Chariteens Residential Family Centre

Inspection report for residential family centre: Chariteens Residential Family Centre 1 Chariteens Residential Family Centre Chariteens Residential Family Centre CIC 10 Khartoum Road, London E13 8RF Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

The centre registered with Ofsted in June 2014 and provides parenting assessments for up to 6 families. Alongside parenting assessments, the centre provides drug and alcohol testing and counselling.

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Information about this residential family centre

At the time of the inspection, 3 families were undergoing parental assessments. The inspector spoke to one family.

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Information about this residential family centre

There has been no registered manager since December 2025. A newly appointed manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this residential family centre

The inspection started on 24 June 2026. The inspector returned on 8 July 2026 to gather additional evidence in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy.

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Information about this residential family centre

Information applicable to the provider at the time of the original inspection was received after the inspection was concluded but before the planned publication date of the inspection report. The relevance of this information necessitated a further visit by an inspector to gather additional evidence. This evidence was reviewed alongside that gathered during the original inspection to inform the inspection outcome and enable completion of this report.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and parents, taking into account good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and parents are helped and protected good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good Inspection report for residential family centre: Chariteens Residential Family Centre 2 The residential family centre provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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Overall experiences and progress of

Date of previous inspection: 24 January 2024

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for residential family centre: Chariteens Residential Family Centre 3

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Summary of findings

We did not identify any safeguarding concerns at this inspection. There was a shortfall in safeguarding practice, and staff have learned from this. There is evidence of multi-agency communication when incidents occur.

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Summary of findings

Overall, the experiences of families are generally positive, and this is reflected in the views of professionals. However, one family who recently moved into the centre are unhappy with their experience so far.

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Summary of findings

Leadership and management of the centre still require improvement. Requirements and recommendations raised at the last inspection have not been met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Qualified staff carry out assessments that are tailored to families’ needs and address the concerns raised by the courts and placing authorities. These assessments include methods and programmes that evaluate parents’ capacity to safely care for their children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Families have several opportunities to share their views about their experiences in the centre. Weekly feedback sessions and residents’ meetings encourage parents to reflect and openly discuss what is on their mind.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parents take part in various activities, such as baby groups, picnics, ‘rhyme time’ and painting sessions. This provides opportunities for them to have positive experiences during the assessment process.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Leaders and managers offer to support families after assessments are complete. One family has visited the centre, and others send in photos of their children to update staff on their progress. For one family, staff worked with the placing authority to create a detailed transition plan to help them settle into community life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parents rarely raise complaints and when they do, manager responds appropriately to any concerns. However, complaints are not recorded centrally. As a result, opportunities to review themes, patterns and emerging learning are not fully maximised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

The centre would benefit from repair and redecoration to provide a more welcoming and homely environment for children and families. Areas of the kitchen require updating, including worn woodwork and damaged sealant around sink areas. In addition, a social worker said that the baby care area was unhygienic and that some, furniture looked ‘tired and dated’. These issues do not present the centre in the best possible condition for children and families using the service. Inspection report for residential family centre: Chariteens Residential Family Centre 4 One family feels unvalued by some staff and says that some staff lack cultural awareness and sometimes impose their own cultural norms when offering advice on care routines.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Managers ensure that all environmental checks are carried out to ensure that the centre complies with health and safety policies. The use of CCTV in the centre provides further scrutiny in the evaluation of parents’ care of their children. Families are aware of the centre’s use of CCTV.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff have sessions with families to address local authorities’ concerns for their children’s safety. Topics discussed include emotional wellbeing, neglect and infant safety, among others. Parents engage in these sessions, enabling staff to identify where further support is needed. Parents also have access to targeted support groups. These include support relating to domestic violence, substance misuse, parenting classes and mental health.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Risk assessments identify known risks and reflect the individual needs of family members. Additional assessments are completed in response to incidents and emerging concerns. However, risk assessments are not consistently updated to reflect changes in risk over time. As a result, records do not always provide a clear overview of how risks have reduced, increased or changed throughout families’ involvement with the centre.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Medication practices are safe, and there are regular medication audits to prevent mistakes from being made.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff work with safeguarding agencies to ensure that there is a collaborative approach to safeguarding children and their parents. When incidents occur, staff are usually proactive in promoting the safety of families. However, on one occasion, staff were slow to intervene. Although this did not result in harm to the child, it highlighted a shortfall in practice. The manager has acknowledged the shortfall and learning remains ongoing. A reflective meeting was held with the placing authority, staff received additional training, operation practice was reviewed and additional measures were introduced to strengthen night-time observations.

