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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2490938 1 Registered provider: London Borough of Hillingdon

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home provides care for up to 5 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The statement of purpose states the home should be considered as a long-term placement that can support children until they are ready to return home or move on to post-16 accommodation.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in August 2018. The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2026.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There were 3 children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2490938 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/06/2025 Full Good 07/05/2024 Full Good 25/09/2023 Full Good 17/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2490938 3

p.2

Summary of findings

Children in the home have positive relationships with staff, and they are supported to maintain family relationships in a safe way. All children are in education, and they are supported with any health needs. Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities, and they help the children to understand risk. Leaders acknowledge that they are not consistently receiving feedback from return home interviews, and room searches are not always carried out in accordance with the level of risk. Staff benefit from the manager’s support and leadership. Leaders are working on escalating issues to professionals more effectively when there are concerns about their unsatisfactory input into children’s care.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are settled; they have built trusted relationships with the staff. A social worker noted positively that staff use a trauma-informed approach when working with the children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making positive memories in the home; they hosted a summer barbecue, and children from the other homes in the organisation also attended. When one child celebrated their sixteenth birthday, the lounge was decorated, and they received several gifts from the staff. Children also engage in activities such as bowling, sightseeing and seaside and cinema trips.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to express their opinions. Children’s meetings take place weekly. They discuss topics such as their views of the home and their preferred menu choices. One child sometimes leads these meetings. This child received a ‘star of the month’ award for their participation in the home’s activities. This child helped to deliver the organisation’s training programme called ‘walking in our shoes’, at which they gave professionals an insight into their life experiences.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education and independence skills are prioritised in the home. Two children were not in education when they arrived at the home. The manager advocated for their return to education, and they are now both in college. Another child is now open to having home tutoring, and there are plans to support them to eventually attend school. The children also learn about practical skills such as employability, budgeting, personal hygiene and cooking. This is further supported with worksheets to develop their knowledge in these areas.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive support for their mental and physical health, and they attend the necessary health appointments. Some children also receive support from the child and adolescent mental health services, and art therapy is available in the home. When one child needed hospital treatment, managers and staff were sensitive in their care and support for the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2490938 4 Children have positive experiences moving into the home. They visit the home several times beforehand; this includes an overnight stay and meeting the other children in the home. This helps them to become familiar with the environment. A social worker described their child’s transition into the home as ‘warm and welcoming’.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most of the children who have moved out of the home recently have had positive endings. One child went to foster care and another child moved into semi-independent accommodation. When one child’s move was abrupt, the manager reflected on the reasons for this to inform learning for future practice.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of family time. Children are helped to maintain safe relationships with their family members.

p.4

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

The manager and staff understand the children’s vulnerabilities. Risk assessments and support plans are detailed and instruct staff on how to manage any risks.

p.4

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

Staff have educational discussions with children to help them understand the concerns about their safety. Children complete educational worksheets tailored to their circumstances, and they receive certificates on completion. These worksheets cover topics such as personal safety, sexual health, appropriate behaviour, substance awareness and online safety, and much more.

p.4

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

When children go missing from home, staff look for them and inform the professional network in a timely way. All children have an up-to-date missing-from-home protocol in their records. When children return home, they receive return home interviews. However, leaders have not ensured that feedback from all return home interviews is obtained from the local authority. This is a missed opportunity to understand why children go missing.

p.4

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

Leaders work with the local authority designated officer to seek advice about staff practice. Any concerns about staff are appropriately reported and investigated.

p.4

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

Managers ensure that all staff are safely recruited before working with the children.

p.4

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

The manager acknowledges that, after some incidents, the searching of children’s bedrooms has not been happening frequently enough based on the level of risk. The manager also acknowledges that the recording of the room searches is not in line with the home’s policy; there are plans to address this. Inspection report for children’s home: 2490938 5

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The newly registered manager is child focused. He is a positive addition to the team; the staff appreciate that he listens to them, shares his knowledge and recognises the work that they do.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a culture of empowering staff. Staff are seen as ‘champions’. This allows them to lead other staff and support children in an area of their expertise. For example, the health and fire safety champion leads on the physical safety of the home. The inclusion and activities champion ensures that there is a variety of activities and opportunities for the children. A senior member of staff is on secondment as the deputy manager. They appreciate the opportunity to develop their skills.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual uses monitoring systems to review the quality of care that the children receive. This helps them to track children’s progress, evaluate their experiences and identify areas for improvement.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are supported in several ways. They receive a structured induction and regular supervision which focuses on their personal wellbeing and practice. Team meetings allow for group discussions about areas for improvement. The organisation’s multi-agency psychological support team attends team meetings to help staff reflect on safeguarding practice. All staff have mandatory and specialised training that is relevant to the children’s needs.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders recognise that multi-agency working is not yet effective. Currently, the professional network is not always supportive and fails to share important information about some children in a timely manner. This does not enable joint working to ensure children’s safety. Leaders understand the importance of establishing a strict escalation process to ensure that, when input from external professionals is poor, this is addressed quickly. Leaders also understand the importance of children having access to independent advocates to provide them with an additional layer of protection and an independent voice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2490938 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

p.6

Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (b)(c))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they receive feedback from professionals carrying out the independent return home interviews.

p.6

Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must also ensure that they effectively escalate any concerns regarding poor professional input into children’s care.

p.6

Requirement Due date

They must also ensure that every child has access to an independent advocate who can further support children in securing the necessary professional care and input. 23 November 2026

p.6

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff search children’s bedrooms at suitable intervals when there are concerns about harmful items in their room; these arrangements should also be reviewed to ensure they are effective. Leaders and managers should also ensure that the recording of room searches is in line with the home’s policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report for children’s home: 2490938 7

p.6

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: 2490938 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: London Borough of Hillingdon

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge UB8 1UW

p.8

Inspector

Chelsea Agyeman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2490938 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9