Children's Home run by Elever Care and Support Ltd in Hillingdon

Inspection report for children’s home: 2761989 1 Registered provider: Elever Care and Support Ltd 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 January 2025 and is privately owned. It provides care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The post for a registered manager has been vacant since June 2025. The director is managing the home and has 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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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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: 2761989 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/07/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2761989 3

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Summary of findings

Children develop positive relationships with the staff at the home, and they make good progress from their starting points. Staff help to ensure that children are kept safe from harm; they understand the children’s vulnerabilities, and they engage with them in discussions about risks. Managers and staff work collaboratively with other agencies when children go missing from the home. Leaders and managers work to ensure that the home environment provides the best opportunities for children to achieve positive outcomes. The lack of a permanent leadership and management team has led to shortfalls in management oversight of day-to-day activities in the home and a lack of focus on strategic development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff develop positive and trusting relationships with children, which helps them to settle in. Staff provide children with routine and guidance and help them to feel safe. As a result, children make good progress from their starting points. One child commented that it is calm at the home when asked if they are happy there. Written communication from a social worker states: ‘I wanted to say a quick thank you to you all. You and your staff team put up with a lot from [name of child] and really stuck with them… I do really feel like some progress was made during their time with you all and that it has really laid the foundations for their new placement.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children currently living at the home are now engaged in education, having been out of education for several years. Staff support children to engage with health services to ensure that they attend appointments and have their medical needs met. Staff encourage the children to discuss their feelings and frustrations, and emotional health services are requested to support the children when necessary. One child’s sleeping patterns have improved since being at the home. One child had noted in their records: ‘Things I’m proud of, something I did well: Waking up on time; I engaged in tuition 3 times this week. Something I tried (even if it was hard): Getting up and organised for tuition.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff carry out key-work sessions with children regularly, whether these are scheduled or ad hoc. The sessions are targeted to each child’s individual needs and address their concerns or worries, such as safe relationships and budgeting, or risks such as exploitation. Children benefit from these discussions as they help them to make informed decisions about their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to make suggestions about activities they want to participate in, whether this is just a walk in the community, a trip to an amusement park or go-karting. They are given choices regarding meals and menus and are encouraged by staff to make meals for themselves. Inspection report for children’s home: 2761989 4 Children know how to raise complaints and, in most cases, receive a timely response. Children’s wishes and feelings are responded to by staff and managers. When it is not possible to act on those wishes and feelings, most notably in respect of safeguarding, children receive explanations to help them understand the rationale.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One social worker described the home as ‘very much child focused, with the view of supporting vulnerable young people to feel safe, provide routine and guidance’.

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

Managers and staff know the children well. Children’s vulnerabilities are understood, and safety plans reflect a focus on minimising the risk of harm to children through clear strategies and responses. Staff use key-work sessions to help children think about safe relationships and consider what sexual and criminal exploitation might look like to them.

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

Behaviour support plans for children are enhanced through the involvement of the behavioural analyst, who provides a trauma-informed framework to help staff understand the internal and external triggers for children. Staff receive training in de- escalation methods. The director refers to the approach used in the home as ‘connection before correction’. Reflective discussions following incidents provide opportunities for staff to consider their responses to children and how things could have been done differently to prevent harm.

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

When children go missing from the home, managers and staff work collaboratively with the police, youth justice services and parents to ensure that the network can respond quickly to locate and maintain contact with the children. Staff talk to children about why they go missing and encourage them to develop interests and connections to the home and local area. For one child, this has led to a reduction in missing-from-home episodes recently. The independent reviewing officer for the child said, ‘The home is trying… they try the best they can and will follow protocol.’

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

Leaders and managers challenge safeguarding partners and escalate concerns appropriately when they feel that external agencies could be working more collaboratively, such as when children go missing. This is particularly the case when children travel to different police districts and responsibilities change across boundaries.

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

The local authority designated officer noted that managers have consulted them appropriately and taken the necessary steps when safeguarding concerns have been raised. They commented that managers have also paid close attention to the child’s voice.

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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2761989 5 The leadership and management team has changed several times since the last inspection. The director and the current interim management team are committed to ensuring that children have positive experiences, make progress in their development and are helped to stay safe while living in the home. However, the lack of permanent leaders and managers, although not significantly affecting children, has led to shortfalls in management oversight of the home and the scrutiny of processes and working practices.

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

For example, during this inspection, discrepancies were identified in the accuracy of the training and supervision matrixes and the status of updated Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for 2 members of staff. In addition, there is a lack of management oversight and sign off from managers for daily logs, key-work sessions with children, and a formal response to the outcome of a complaint from a child, in line with the home’s procedures. This reflects the lack of scrutiny and monitoring of aspects of the home’s day-to-day activities, as well as a failure to adhere to procedural and regulatory processes.

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

Most members of staff in the home have zero-hour contracts, which offers flexibility for those who have permanent roles elsewhere. However, the lack of a permanent staff team creates issues relating to attendance at team meetings, training, supervision and communication regarding significant issues related to the home. Additionally, it is not clear how leaders and managers are developing a culture and ethos of teamwork and shared vision and embedding the approach identified in the statement of purpose. Staff’s approach to care is particularly important, as they care for children whose needs are complex. Leaders and managers are reflecting on the effectiveness of this model of working.

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

Staff are supported by leaders and managers who are available when needed. Staff have access to a range of training and learning opportunities to assist them in meeting the needs of children living at the home. Leaders and managers have initiated reflective group sessions for staff, led by a trauma-informed behaviour analyst. Staff say that they enjoy working at the home. However, the frequency of professional supervision provided to staff is not sufficient to meet their needs. Supervision records show a lack of consistency in identifying tasks and timelines for actions and follow up. The content of discussions is brief, with little evidence of reflection or consideration of training or learning for staff and how this may influence their care of the children.

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

A strength of the leadership and management team is the positive working relationships it has with local authority representatives, such as children’s social workers and independent reviewing officers. These representatives provided positive feedback regarding children’s care and protection and noted effective multi-agency working with staff and managers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2761989 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 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; and the registered provider—

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home.

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person so appointed; and

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Requirement Due date

the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) (2)(a)(b)) 15 July 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

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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; 15 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2761989 7 ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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)(g)(h))

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Requirement Due date

An organisation may only carry on a home if—

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Requirement Due date

each director of the organisation, except for a director who is the responsible individual, who is involved in the carrying on of a home by that organisation satisfies the requirements in paragraph (6); and

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Requirement Due date

the organisation has notified HMCI of the name, address and position in the organisation of the responsible individual.

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit to carry on the home.

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Requirement Due date

satisfy the requirements in paragraph (5)(a) to (c); and

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (4)(i)(ii) (5)(a)(b)(c) (7)(a)(b)) 15 July 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision in line with established practice in terms of frequency and content, allowing them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children in their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that good employment practice is maintained. They must ensure that there is an effective system in place to monitor ongoing statutory checks, such as staff DBS checks, to safeguard children and minimise Inspection report for children’s home: 2761989 8 potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 2761989 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Elever Care and Support Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX

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Inspectors

Colin Bent, Social Care Inspector Kay Barnett, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2761989 10 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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