Valg Care Services Ltd

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Valg Care Services Ltd 1 Valg Care Services Ltd Registered provider: Valg Care Services Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This supported accommodation service is operated by a private provider. The service provides one group living premises that are limited to accommodating looked-after children and care leavers.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, the service was not providing support for any children.

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provider

The service manager, who is also a director and the nominated individual, registered with Ofsted in July 2025.

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Inspection dates: 17 and 18 June 2026

The inspection was announced on 15 June 2026 and started that day. The inspectors were on site from 17 to 18 June 2026.

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Outcome

Serious or widespread weaknesses lead to significant concerns about the experiences and progress of children. Leaders and managers must take urgent action to address failings.

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Summary of findings

There are significant concerns relating to the leadership and management of the service and the safeguarding of children.

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Summary of findings

The registered service manager was not present during the inspection. The operations manager who facilitated the inspection was unable to find key information and documents relating to the care and safeguarding of children. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Valg Care Services Ltd 2 The registered service manager does not effectively monitor the service to ensure that staff provide safe, high-quality support to children. There are also shortfalls in safer recruitment practices.

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Summary of findings

The home was in an unhygienic state and in a state of disrepair. It is not suitable for children to live there.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

At the time of the inspection, there were no children living at the home. The children who had lived at the home received poor-quality support. The local authority had found alternative accommodation for the children in response to serious concerns about the welfare of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

An adult was living in the home at the time of the inspection. There is no assessment completed to assess any risk this adult may pose to the children placed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

The environment was unhygienic with unwashed, mouldy crockery, mouldy food in the fridge and holes in walls, doors and the children's rooms. The bedrooms are sparsely furnished and the home is not a welcoming environment. The operations manager agreed that the home was not suitable for children, despite the adult living there. The manager is of the view that they are ready to have children move into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Prior to this inspection, the manager recognised that the processes regarding children moving into the home needed improvement. No action has been taken by the manager to improve these processes to ensure that children moving into the home receive safe and effective support. These processes remain weak and leave children at risk.

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How well children are helped and protected

The safeguarding processes are ineffective. The safeguarding policy is not up to date and the named designated safeguarding lead is no longer employed. The operations manager is now the acting safeguarding lead, despite having no formal training in safeguarding children. This leaves children at risk of receiving ineffective responses to safeguarding concerns.

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How well children are helped and protected

The safeguarding processes are weak in ensuring that safeguarding concerns are suitably identified and acted upon, including considering familial relationships. Any allegations against the registered service manager, who is also the nominated individual, would be reviewed by her in conjunction with the operations manager. The outcome of any action would then be overseen by the director. Both the operations manager and the director are related to the registered service manager.

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How well children are helped and protected

Managers have not taken effective action to safeguard children. A senior manager, who was an agency member of staff, was the subject of an allegation from a child. The senior manager completed the referral to the local authority designated officer Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Valg Care Services Ltd 3 and completed a safeguarding notification to Ofsted. In addition, the local authority designated officer was not informed that the staff who had allegations made against them were agency staff. This prevented the local authority designated officer from taking action to safeguard children. This does not demonstrate safe practice and leaves children at risk of harm.

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How well children are helped and protected

During another serious incident in which a child made an allegation of physical harm against a staff member, another staff member filmed the incident. The filming of the incident was not investigated, despite this being against the organisation's policies. The manager failed to recognise the concerns in regard to this practice or take suitable action to address the concerns and make improvements.

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How well children are helped and protected

Record-keeping of serious incidents and responses to safeguarding concerns is extremely poor. Key documents and information related to the actions taken to children are either missing or in complete. For example, the timeline in response to allegations of physical abuse towards children and staff's subsequent suspension was not clear. This means that the manager or external agencies involved in the safeguarding of children cannot be assured that the appropriate steps have been taken.

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How well children are helped and protected

There were serious incidents that were not reported to Ofsted. This prevented Ofsted from carrying out its regulatory functions and from having an accurate understanding of how the service keeps children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Poor leadership and management have led to serious and widespread shortfalls across the service. This has had negative consequences for the safety and protection of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staffing arrangements are not consistent with providing safety and stability for children. There are no permanent staff employed and there are insufficient records to demonstrate that the recruitment of agency staff used to support children has been thorough. For example, recruitment records lack information about the eligibility of staff's right to work, satisfactory references from previous employers and gaps in their employment. Staff have not been properly recruited, inducted or trained to support children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

There is no workforce plan in place. This means that there is a lack of clarity in regard to the staff's level of skills, knowledge and experience for the roles. In addition, there are no supervision notes or performance reviews to support the practice development of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The statement of purpose was not updated in line with changes. In addition, the adult living at the home is not a looked-after child or care leaver. This is not in line with the organisation's registration. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Valg Care Services Ltd 4

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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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the 'Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including 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 supported accommodation undertaking that puts children first and prioritises their wellbeing and development.

