and have a sense of independence, capability and hope for the future. Inspection report for children's home: 2844647 3 Staff support the child to express their views, wishes and feelings through daily interactions, observations and structured conversations. This helps the child to feel safe and listened to by adults in the home.

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

The child feels safe and protected in the home. Staff have a calm and consistent approach towards safeguarding the child; this helps the child to build trusting relationships with staff.

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

When the child goes missing, staff respond promptly by following the home's procedures to support a safe return. Staff work well with other professionals to reduce risks and keep the child safe.

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

Leaders and managers collaborate with the local authority to ensure the child's safety. The child's care plan and risk assessments are completed to a good standard and they are regularly updated. Staff understand the child's care plans and apply them in day-to- day practice to keep the child safe while allowing them a suitable level of independence. However, management oversight of these plans and of risk assessments is not recorded. This means that learning opportunities to improve practice may be missed.

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

Leaders and managers have a robust safer recruitment process. All the necessary background checks are completed to a satisfactory standard. This helps to ensure that the adults working with the child in the home are safe and suitable.

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

Structured key-work sessions are linked to the child's individual needs. This helps the child to reflect on the care they are receiving. Staff also encourage the child to think about their achievements; this shows an inclusive and reflective culture in the home.

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

Staff complete planned room searches each week. These are in line with the child's home support plan, as agreed with the local authority.

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

The home provides a warm and nurturing environment for the child. It is well kept, in good condition and has additional safety measures, such as closed-circuit television, providing the child with an enhanced sense of security.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers ensure that the child's needs are met. However, a replacement registered manager is yet to be appointed. The responsible individual is experienced and supports the acting manager effectively while the recruitment process for a suitable manager is in progress. This ensures that the home runs smoothly and continues to meet the child's needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the child's needs, which helps them to structure individualised support plans for staff to implement. Inspection report for children's home: 2844647 4 Leaders and managers take time to speak to the child directly and help them to understand their care plan, transition arrangements and planned reviews. This helps the child to stay involved, informed and reassured about their care and progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have completed all mandatory training and are continuing to receive further training that is linked to the child's needs. This helps them to build confidence and develop the necessary skills to support the child effectively. However, staff do not have sufficient training regarding the home's model of practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are committed to learning and further development to improve practice. They understand the home's strengths and the areas that require improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision, which is planned on a yearly basis. They feel supported and listened to, and are positive about the leadership and management of the home. This helps them to make a positive contribution to the child's overall development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers help staff to develop positive relationships, enabling them to build a caring and stable home in which the child feels safe. This improves predictability and routine, which are important for the child's sense of security.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The acting manager is working proactively to develop and improve systems, such as record-keeping, and they are reviewing workforce development. This is to maintain momentum while a new manager is being recruited.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have recruited an independent visitor to provide additional scrutiny of the home, as required by regulations. However, the independent visitor's reports have not been routinely sent to the regulator. Inspection report for children's home: 2844647 5

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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 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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must recruit a manager for the home and ensure that they submit a full application to register with Ofsted. 3 June 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should be proactive in learning from incidents, implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. In particular, the registered person should ensure that all risk assessments and care plans have management oversight. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 55, paragraph 10.24) Inspection report for children's home: 2844647 6  The registered person should ensure that the regular reports provided by the independent person are promptly submitted to HMCI. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff understand the model of care used in the home. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 53, paragraph 10.11) Inspection report for children's home: 2844647 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Pillar Care Group Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 2nd Floor Grove House, 55 Lowlands Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 3AW

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Anthony McKenzie

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Inspector

Stella Namakula, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2844647 8 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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