Children's Home run by London Borough of Hillingdon in Hillingdon

Inspection report children's home: 2872138 1 Registered provider: London Borough of Hillingdon

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in December 2025. The home is owned and operated by a local authority. It is a multi-building children’s home that provides care in 3 buildings for up to 6 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of this inspection, 3 children were living in 2 of the properties. The inspector spoke with 2 children during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2872138 2

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Summary of findings

Children are making good progress, have positive relationships with staff and enjoy their time in the home. Staff support children to engage in education, maintain their health and develop important family relationships. Effective multi-agency working helps to keep children safe, and professionals speak positively about the care provided. Children benefit from staff who are committed to their welfare and creating a welcoming home environment. However, management oversight is not yet consistently effective. Some safeguarding records are not up to date, leaders have been unable to demonstrate that all safer recruitment procedures have been followed, and not all staff have completed training relevant to the additional needs of the children living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are settled in the home. This is supported by careful planning before children move in. Children visit the home beforehand so that they can become familiar with the environment. Leaders consider the needs of children already living in the home to help ensure that children can live together successfully. One child moved from another home within the organisation where the current registered manager had previously supported them. A staff member with whom the child had a positive relationship also moved to this home. This has helped the child to feel comfortable and reassured by familiar people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have meaningful relationships with staff. Children trust staff and talk to them about what the things that are important to them, including what excites them and what worries them. Children engage in regular ‘link work sessions’ where they discuss topics such as future aspirations, personal hygiene and healthy eating. Children’s meetings provide opportunities children to celebrate achievements, understand expectations within the home and contribute to plans for the week ahead.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy their time in the home. They take part in activities that reflect their interests and spend quality time with staff. These include swimming, sightseeing, go- karting and trips to the cinema. Children also enjoy activities together, such as visiting theme parks and hosting barbecues. During the inspection, some children attended the local authority's annual summer party.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend school. Staff provide children with consistent support to help them engage in education. This has helped one child return to full-time education, while another child is preparing to start college in the new academic year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff also prioritise children's health needs. They ensure that children attend routine and specialist health appointments, helping children to access the healthcare they need to stay healthy. Inspection report children's home: 2872138 3 Staff recognise the importance of children maintaining relationships with the people who are important to them. They actively support children to spend time with their families and keep in touch with those who matter to them. One child has a close relationship with their sister. They have regular phone calls, enjoy overnight stays and recently went on a family holiday together. Staff provide the child's sister with weekly updates about what is happening in the home. The child's sister said that she values these updates as they help her to remain involved in her sister's life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop their independence and life skills. During the inspection, one child was being supported to clean the bathroom, helping them to develop practical daily living skills. Another child is making progress with their personal hygiene. A social worker said that they are proud that the child is "showing increased maturity", reflecting the progress they are making.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is tidy and welcoming. The colourful lounges and games rooms are decorated with children in mind and provide spaces where children can relax and spend time together. The registered manager recognises that the garden is less inviting for children and could better meet their needs.

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

There is strong multi-agency involvement to help keep children safe. The manager promptly shares and escalates safeguarding concerns with the professionals involved in children’s lives without delay. When concerns arise regarding staff practice, the manager promptly notifies the local authority designated officer (LADO) and completes thorough internal investigations when required.

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

When incidents occur, staff understand how to support children with their emotions and behaviour. One child said that they appreciate the support staff provide to help them manage their feelings. Following incidents, staff have reflective discussions with children to help them understand what has happened and how to keep themselves safe. Since registration, staff have used one physical intervention. This was necessary and proportionate to keep the child and others safe.

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

There have been incidents where room searches should have been completed to help identify and reduce potential risks to children. However, staff did not carry out these searches. The home's room search policy does not provide clear guidance for staff about when and how searches should be undertaken. In addition, staff do not consistently follow the home's procedures for recording searches. As a result, opportunities to identify and respond to risks to children's safety are missed.

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

Leaders and managers have not ensured that some children's safeguarding documents are up to date. For example, information that should be shared with the police if a child goes missing is incomplete, and some children do not have a personal evacuation plan to guide staff in the event of a fire. In addition, some children's risk assessments and safety plans have not been updated to reflect their current needs and risks. Although children Inspection report children's home: 2872138 4 continue to receive good support from staff, these shortfalls weaken safeguarding arrangements and have the potential to affect how effectively staff respond to children's changing needs and risks.

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

The registered manager is committed to improving children's experiences and outcomes. However, management oversight is inconsistent. Although the registered manager completes monthly monitoring, this is not effective in ensuring that records are well organised, up to date and contain all the necessary information about children. In addition, the statement of purpose does not accurately reflect the needs of all children living in the home, as it does not identify that the home also provides care for children with additional needs.

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

Leaders were unable to demonstrate that staff are recruited safely. Although Disclosure and Barring Service checks had been completed, gaps in employment had not been explored and verified, and full employment histories were not available. These shortfalls weaken safer recruitment processes and reduce leaders' ability to assure themselves that suitable adults are working with children.

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

Leaders acknowledge that most of the staff team are new and require additional support. All staff have completed mandatory training. However, not all staff have completed training that is relevant to children's additional needs. As a result, leaders cannot be assured that staff have the knowledge and skills required to consistently meet the needs of all children living in the home.

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

Staff enjoy working in the home and are committed to supporting children. They describe positive working relationships within the team and feel well supported by one another. One staff member said that they have 'managed to create a home environment' for children.

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

Team meetings take place regularly and provide opportunities for senior staff to lead discussions that support staff development and improve practice. Supervision sessions encourage staff to reflect on their responsibilities and consider the progress children are making and how they can best support them.

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

Professionals involved in children's lives speak positively about the home. They highly praise staff for being 'proactive' in their communication and working closely with children's professional networks. This helps to ensure that children receive joined-up care and support. Inspection report children's home: 2872138 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 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 that staff;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vi)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children's bedrooms are searched when there are reasonable grounds to believe that doing so is necessary to protect children from harm or reduce risks to their safety. The registered person must also ensure that the home's room search policy provides clear, home- specific guidance for staff about when and how searches should be undertaken and recorded, and that staff follow this guidance in practice. 30 November 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, the registered person must ensure that all children's safeguarding records are in place, up to date and readily accessible. This includes, but is not limited to, risk assessments, safety plans, behaviour support plans, personal 30 November 2026 Inspection report children's home: 2872138 6 evacuation plans and information required to support an effective response when a child goes missing from the home.

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on;

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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)(c)(g)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff receive training that is relevant to the additional needs of the children in their care. The registered person must also ensure that there is effective oversight of staff practice to enable leaders and managers to identify and address any gaps in staff knowledge, skills and practice. 30 November 2026

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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 requirements are that;

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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

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that safer recruitment procedures are followed consistently and that all information required to assess the suitability of those working with children is obtained, verified and recorded. 30 November 2026 Inspection report children's home: 2872138 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose meets Schedule 1 of the Children’s Home Regulations 2015. It should detail the range of needs of the children for whom it is intending to provide care and accommodation for. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 53, paragraph 10.10)  The registered person should ensure that they continue to improve the exterior of the home. The garden should be a child friendly environment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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 children's home: 2872138 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: London Borough of Hillingdon, Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge UB8 1UW

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Inspector

Chelsea Agyeman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2872138 9 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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