Children's Home run by Alicie Enterprises Limited in Ealing

Inspection report for children's home: 2793659 1 Registered provider: Alicie Enterprises Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home was registered with Ofsted in September 2024. The manager registered in July 2025. The home can provide care for up to 5 children who experience social and/or emotional difficulties. Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. The registered manager was on planned leave at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 26 and 27 August 2025

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2793659 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/08/2025 Full Good 05/11/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2793659 3

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Summary of findings

Children benefit from staff who know them well and provide consistent relationships. The leadership team has made some improvements since the previous inspection, for example to children's chronologies and staff training. Weaknesses in safer recruitment practice, risk assessments, care planning, recording and management oversight mean that the home cannot ensure and demonstrate a consistently positive impact on the progress children are making.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from consistent relationships with staff who know them well. Many staff members have worked in the home for a number of years and have a lot of experience in working with children. Children told inspectors they are happy living in the home and feel safe and settled there. They are supported to engage in a range of activities, and staff work hard to maintain a family atmosphere in the home.

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improvement to be good

Key-work sessions are regular but lack evidence of impact. Sessions do not target children's identified needs or concerns noted within risk assessments. Intended outcomes are recorded inconsistently, with no evidence that children's learning or progress is being checked in subsequent sessions.

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improvement to be good

Children's care plans are not routinely updated and do not reflect current needs or children's progress. A recommendation from the last inspection about children's voices being reflected in care plans has not been fully implemented. There is limited evidence that information from incidents, key-work sessions and professional discussions are regularly incorporated into children's care plans.

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improvement to be good

The home does not have robust behaviour support plans to help staff understand how best to support children to manage their behaviours. This is a missed opportunity to support staff to better attune to children and ensure their practice with them is effective.

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improvement to be good

Children's complaints are not always addressed in a timely way, and the outcomes of complaints are not routinely shared with children.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand safeguarding matters and respond appropriately when children share information that raises concerns for their safety and wellbeing. However, management oversight of risk assessments, missing-from-home records and incidents is not Inspection report for children's home: 2793659 4 sufficiently robust to address gaps in records and promote analysis and proactive support that helps staff to manage risks for children effectively.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond appropriately when children go missing from home. Records demonstrate timely actions to locate children, such as contacting the police, family members and relevant professionals. Managers do not always analyse patterns of behaviour, assess the effectiveness of interventions or identify learning to help reduce risk when children go missing from home. Records do not show whether return home interviews are requested and how information gathered informs ongoing risk management and planning.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments contain considerable detail, but they are not routinely updated following significant incidents, when children's circumstances change or when risks escalate. Actions identified in risk assessments are not always followed through when risks to a child increase. There is limited evidence of how learning from incidents informs risk assessments and safety planning.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding professionals gave positive feedback about the home's work to protect and care for children. However, there is limited evidence that professional meetings are requested in response to significant concerns or that matters are escalated when known risks for children do not receive an appropriate professional response.

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

The leadership team knows the children well and has a clear understanding of their needs. Leaders and managers promote a warm and nurturing atmosphere in the home. Staff spoken to during the inspection were positive about their managers and the support available to them. Most staff have completed relevant training and were able to describe how they apply their learning in their work.

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

Supervision is regular, although staff experience of supervision varies, with some staff not always receiving a copy of their supervision record following the meeting. The quality of supervision records is poor. Records contain generic statements about safeguarding, communication and reflective practice and do not show what was discussed about individual children, whether staff raised any concerns or what decisions were made. This limits accountability and managers' ability to monitor staff development and ensure that agreed actions are completed.

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

The home's recording systems are used inconsistently. Electronic and paper records do not provide an accurate and complete account of children's experiences and staff practice. It is not clearly established where certain records should be kept, ensuring that staff store information consistently.

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

Managers are not consistently informing Ofsted of serious safeguarding incidents when they occur, reflecting a lack of understanding of regulatory requirements and limiting oversight of key events for children when they happen. Managers do not have the consistent oversight of staff activity needed to ensure that children are receiving Inspection report for children's home: 2793659 5 effective help and support. There is limited evidence that quality assurance systems are being used effectively to identify patterns, address shortfalls and monitor sustained improvement. Previous inspection recommendations have not all been fully implemented. Weaknesses in safer recruitment are a concern, with evidence that references and gaps in employment histories are not checked as robustly as they should be before staff begin to work in the home.

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

Leaders and managers have not updated the statement of purpose since the home was registered in September 2024. Consequently, the document does not reflect changes within the management and staff team and does not accurately describe the home's current practice of providing care for children in emergency situations. As a result, the statement of purpose does not provide an accurate and up-to-date description of the home and the care provided to children. Inspection report for children's home: 2793659 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child and

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care;

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children are regularly consulted and encouraged to express their views, wishes and feelings, and that these are reflected in their care planning and the day-to-day care provided. 2 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2793659 7 The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child's relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that concerns relating to children’s welfare and safety are appropriately escalated, and that effective action is taken when identified risks do not receive a timely or appropriate response from relevant professionals.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all incidents are recorded and that risk assessments are reviewed and updated following incidents. Records of missing-from-home incidents must demonstrate effective leadership oversight, review and evaluation, including consideration of patterns, trends and emerging risks. The registered person must also ensure that children receive individualised behaviour support, with clear strategies for staff that are regularly reviewed and updated to promote consistent practice and reduce identified risks. 2 October 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

promotes their welfare. 2 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2793659 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that systems for monitoring the quality of care include effective evaluation of information relating to children’s experiences, progress and outcomes, including key-work sessions, enabling leaders and managers to understand the impact of care provided and identify areas for improvement.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only— employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— the individual is of integrity and good character;

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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

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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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. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 2 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development and

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; 2 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2793659 9 (Regulation 33 (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff receive effective supervision that is appropriately recorded, reflects discussion and evaluation of practice, including the care provided to individual children, and clearly identifies any concerns, decisions and actions taken. Records should support accountability, monitoring of staff development and oversight of agreed actions.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other 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,

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 2 October 2026

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Recommendations

◼ The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is reviewed and updated to reflect changes within the management team and provide accurate information about the home's admission arrangements, including the acceptance of children in emergency situations. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 14, paragraph 3.5) ◼ The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing or away from home without permission, the responsible local authority Inspection report for children's home: 2793659 10 provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. The registered person should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,' page 45,

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Recommendations

paragraph 9.30) ◼ The registered person should ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response and the outcome of any investigation. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,' page 22, paragraph 4.13)

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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: 2793659 11

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Alicie Enterprises Limited

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Inspectors

Angela Reid, Social Care Inspector Michele Henry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2793659 12 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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