Ambitions Support Ltd

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Ambitions Support Ltd 1 Ambitions Support Ltd Registered provider: Ambitions Support Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

A private provider operates this supported accommodation service. The provider can accommodate up to seven children in two shared or group-living homes that are limited to accommodating looked-after children and care leavers.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, the service provided supported accommodation for six children aged 16 and 17.

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provider

The service manager, who is also the nominated individual and a director, registered with Ofsted when the organisation was registered in December 2023.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 24 February 2025 and started that day. The inspector was on site from 26 to 28 February 2025.

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Outcome

Consistently strong service delivery leads to typically positive experiences and progress for children. Where improvements are needed, leaders and managers take timely and effective action.

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Outcome

The next inspection will be within approximately 3 years of this inspection.

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Summary of findings

Children’s views, wishes and feelings are prioritised. Staff ensure that they always consult with children about their support needs. This impacts positively on children’s confidence and self-esteem.

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Summary of findings

Staff support children well to move into and on from this service. Children trust and respect the staff who support them. Many children continue to keep in touch with staff when they leave.

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Summary of findings

Children live in spacious, homely and welcoming places that they call their home. The accommodation is maintained to a high standard. Children’s bedrooms are large Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Ambitions Support Ltd 2 and have enough room for all their belongings, enabling the children to personalise them to reflect their identities. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Ambitions Support Ltd 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children make good progress and have positive experiences. Staff support them well and they develop confidence, emotional resilience and practical skills. These help children to live independently when they move into their own homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are exceptionally positive about the support that they receive and the relationships that they have with staff. One child said, ‘I have been so lucky. As soon as I set foot in this placement, they made me feel welcome and they made sure that I knew that this was my home.’ Another child said, ‘If I was ever to write a book about my life, the whole book would be about this house and the support I have received.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

All children are in education or employment and attend regularly. Staff are ambitious for children and support them to do well in their education, training and employment. They work effectively with a wide range of agencies to ensure that children’s education opportunities meet their individual learning styles and needs. Children are supported to write CVs and to look for employment. Staff also support children to apply for passports and provisional driving licences. This helps to motivate children to prepare them for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff speak warmly about the children and the progress they make. They have the skills needed to form secure and meaningful relationships with children, which gives children stability and security. Staff help children to understand how to make safe choices and stay safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff are creative in their approach when supporting children to live independently. They provide individualised support through key-working sessions, practical cooking sessions and focused discussions. Children and staff regularly review progress and identify any new areas of need, which are then included in children’s personalised support plans. This helps children to recognise their successes and to be proud of their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

House meetings take place regularly. Children are invited to share their views about the support they receive and activities they would like to engage in. Despite this good work, records of these meetings do not reflect all discussions held. This limits the effectiveness of the meetings, as it is not clear for children what action has been taken following meetings.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers are effective in assessing children’s suitability and readiness for living in supported accommodation. They are persistent in requesting information about children’s needs and previous experiences before agreeing to a child moving in. If after admission this information is found to be incomplete, leaders and managers take effective action to work with placing authorities and ensure children are moved to more suitable services. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Ambitions Support Ltd 4 Leaders and managers understand contextual safeguarding concerns well. They take effective action when there are indicators that a child is at potential risk of harm, for example, if there has been an unexpected change in a child’s engagement and presentation. Staff work closely with social workers and local police teams to discuss and explore any emerging themes or patterns of behaviour that may place children

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How well children are helped and protected

at an increased risk of harm. As a result, there have been no major safeguarding incidents.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers recruit staff with relevant experience and skills so that they can meet the diverse needs of children. Safer recruitment processes are effective. This means children are supported by staff who are assessed as suitable and safe.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children are not always supported to take age-appropriate risks as part of their journey towards independence. For example, kitchen knives and cleaning products are routinely locked away. This means that all children must ask staff for knives when preparing meals or for products when cleaning their personal spaces. This unnecessarily restricts some children’s ability to prepare for independent living and adulthood.

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How well children are helped and protected

There are effective processes in place to enable children to express their dissatisfaction or concerns. There have been no reported complaints from children since the service was registered. There have been two formal complaints from neighbours. Leaders and managers confirmed that they took immediate action to address these. However, they do not maintain a central record of complaints, the action taken or the outcome.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Weaknesses identified at this inspection relate specifically to records. The lack of a central monitoring system means that leaders and managers do not always have an overarching understanding of children’s engagement and progress. To date, this has not impacted on the safety or welfare of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Records of house meetings, staff supervision and team meetings and complaints are not always well maintained. Consequently, leaders and managers are not using these forums effectively to identify areas for development and inform their service development plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers are good advocates for the children and collaborate effectively with other professionals to ensure that children can access the services and support that they need. When children are not receiving these services, leaders and managers appropriately escalate their concerns. This means that children are supported effectively by all relevant agencies as they move towards independent living.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff say that they enjoy their work and speak highly of managers. They confirmed that they are provided with the support they need and that they feel valued and Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Ambitions Support Ltd 5 inspired to do their best for children. Staff say that the leaders and managers are visible and always contactable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

All staff, including the registered manager, receive regular line management and clinical supervision. However, records of these meetings are of variable quality. For example, they do not detail whether the supervisor has assessed if the individual is meeting their role and responsibilities, or the impact their direct work has had on the children they support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Team meetings take place regularly and attendance by staff is consistently good. During these meetings, the team discuss changes in children’s healthcare needs, training opportunities and policies and procedures. The records of these meetings vary in quality and content. They do not always reflect all discussions held, how the team members learn from each other or agreed actions. Furthermore, records do not consistently detail how the team collectively reviews children’s engagement and progress. Leaders and managers are aware that the quality of record-keeping is an area for improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Professionals speak positively about the leadership and management of the home and the support children receive. They say support staff are skilled and resilient, that leaders and managers maintain excellent communication, that they always attend meetings and children make progress because of the support that they receive from staff. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Ambitions Support Ltd 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, The Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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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 supported accommodation undertaking that puts children first and prioritises their wellbeing and development.

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills appropriate for the work that they are to perform;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place for the supervision, training and development of staff. (Regulation 4 (1) (2)(a)(c)(g))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that internal monitoring systems support managers to evaluate and continually develop the service. 27 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep records of other information relating to the supported accommodation undertaking set out in Schedule 3.

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Requirement Due date

maintain the records in Schedule 3, which may be kept in electronic form;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; 27 June 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Ambitions Support Ltd 7 (Regulation 25 (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that a children’s register is maintained.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints and representations made by or on behalf of children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint or representation, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide to the CIECSS upon request a statement containing a summary of any complaints or representations made during the 12 months preceding the date of the request and the action that was taken in response to each complaint or representation. (Regulation 31f (1) (3) (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure a record of all complaints is maintained and that the action taken in response and the outcome are recorded. 27 June 2025

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Ambitions Support Ltd 8

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Ambitions Support Ltd

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: 1 Charlotte Mews, Pavilion Place, Exeter EX2 4HA

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Melissa Birch

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Inspector

Sharron Escott, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Ambitions Support Ltd 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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