Children's Home run by Rubix Housing Ltd in Hackney

Inspection report for children’s home: 2833325 1 Registered provider: Rubix Housing LTD Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted on 27 March 2026 and is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. The registered manager left in August 2026.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home. The child did not wish to speak with the inspector.

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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: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2833325 2

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Summary of findings

This is the first inspection. There is no registered manager in post. Since registration, one child has moved out of the home. One child was living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Summary of findings

Staff understand children’s strengths and challenges. However, there are no structured plans to support staff in establishing positive daily routines or preparing children to attend education.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers do not consistently update risk assessments or follow safer recruitment procedures.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and staff are motivated to improve outcomes for children.

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improvement to be good

Children are welcomed into their home where managers have prepared staff for the child’s arrival. Before a child moves in, the managers follow a robust referral process which includes meetings with social workers, other professionals and family members to gain an understanding of children’s needs. Children are invited to visit their new home before moving in. This helps ease children’s transition into an unfamiliar environment.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to spend time with family. Children’s relationships with their family are prioritised and family members are made to feel fully welcome in the home. There is good communication between staff, managers and parents. One parent, said they get regular updates from staff and described the home as, ‘brilliant.’

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improvement to be good

Children experience living in a child-centred environment because staff speak positively to and about them. Children’s strengths and areas of challenge are understood by staff. However, day to day there is not always a coordinated approach on how to best meet children’s needs. As a result, children are not encouraged effectively or prepared for the start of a fresh school year which includes a new school environment.

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improvement to be good

Children have access to healthcare services and are registered with a GP, dentist and optician soon after moving in. Leaders and managers are proactive to ensure children with additional health concerns are well supported. A creative approach is used with children to encourage them to attend appointments, such as seeing a dentist, when there has been previous reluctance.

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improvement to be good

The home’s physical environment is safe for children. However, leaders and managers have not ensured that repairs such as a boarded window and redecoration in the home are completed promptly. Additionally, plans for repairs are not communicated effectively Inspection report for children’s home: 2833325 3 by managers to staff. This causes confusion amongst staff and does not result in a warm and comfortable environment for children.

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improvement to be good

Children’s experience of stability varies for example, one child’s move on from the home was unplanned. Many staff who now work in the home started after that child’s departure. Some information about that child’s time in the home and where they have moved to has been lost.

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improvement to be good

Children have preferred staff with whom they build positive relationships. Staff are respectful of children’s choices and leaders make efforts to ensure there is at least one staff working at the home who children feel they can talk to if they need anything. This helps children to feel safe within the home environment.

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improvement to be good

Staff make consistent efforts to locate children and maintain contact with them when they go missing-from-home and this, encourages their safe return. The staff search known locations and contact family, police and other professionals to ensure a coordinated effort to keep children safe. When children return, staff welcome children home and take appropriate steps to check their safety and wellbeing. The staff carry out follow-up work to help children understand the risks and impact of going missing.

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improvement to be good

The leaders and managers liaise appropriately with other agencies to keep children safe. Staff help children to understand why court orders have been made to restrict their liberty. This helps children to adjust to changes in restrictions in a structured way and enables staff to maintain rules and boundaries to keep them safe.

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improvement to be good

Usually, the provider informs the regulator of serious incidents. However, during a period when the registered and deputy managers were both absent from the home, there was a gap in serious incidents being reported. Such as when children’s mental health significantly declined. This limits the regulator’s ability to maintain prompt oversight of serious incidents.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do obtain overseas police checks and right to work visas for new staff, yet they do not consistently follow safer recruitment procedures. They do not consistently obtain references before a staff member starts working with children and do not always obtain references from most recent employers. This limits managers ability to fully assess each member of staffs’ suitability and identify any initial development needs.

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

For a short period of time there has been a lack of coordinated management oversight. The registered manager resigned from their post prior to the inspection. This occurred after a period of being on extended leave and at a time when the deputy manager was also on leave. The deputy manager is now overseeing the home, and they have a good understanding of the strengths and areas of development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2833325 4 Staff receive reflective supervision. Supervision sessions focus on staff well-being, their professional development and children’s progress. There is also a focus on training around safeguarding in each supervision session. Staff say they feel supported by managers and enjoy working in the home.

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

The statement of purpose does not accurately reflect the management structure or the approach to practice in the home. This means that leaders and staff do not hold a shared understanding of their core ethos or vision for the care they provide to children. This leads to inconsistency in how every day actions are carried out and mixed messages for children about what happens depending on which member of staff is on shift or manager is visiting the home.

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

Children’s physical records are not confidentially stored in the in the staff office, and some records are lost. Additionally, the electronic case management system the staff and managers uses is prone to being offline, meaning they are unable to readily access children’s files. This does not enable managers and leaders to have an up-to-date overview of what is happening across each day.

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

The independent person has limited access to information. As a result, the visits are not consistently taking place every month, and leaders and managers have not always followed through with requests by the independent person to visit. Their assessment of whether children are safeguarded is hindered because access to online records has not been possible due to the computer system being down and inaccessible during visits. Inspection report for children’s home: 2833325 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—

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that risk assessments and updated following incidents and provide staff with clear strategies to respond in crisis situations. Staff must understand what they need to do to keep children safe. They must also ensure that direct work with children is carried out and that staff receive debriefs following incidents. Additionally, any damage to the home should be addressed promptly to maintain safety. 1 October 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.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home if 1 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2833325 6 full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (7)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that two written references, including a reference from the person’s most recent employer, are obtained before any employee commences work.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that there are structured plans in place to support and enhance children’s engagement in education. 1 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it

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Requirement Due date

and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision 1 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2833325 7 The registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that visits are routinely carried out and that the visitor is supported to access case records. 1 October 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

and in a secure place after the child has ceased to be accommodated in the home. (Regulation 36 (1)(a) (2)(d)) 1 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2833325 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious incidents are notified to the appropriate parties within 24 hours. The system should cover the action to take if the incident arises when managers of the home are away. Notification must include details of the action taken by the home’s staff in response to the incident. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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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: 2833325 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 69 Banstead Road, Carshalton SM5 3NP

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Inspector

Julie Cresswell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2833325 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

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Inspector

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Inspector

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