Children's Home run by Achieving for Children Community Interest Company in Richmond upon Thames

Inspection report for children's home: 2576346 1 Registered provider: Achieving for Children Community Interest Company Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The home was registered with Ofsted in September 2020 and is privately owned. It provides care for up to 5 children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living at the home. This inspector spoke to both the children during the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2024 and is suitably qualified.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2576346 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/06/2025 Full Good 17/07/2024 Full Good 10/10/2023 Full Good 14/06/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2576346 3

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Summary of findings

Children benefit from a nurturing environment where they feel listened to, valued and supported. Staff work well with professionals to promote children's emotional wellbeing, education and independence, helping them make steady progress.

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Summary of findings

Staff understand children's vulnerabilities and follow clear procedures to keep them safe. They work effectively with professionals and provide appropriate support to promote children's safety and wellbeing.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers provide clear direction and promote a positive, child-centred culture. While some systems require strengthening, leaders and managers demonstrate a commitment to supporting staff and improving practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff give thoughtful considerations to children's moves into the home. They work alongside other professionals to ensure that children feel welcomed and settled and that plans are in place from the beginning. Children are involved in planning when they move on from the home. Staff also maintain contact when children leave, supporting continuity and ongoing reassurance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a clean, friendly and comfortable environment. Children's bedrooms are decorated and personalised to reflect their interests, with thoughtful consideration given by staff to ensure that their individual needs are met. Children can access all areas of the home, with appropriate support from staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff routinely speak with children to provide support for their emotional wellbeing. This helps children to feel listened to and reassured. Children say they can speak freely with staff and when they choose.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their education and work closely with their schools and alternate education provider to help them meet their individual targets. They attend relevant professional meetings and advocate effectively on behalf of children. Staff use creative, tailored approaches to support children's progress, and education providers say that children benefit from this collaborative approach.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a variety of activities in the community. Staff support them to develop independence, including food shopping, money management and cooking. Activities are thoughtfully planned based on children's interests. As a result, children are supported by staff to lead active and stable lives. Inspection report for children's home: 2576346 4 Leaders and managers have proactively advocated for health professionals to deliver specialist training to the staff team, ensuring that children's needs are understood and supported through effective joint working. Health professionals comment positively on staff attendance and have seen evidence of this learning being applied in practice to help keep children safe. However, systems to record and monitor staff training are not yet fully developed. Strengthening these arrangements would support management oversight and help ensure that staff are consistently supported in their professional

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

Staff understand children's vulnerabilities. Systems are in place to help staff understand children's needs, including their preferences, behaviours and approaches that best support them. Leaders ensure that this information is shared across the workforce, providing staff with clear guidance and helping them follow procedures to keep children safe.

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

Staff are clear on procedures when children are missing from the home. They follow relevant protocols and make all efforts to maintain contact with children. Staff promptly inform relevant professionals and take appropriate steps to support children's safe return. Staff complete bedroom checks when appropriate, and, when children return, staff provide emotional support to help them settle back into the home.

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

Staff work effectively with a range of professionals to promote children's emotional wellbeing. They use a variety of personalised approaches, including conversations, reassurance and child-led activities, to support children. Staff are confident in contacting appropriate professionals when needed to help keep children safe. Professionals provide positive feedback about staff collaboratively, with plans developed and implemented together to support children's safety and wellbeing.

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

Leaders and managers follow safer recruitment processes. Appropriate checks are undertaken with new staff, including exploring gaps in employment. A structured induction is in place, supported by mandatory training. Staff are also provided with child- friendly information about children's needs that helps them to understand their roles and support children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are resilient and demonstrate a clear vision for providing high standards of care for children. They confidently manage risks and respond to the evolving complex needs of children, working effectively in partnership with all relevant professionals while keeping children's voice central. Leaders are aware of the home's strengths and the areas of development to further improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The values and ethos of the home are shared by staff, who promote a warm and nurturing culture. Leaders and managers support staff to deliver this in practice, Inspection report for children's home: 2576346 5 including through supervision and team meetings. Leaders and managers encourage staff to reflect, challenge appropriately and learn from each other to strengthen practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers provide a positive working environment and encourage staff development. Staff have access to regular training to support them in delivering effective care to children. Staff say that the training provided is helpful in supporting them to carry out their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff communicate effectively with professionals involved in children's care. They share information promptly and work in partnership as part of a multi-agency team to review children's needs and reduce risk. Professionals consistently provide positive feedback about working with staff. As a result, children are protected, kept safe and receive coordinated support from staff, leaders and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff find supervision helpful and say that it supports them to carry out their roles effectively. They feel listened to and able to discuss their own emotional wellbeing. However, records of supervision are not consistently detailed. Although this has not had a direct impact on the quality of care provided to children, clearer recording of discussions, actions and outcomes would strengthen oversight and support practice further.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a stable staff team, which supports continuity of care and stability for children. Staff demonstrate the skills and experience needed to meet children's needs. However, not all staff have completed their level 3 qualification within the required regulatory timescales. This has been affected by the training provider no longer delivering the qualification, and leaders are in the process of securing an alternative provider. Inspection report for children's home: 2576346 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 person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety.

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part-time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b)) 1 December 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2576346 7 In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff are enrolled and supported to complete the relevant qualification.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff supervision includes detailed notes of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions. (Guide to the Children's Home Regulations, including the quality standards, page 61, paragraph 13.3 and 13.4.)  The registered person should have systems in place to update and include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home's manager. (Guide to the Children's Home Regulations, including the quality standards, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: 2576346 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Achieving for Children Community Interest Company

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 44 York Street, Twickenham TW1 3BZ

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Inspectors

Nirmal Gracian, Social Care Inspector Richard Wyper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2576346 9 regulates and inspects to 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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Inspectors

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