Children's Home run by Stonelake London Limited in Brent

Inspection report children's home: 1264048 1 Registered provider: Stonelake London Limited

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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 privately owned home provides care for up to 4 children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living at the home. The inspector spoke to 1 child as part of the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The home registered with Ofsted in September 2017. The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2022.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 1264048 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/07/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/06/2024 Full Good 04/07/2023 Full Good 26/04/2022 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 1264048 3

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Summary of findings

Children who live in the home for long periods benefit from supportive and trusting relationships with staff. The quality of other children’s overall experiences in the home has been impacted by the short time they live there.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers have not ensured staff consistently follow individual missing from home procedures for children. Staff have been unable to implement court ordered restrictions to keep children safe in some instances.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers recognise some of the areas of improvement needed in the home, and several improvements have been made since the last inspection. However, governance and management oversight systems are not fully effective and lack robustness.

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improvement to be good

Children living in the home make variable progress. Some children settle and stay in the home long term where they benefit from secure, trusting relationships with staff. Staff invest time in getting to know children, forming the basis for enduring relationships.

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improvement to be good

One child moved from the home after only one month which limited the quality of their overall experiences. The social worker for this child provided positive feedback about staff’s communication and support for the child’s transition. However, they said the decision to move the child was because staff were unable to implement physical interventions required to keep the child safe. Unfortunately, another child who recently moved to the home required similar restrictions that staff have not implemented, which has resulted in the child going missing.

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improvement to be good

One child living at the home said they liked living at the home and felt supported by staff. They said staff helped them with their education and ‘motivated’ them to attend. The child’s parent also shared their child was very settled in the home and has positive relationships with staff. One child who had moved from home wrote a letter thanking the deputy manager for their support. This child’s parent also sent feedback to the registered manager thanking staff for helping their child. Professionals and family members shared positive feedback about the support children receive from staff when they move on from the home.

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improvement to be good

For the children who remain in the home, staff support and encourage them to engage with education. This resulted in one child’s attendance improving significantly. Another child’s engagement and attendance increased significantly after staff supported them to attend an alternative setting. This child has recently completed their GCSE’s and will start college in September. Inspection report children's home: 1264048 4 Regular children’s meetings take place; however, the agendas of these meetings focus on expectations of the home rather than being an opportunity to seek children’s views about the care provided to them.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager ensures necessary health and safety checks in the home are completed. Children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms. However, the communal spaces of the home could be more homely, blinds in the lounge were broken and paintwork was dated.

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improvement to be good

Staff engage children in meaningful discussions to help them feel secure and supported. These discussions are child focused and show that staff take a proactive approach to supporting children with matters that affect them the most. Examples of this include sensitive discussions about managing feelings and emotions, substance use, relationships, and independence skills.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage positive behaviour through rewards and consequences. Children’s views are actively sought in respect of any consequences, which helps children to reflect on their behaviour and make better choices.

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improvement to be good

Missing from home procedures have been strengthened since the last inspection. Return home interviews are now routinely sought for children following missing episodes. The registered manager has proactively established relationships with local transport staff to help coordinate better responses for when children go missing. Children have individual missing from care protocols, with clear actions for staff to follow. Despite this, staff do not always report children missing in the required timescales. In addition, staff have not followed children extensively when they go missing and recordings of staff actions are inconsistent.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers review missing from care reports, however they do not scrutinise or identify inaccuracies, or missing information that is required in line with the individual protocol. Where there are high risks associated with children going missing, staff have not implemented court ordered restrictions to ensure their safety, resulting in missing episodes that could have been prevented.

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improvement to be good

Children’s care plans and assessments are clear and easy for staff to follow. Plans and assessments are regularly updated and are reflective of the providers therapeutic model of care. Leaders and managers have introduced a new system for considering the impact for other children when a new child moves into the home, however this system remains disjointed and is not yet fully effective.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers did not appropriately prepare staff for one child’s move into the home. Staff did not receive any specific training to help them meet the child’s needs, and Inspection report children's home: 1264048 5 an ‘emergency’ team meeting was convened after the child moved to explore how staff should implement the strategies required to keep the child safe.

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

Leaders and managers have endeavoured to drive improvements since the last inspection. They are committed to learning and show a level of understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. Despite this, governance and management oversight systems are not fully effective and lack robustness. Requirements and recommendations from the last inspection have not been fully addressed.

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

Recording practice is inconsistent. Some records do not describe staff actions when children go missing and some records requested during the inspection could not be located.

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

Staff are happy and proud of their work and speak with warmth and care about the children they care for. Supervisions take place regularly, and focus on staff wellbeing, development and updates about children. However, records of supervision lacked reflection on individual practice with children and safeguarding incidents. However, staff benefit from monthly clinical group supervision with a therapist who supports them to implement the provider’s therapeutic approach.

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

Team meetings take place regularly and are child focused. The registered manager is planning to introduce a new process of reflecting on key policies and procedures with staff in team meetings to further strengthen practice. However, leaders and managers have not reflected with staff following children leaving the home, and safeguarding is not routinely discussed. This is a lost opportunity to enhance staff’s ability to respond effectively to children’s changing needs through continuous examination of what went well and what could have been done differently.

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

Staff maintain good relationships with others who support children. Professionals and relatives are positive about the home’s care and communication. The registered manager provides challenge when the responses from other services are not effective, however the recording of this was not always clear. Inspection report children's home: 1264048 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, 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;

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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)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staffs actions align with each child's individualised missing from home plans and protocols.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at last inspection and is restated. 28 September 2026 Inspection report children's home: 1264048 7 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

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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers should ensure they anticipate difficulties and review incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns and proactively implement lessons learned. 30 November 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure detailed and accurate records are kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home (regulation 36 (schedule 3(14)). Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. (‘Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets children's needs. This specifically relates to ensuring that the home environment is maintained to a high standard and any disrepair is promptly addressed. (‘Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure children are consulted regularly on their views

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Recommendations

about the home's care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the Children s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs Inspection report children's home: 1264048 8 of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the Children's

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Recommendations

Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 1264048 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Stonelake London Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Sinckot House, 211b, Station Road, Harrow HA1 2TP

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Inspector(s)

Tina Woolley, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 1264048 10 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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