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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 supported accommodation undertaking in a way that is consistent with the ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the undertaking's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills appropriate for the work that they are to perform;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the supported accommodation undertaking has sufficient staff to support and accommodate children safely and effectively;

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Requirement Due date

implement recruitment practices that ensure staff are suitable to work with children and to keep them safe from harm(1);

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Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place to manage referrals of children to the supported accommodation undertaking and admissions of children to premises used as supported accommodation, including, where relevant, emergency referrals and admissions;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place for the supervision, training and development of staff;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that a workforce plan (see regulation 10) for the supported accommodation undertaking is in place. (Regulation 4 (1) (2)(a)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(j)) 9 September 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Valg Care Services Ltd 5 The protection standard is that children are enabled to feel safe and that their needs are met.

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

prepare and implement child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the effectiveness of child protection policies is kept under review and ensure that, where appropriate, those policies are revised;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar and act in accordance with child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of abuse, neglect, exploitation or any other harm, and act to reduce such risk;

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Requirement Due date

work collaboratively with other professionals and agencies, and share information where relevant to keep children safe;

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Requirement Due date

understand the relevant roles and responsibilities assigned to them by the registered person in relation to protecting children. (Regulation 5 (1) (2)(a)(i)(b)(c)(f)(i)(ii)(iv)(vi)) 9 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

The accommodation standard is that children's experience a comfortable and secure living environment.

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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

ensure that the premises used as supported accommodation—

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Requirement Due date

are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child individually and all children collectively; 9 September 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Valg Care Services Ltd 6 are suitable for the purposes of supported accommodation and are accessible, safe, secure and well maintained;

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Requirement Due date

offer a comfortable, positive and nurturing environment, while respecting children's need for privacy;

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Requirement Due date

are adequately maintained so as to provide a welcoming and homely environment within both individual and shared living spaces;

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Requirement Due date

are designed, furnished and maintained to remove avoidable hazards which could pose a health and safety risk to children.(Regulation 6 (1) (2)(b)(v)(vi)(vii)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify the CIECSS of any revisions and send the CIECSS a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (5), the registered person must ensure that the supported accommodation undertaking is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 9 (3)(a)(b) (4)) 9 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

be a director of the organisation carrying on the supported accommodation undertaking in respect of which they are the nominated individual;

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Requirement Due date

satisfy the requirements in paragraph (5)(a) to (d);

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, appropriate experience and skills to represent the organisation in its dealings with the CIECSS, having regard to the category or categories of supported accommodation provided by the supported accommodation undertaking in respect of which they are the nominated individual;

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Requirement Due date

undertake, from time to time, such training as is appropriate to ensure that they have the experience and skills necessary to represent the supported accommodation undertaking in its dealings with the CIECSS. (Regulation 11 (7)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 9 September 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Valg Care Services Ltd 7 The registered provider and the registered service manager must, having regard to—

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Requirement Due date

the number of premises used as supported accommodation by;

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Requirement Due date

the number of children accommodated in the premises used as supported accommodation by;

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Requirement Due date

the geographical scope of the premises used as supported accommodation by;

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Requirement Due date

the category or categories of supported accommodation provided by;

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Requirement Due date

the supported accommodation undertaking concerned, carry on or manage that undertaking with sufficient care, competence and skill. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify the CIECSS and any relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation or child criminal exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child and the registered person considers that incident to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the supported accommodation undertaking or a person working for it;

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry);

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Requirement Due date

there is an incident involving the use of a measure of restraint of a child;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. 9 September 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Valg Care Services Ltd 8 The registered person must ensure that a notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

any other individuals or organisations who or which have been notified;

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

is made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 27 (3)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f) (4)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023.

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Information about this inspection

The inspection was announced on 15 June 2026 and the inspectors were on site from 17 June 2026 to 19 June 2026. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Valg Care Services Ltd 9

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Valg Care Services Ltd

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: 69 Bampton Road, London SE23 2AX

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Olohije Obamwonyi

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: admin@valgcareservices.org

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Inspectors

Suzy Lemmy, Social Care Inspector Glen Strowbridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Valg Care Services Ltd 10 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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