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good

Leadership and management have been inconsistent since the last inspection.

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good

The responsible individual’s oversight of the centre is not effective. All of the requirements and recommendations raised at the previous inspection have been restated. The centre’s statement of purpose remains out of date. In addition, leaders do not consistently maintain records of professionals’ meetings. Two previous incidents were not notified to the regulator as required, and senior leaders did not identify this omission. Inspection report for residential family centre: Chariteens Residential Family Centre 5 Safer recruitment practice continues to require improvement. References are not always obtained from professional email addresses, and leaders do not consistently verify the accuracy of references. Staff employment histories are also incomplete.

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good

Staff spoken to during the inspection were knowledgeable about the children and families they support. Most staff have worked at the centre for a considerable period and spoke positively about their induction, training and ongoing support. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of the needs of the families using the service and described positive working relationships with children, parents and other staff.

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good

Staff receive relevant training to help them understand their roles and responsibilities. This includes training in working with children and families, observation and assessment, report writing and the provider’s assessment model. However, two members of staff spoken to during the inspection demonstrated gaps in their knowledge of the assessment framework and external safeguarding reporting processes. Furthermore, training records are not always clear or kept consistently up to date. As a result, leaders cannot be assured that training is effectively monitored, recorded and evaluated, or that staff have the knowledge and skills required to carry out their roles consistently.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision and describe these sessions as supportive and beneficial to their practice and professional development. Supervision provides opportunities for staff to reflect on their work with families, discuss progress, consider risks and explore how best to meet families' individual needs. However, annual appraisals are not completed consistently, and leaders have not established an effective system to monitor their completion. This limits leaders’ ability to demonstrate effective oversight of staff development, training and performance.

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good

Team meetings take place regularly. However, records do not consistently evidence discussions about families, their progress and emerging needs. This reduces leaders' ability to demonstrate how information about families is shared and considered across the staff team.

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good

Some social workers praise the centre’s effective communication and say that the staff are proactive and supportive. The new manager acknowledges the shortfalls and has a development plan to improve the centre. Inspection report for residential family centre: Chariteens Residential Family Centre 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 Residential Family Centre Regulations 2002 and the national minimum standards. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (1), a person is not fit to work at a residential family centre unless—

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Requirement Due date

he has the qualifications, skills and experience necessary for the work he is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

he is physically and mentally fit for the work he is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to him in respect of each of the matters specified in Schedule 2. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that all safer recruitment practices are followed.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement has been restated. 24 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

keep under review and where appropriate revise the statement of purpose and resident’s guide; and

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Requirement Due date

notify the [Chief Inspector] within 28 days of any such revision. (Regulation 4 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement has been restated. 24 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall ensure that all persons employed by him—

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Requirement Due date

receive appropriate training, supervision and appraisal. (Regulation 17 (5)(a)) 24 August 2026 Inspection report for residential family centre: Chariteens Residential Family Centre 7 Leaders and managers must ensure that all staff have their performance appraised annually and that there is suitable oversight of this.

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Requirement Due date

26.—(1) If, in relation to a residential family centre, any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 5 takes place, the registered person shall without delay notify the persons indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they have oversight of the quality of records. Risk assessments should be up to date. There should be a clear record of complaints. Team meeting minutes should reflect discussions about families, and all professional meetings should be recorded. (Residential family centres: NMS 20.2)  The registered person should ensure that there is effective leadership of the centre’s staff and operation, so that the centre is organised and managed in a manner that delivers the best possible outcomes for parents and children. The responsible individual should have effective oversight of the centre. All staff should understand the centre’s assessment framework, and records of training should be clear. (Residential family centres: NMS 12.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand safeguarding procedures. This includes allegation and whistleblowing procedures. (Residential

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Recommendations

family centres: NMS 18.2)  The registered person should ensure that staff are sensitive to the additional needs of parents. They should also ensure that staff do not impose their culture when advising families. Staff should be consistent in their practice with families. (Residential family centres: NMS 3.1)  The registered person should ensure that the centre is a clean and homely environment that is well maintained, decorated and resourced. (Residential family centres: NMS 11.2)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and parents 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 Inspection report for residential family centre: Chariteens Residential Family Centre 8 to consider how well it complies with The Residential Family Centre Regulations 2002 and the national minimum standards. Inspection report for residential family centre: Chariteens Residential Family Centre 9

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider: Chariteens Residential Family Centre CIC

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: 10 Khartoum Road, London E13 8RF

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Inspector

Chelsea Agyeman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: Chariteens Residential Family Centre 1 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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