Children's Home run by Summit Residential Care LTD in Greenwich

Inspection report for children’s home: 2830028 1 Registered provider: Summit Supported Care Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This private home provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. There was one child living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager were registered in June 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspectors were aware during this inspection that serious child protection allegations were being investigated by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the allegations were considered alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ judgements.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account inadequate

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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Overall experiences and progress of

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor.

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Overall experiences and progress of

Date of last inspection: 3 November 2025

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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 children’s home: 2830028 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/11/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2830028 3

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Summary of findings

Significant weaknesses in leadership and management have left children without adequate safeguards. Monitoring and oversight have been ineffective, and action to address concerns has not always been timely. Quality assurance processes are weak, with requested records unavailable during inspection. Staff supervision is inconsistent and not in line with policy, and there is no evidence that the registered manager has received supervision since January 2026.

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Summary of findings

As a result of this inspection, two compliance notices have been issued under Regulations 12, ‘The protection of children standard’, and Regulation 13, ‘The leadership and management standard’, of the Children’s Homes Regulations (England) 2015 to address serious shortfalls relating to children’s safety and widespread issues relating to the leadership and management of the home. A further four requirements were issued to address the other shortfalls found.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Serious and widespread concerns regarding the safeguarding, leadership and management of the home have led to an inadequate judgement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Three children have lived in the home since the last inspection. One child who had been living at the home had to move out in an unplanned way after a decision was made by the provider that to address the safeguarding issues they needed to close the home temporarily. This resulted in this child losing their placement stability. In addition, notice had been given to another child’s placing authority due to the home not being able to meet their assessed needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are routinely registered with universal health services. Children are supported and encouraged to think about their health and the impact of lifestyle choices. However, staff have not worked well with health professionals to ensure that children’s identified health needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

When children have not been in full-time education, managers advocate for them, escalating concerns when necessary. Staff have worked closely with placing authorities and education professionals to provide education at home. Children receive home tuition, and staff actively encourage their engagement with this learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff use a clear reward system to promote and encourage positive behaviour. There has been one consequence used since last inspection. However, staff do not record the children’s reflection, and there is no clear management oversight to review the effectiveness of the strategy. Inspection report for children’s home: 2830028 4 Staff understand the importance of family relationships and support children to stay in touch with their family. They support them to meet their families and friends in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home is warm and friendly. There are pictures of the children displayed in the kitchen. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and clean. However, staff do not show appropriate understanding of room search protocols and some room checks have been recorded as room searches. These records do not have managers’ oversight to assess their effectiveness.

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

Safeguarding practice in the home is weak, and oversight of safeguarding incidents is inadequate.

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

Records of safeguarding incidents are not always clear. There have been several allegations against staff that have been referred to relevant agencies. However, the new leadership team has not been able to access all the relevant records due to poor recording and information not being handed over from the previous managers.

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

Children’s vulnerabilities are captured in risk assessments. However, these are not always kept up to date to reflect children’s changing needs, especially after repeated incidents. Managers do not provide oversight of the majority of incidents, and children’s debriefs and individual sessions do not capture their views.

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

Staff understanding and response to children’s identified risks is varied. For example, a child accessed inappropriate sites, sending pictures of themselves, despite a safety plan requiring staff to supervise them while playing games online. Staff removed the laptop from the child, but a smart television was left in the child’s bedroom, where staff later identified that the child had continued to access these sites. Records do not show effective managers’ oversight and learning identified to improve practice and keep children safe online.

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

Medication in the home is not stored appropriately. For example, a child at high risk of self-harm was able to access the office and the medication cupboard on two occasions, taking out medication which they later overdosed on, resulting in hospital visits. The staff failed to follow the child’s safety plan, despite them being supervised on a one-to- one basis.

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

Staff do not show appropriate understanding of children’s missing-from-care protocol. Although staff report children missing, on some incidents they have called police despite following children and being with them. Managers do not provide oversight of these incidents to identify any gaps in practice. Staff request return home interviews following missing-from-care incidents. However, none of the return home interviews have been completed by placing authorities. Managers and staff do not consistently challenge placing authorities when they do not fulfil their statutory obligations, for example arranging return home interviews when children have been missing from home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2830028 5 Staff do not work well with external agencies in line with children’s safety plans, and communication from staff is inconsistent. For example, staff have not attended planned sessions with the child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) to support their

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

understanding of children’s assessed risks and how to manage them. This is despite repeated incidents of self-harm in the home, some resulting in hospital admissions.

