Cardinal Hume Centre Hostel

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Cardinal Hume Centre Hostel 1 Cardinal Hume Centre Hostel Registered provider: Cardinal Hume Centre

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

The service registered with Ofsted on 9 August 2024 and is owned by a private provider. The registered service manager and the nominated have been with the service since registration.

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provider

The service can offer accommodation for up to 34 children in one shared premises that is not limited to looked-after children and care leavers.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, one 17-year-old child was being supported. The service has provided supported accommodation for 6 children since its registration with Ofsted.

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Inspection dates: 27 to 30 July 2026

The inspection was announced on 27 July 2026 and started that day. The inspector was on site on 29 and 30 July 2026

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Outcome

Consistently strong service delivery leads to typically positive experiences and progress for children. Where improvements are needed, leaders and managers take timely and effective action. The next inspection will be within approximately 3 years.

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Summary of findings

Children feel safe, heard and supported in their journey towards independence.

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Summary of findings

Staff benefit from the guidance of in-house psychotherapists, who also support children directly when needed.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers are strong advocates for children, staff safeguard children well and collaborate closely with other professionals to ensure that children can access the service and the support they need. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Cardinal Hume Centre Hostel 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff build positive relationships with children. This ensures that they feel valued, understood and empowered to develop.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children live in a well-maintained and spacious home. The building has its own sports room, which gives children additional space to socialise and to find constructive ways to channel their energy. The children also have access to a separate room for studying.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children settle in well because the staff strive to ensure that they are comfortable, know their entitlements and have what they need. Children can access a psychologically informed environment monetary fund, which enables them to purchase items to shape their environment. Children decorate their home and create artwork to showcase on the walls in communal areas. This leads to a homely atmosphere and helps children develop a sense of pride and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to develop a good range of life skills, helping them to gradually increase their independence in line with their individual needs and circumstances. Support planning enables children and staff to work together to assess children’s skills, helping them to recognise their progress towards adulthood. Children become increasingly responsible for managing their finances as they receive tailored support to develop their budgeting skills, such as saving towards buying personal items of their choice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

The child currently receiving support says that the staff are responsive and support them with whatever they need. Staff provide a wide range of guidance, including support with health, safety at home and in the community, education, training and employment, relationships, emotional welfare and identity. For example, staff liaise with colleges to support children in enrolling on professional courses that better reflect their future aspirations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff promote children’s rights and welfare. Children have access to a plethora of specialist services linked with the provider, including employment and learning, immigration support, family services, welfare advice and housing advice. This provides a crucial network of agency support for children preparing to leave care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children have ready access to advocacy services. Staff help them to understand their options and encourage them to make decisions to reflect their best interests. For example, an independent advocate enabled one child to successfully challenge decisions made about their eligibility for support as they transition into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are in good health. The staff encourage them to take increasing responsibility for their health and wellbeing. All children are registered with a doctor, an optician and a dentist, and they regularly attend their routine health appointments. Managers and staff are proactive in supporting children to access Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Cardinal Hume Centre Hostel 3 additional health support when needed and have access to a range of relevant resources to support this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children routinely maintain contact with family members living abroad, helping them to sustain important personal networks and develop a strong sense of identity. Staff understand the importance of maintaining relationships with family and friends and actively promote these connections.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children receive reliable help to move on from this service. Some children have the option to move to one of the provider’s 18+ services to continue their journey towards independence with known and trusted staff. This provides ongoing continuity well into early adulthood.

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How well children are helped and protected

Positive relationships between children and staff underpin the strong sense of safety that children have. Children say that they feel safe and do not have any concerns. They have developed trust that staff will help them with any concerns that arise. One child said, ‘I can talk to staff. I trust my worker and another worker, but I can talk to any one of them.’

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How well children are helped and protected

Children rarely go missing, and staff take proactive steps to minimise the risk of this occurring. Staff get to know individual children’s routines, as well as their family and friends’ networks. They find out what causes children to go missing and work with them to explore safer alternatives to being away from home. One child stated that staff check on their wellbeing if they have not returned home at the expected time.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers say that the use of surveillance cameras internally in accommodations is for the safety of children. However, the use of cameras in the hallways between bedrooms and bathrooms is intrusive and could infringe on children’s privacy.

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How well children are helped and protected

The leaders and managers provide an extensive range of training for staff, which helps to inform and contextualise their work with children. Staff’s core training includes safeguarding, suicide awareness, trauma-informed approaches, managing conflict, exploitation and online safety. Any specific additional training is sought and tailored to reflect individual children’s needs, helping staff to feel prepared and ready to support children with a range of support needs.

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How well children are helped and protected

Generally, leaders implement safer recruitment procedures to prevent unsuitable individuals from being employed to work with children. However, some records lack explanations for any gaps in employment and do not show whether references have been appropriately verified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The nominated individual and registered service manager are highly experienced, knowledgeable and dynamic leaders who ensure that there is a dedicated, well- Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Cardinal Hume Centre Hostel 4 trained staff team to provide effective and nurturing support to children. They also ensure that there is a strong focus on safeguarding and supporting children to learn a relevant range of independent living skills. To complement their work, the registered service manager and nominated individual are supported by a board of well-informed trustees.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers demonstrate strong partnership working with other agencies. Staff communicate regularly and effectively with social workers and other professionals. This ensures a coordinated approach to support, and that all those involved with each child are kept up to date and well informed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers routinely monitor the quality of support provided to children. They routinely gather feedback from children and professionals. The managers know what they do well to support children yet also respond openly to any suggested areas for development. This demonstrates a genuine commitment to continuous improvement in service delivery.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers provide staff with regular supervision. Staff receive annual appraisals with clearly defined goals and objectives for the year ahead. Staff routinely engage in reflective practice sessions and benefit from the support of an in-house psychotherapist. This provides opportunities for staff to reflect on their work with children and identify what is working well. It also offers opportunities for staff to discuss their wellbeing and development. This safeguards children and minimises their risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The nominated individual and registered service manager work closely together on all aspects of the service. This coordinated approach means that staff feel fully supported. Feedback from staff about their leaders is overwhelmingly positive. One member of staff said, ‘The management team is approachable, supportive, and easy to communicate with. They listen to staff and are responsive to individual needs.’ Another member of staff reported having a good working environment and being well equipped to support children to enable them to ‘move on in a positive way’. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Cardinal Hume Centre Hostel 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 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

Information required in respect of persons seeking to register in respect of, or to work for, a supported accommodation undertaking. A full employment history, together with a satisfactory explanation of any gaps in employment, in writing. (Regulation 17 (3)(d)) 30 November

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any use of CCTV or other monitoring equipment on the premises is restricted to communal areas and is used solely to support the safeguarding, protection and wellbeing of children. Any use of CCTV must be no more intrusive than necessary and should be respectful of children’s privacy. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations including Quality Standards’, Page 30)

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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. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Cardinal Hume Centre Hostel 6

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Cardinal Hume Centre

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Glynn Trebble

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: info@cardinalhumecentre.org.uk

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Inspector

Ann Adesoye, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Cardinal Hume Centre Hostel 7 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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