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

A child living in the home said that they did not feel safe in the home and did not feel listened to. They say they are scared of people in the community who know the home’s address. Managers have responded to the concerns and increased staffing both at home and in the community while the placing authority identify an alternative placement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not have sufficient oversight of significant incidents to effectively safeguard children. Leaders and the registered manager were unable to provide some records requested by the inspectors during the inspection around some safeguarding incidents and staff support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The leadership and management of the home have been further undermined by the recent crisis following the suspension and resignations of the leadership team. Although the provider has responded promptly and brought in experienced senior managers from other services, the new managers have not received appropriate handover to help them understand the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Monitoring systems are not effective. Leaders and managers do not monitor children’s records, including incidents, to challenge staff’s poor practices. Some repeated incidents could have been prevented, and staff take little responsibility for their actions, and children are not safeguarded. The poor oversight of incidents means that individualised care plans and risk assessments for children are not effectively reviewed, updated and monitored. This has an impact on the quality and consistency of the care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The quality and frequency of staff supervision is inconsistent and not in line with the home’s statement of purpose. In addition, the staff induction programme is not always monitored to ensure that all the required learning for the new staff is completed within the specified time. For example, records of one staff member’s induction could not be provided at this inspection. Similarly, managers were unable to provide a number of staff supervision, including the registered manager’s supervision records. This limits the opportunities for staff members’ knowledge and skills to develop and progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are provided with a range of online and face-to-face training. However, managers do not regularly monitor the records or review staff’s understanding of the training offered to assess their suitability to meet children’s identified needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers’ relationships with the children’s networks are varied. Two professionals shared concerns about inconsistent communication from staff and say that Inspection report for children’s home: 2830028 6 staff are not fully equipped to meet children’s complex needs. In addition, professionals raised concerns about staff’s failure to work with relevant agencies in line with children’s safety plans. For example, staff have failed to attend planned sessions with health professionals to help them understand children’s individual needs. Similarly, a parent reported that staff do not consistently update them about their child’s progress. This means that not all children’s networks are kept well informed about their progress, and this undermines their confidence in the provider.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Positively, staff say that they feel supported by leaders and managers. They benefit from having monthly team meetings and reflective sessions delivered by the in-house therapeutic practitioner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers responded well to the shortfalls identified. They had already identified an action plan prior to this inspection, setting out the steps they are taking to protect children and improve the quality of care. Leaders have appointed a new experienced leadership team and stopped new admissions until the home’s practice has improved. Inspection report for children’s home: 2830028 7

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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 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)) 28 August 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;

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Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 28 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2830028 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them;

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that any medication in the home is kept in line with the home’s procedures to ensure children do not access it. 28 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; 28 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2830028 9 seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and the registered manager must ensure that they maintain effective communication with professionals and parents and ensure that they are well informed about the child’s safety and progress.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that they chase and challenge placing authorities when they do not arrange return home interviews for children who have been missing from home.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and the registered manager must ensure that staff receive regular supervision in line with their policies and that staff are given a copy of their supervision. They must ensure that all supervisions are of good quality, including setting targets, and ensure that discussions reflect staff responsibilities. 28 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1) (a) (b)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and the registered manager must ensure that all children’s records are reviewed, updated and contain all necessary documents. The registered person must also ensure that children’s records are readily available for staff to access. 28 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2830028 10

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address poor behaviour are recorded appropriately and are monitored by managers to ensure their effectiveness and help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of capturing the child’s voice when recording work undertaken with children. This particularly relates to individual sessions to ensure that children’s views are clear. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that any searches of children or their bedrooms and possessions are carried out sensitively, with due consideration given to their need

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Recommendations

to feel safe and have their dignity and needs respected. In addition, the registered person should ensure that all searches are appropriately recorded, including the reasons for the search, efforts to seek the child’s consent, any risk assessment and management oversight of a decision to carry out a search. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)

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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: 2830028 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Summit Supported Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 35 Finchley Lane, London NW4 1BX

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Inspectors

Dorothy Thompstone, Social Care Inspector Stella Namakula, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2830028 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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