Children's Home run by KDB Care Ltd in Sandwell

Inspection report for children’s home: 2813382 1 Registered provider: KDB CARE LTD

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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 is privately owned and provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in January 2025. This was the first inspection since the home was registered. One child was living at the home at the time of inspection and they were present and spoken to by the inspector.

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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 for children’s home: 2813382 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming. One child has recently moved into the home. Staff supported them to personalise their bedroom with decoration and soft furnishings. They have pictures of friends and family on display. Relationships between staff and children are positive. The child has affectionate nicknames for staff members and said, ‘I like them all, particularly [staff name] as they are really funny’. They said that they feel listened to and supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff value the importance of the child’s education. Engagement with education was a concern for the child prior to moving into the home but there has been some progress made in this area. Staff support the child to access tutoring in the home and they use creative resources to support education and life skills. However, there have been some delays in the child’s education, health and care assessment being concluded due to a change of local authority oversight. Although the manager has taken some steps to pursue this information, concerns about the lack of clarity and response from the local authority have not been escalated in a timely manner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the child well and are currently supporting them with health issues around sleep. They have listened to the child’s thoughts and feelings and helped them to seek medical attention around their sleep patterns. Staff work hard to support the child with good routines. They help the child to engage in daytime activities around their tutoring. They prepare meals together and the child lays the table. They eat their evening meal together, reflect on the day’s events and plan for the following day. This helps to build trust, strengthens relationships and helps children to feel safe and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to spend time with people who are important to them and to engage with activities they enjoy. Family time is supported by staff. When this does not progress as planned, the manager ensures that it is rearranged at the earliest opportunity. The manager shares updates with parents on a regular basis, which parents value and appreciate. Staff recognise the child’s strengths, interests and achievements. The child is a skilled horse rider. Staff have sourced horse-riding lessons and are exploring opportunities for the child to volunteer at a local stable to support their future aspirations to work with horses.

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

Staff have a good understanding of their roles in protecting children. They have a sound knowledge of the home’s policies and procedures to support this.

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

The home has access to a therapist who meets regularly with staff. They support staff to reflect on the child’s experiences and provide consultation and training. This enables Inspection report for children’s home: 2813382 3 staff to better understand the reasons behind the child’s behaviours and helps to tailor their support to the child’s presenting needs.

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

Staff use praise and rewards to encourage positive behaviours. The child’s views have been sought to establish how they are best supported and kept safe. Staff training is tailored to support and manage the child’s behaviours and associated risks. Since moving into the home, there have been no safeguarding concerns relating to the child.

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

Staff support the child with detailed and meaningful one-to-one sessions that cover a variety of issues. These include discussion and engagement around topics such as healthy eating, sleep, exploitation and education. These sessions are targeted and reviewed in line with the child’s risks, support needs and progress. This ensures that the child receives relevant and effective support that is individualised to their needs.

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

Staff have a good understanding of risks to the child. However, these are not always clearly assessed. This has resulted in plans around family time and online access being unclear and contradictory in parts. This does not effectively support staff in making balanced and proportionate decisions that prioritise the child’s safety without unnecessary restrictions.

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

The registered manager is compassionate and experienced. She is supported by an experienced responsible individual and a passionate and reflective deputy manager. All are child focused and have a shared ethos for the future development of the home. However, the inspection was prompted by the manager’s request to voluntarily cancel her registration in the coming weeks.

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

The directors of the home have appointed a new manager. However, there have been serious shortfalls regarding recruitment checks completed by the directors. These were not adequate or robust in line with safer recruitment practices. Furthermore, the directors’ understanding of the role of the responsible individual and registered manager is questionable. This is due to information being withheld, impacting on the responsible individual and registered manager’s ability to make informed decisions in relation to staffing and recruitment.

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

The staff have a diverse range of experiences, although some have limited experience of working in children’s homes. They have transferable skills that have been of benefit to the care of the child, and all appear eager to learn and develop their skills. Staff speak positively of the manager. They say that they feel well supported and that the manager is approachable and actively seeks feedback from staff to ensure that their views are considered in the development of the home. One staff member said, ’[Name of the home] is a home from home.’ Staff morale is good. Staff support each other and work well together, which help to create a positive environment for the child.

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

Team meetings are regular and well attended. These are child focused and create a safe space for staff to reflect on their practice and the needs of the child. Supervisions are Inspection report for children’s home: 2813382 4 also regular and reflective. They focus on the child’s needs as well as staff development and well-being.

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

The manager and the responsible individual have effective oversight of the child’s care. They have good monitoring and reviewing systems in place and are always looking at ways to improve the care and support for children and the development of the home. Management oversight is evaluative, reflective and offers positive reinforcement in regard to good practice. This plays a vital role in promoting high-quality practice in the home and positive outcomes for the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2813382 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

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

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

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

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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. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)) 19 May 2025

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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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to there being risk assessments and home care plans in place that identify known and potential risk for the child. 19 May 2025

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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

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the 19 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2813382 6 individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (3)(a)(d)) Inspection report for children’s home: 2813382 7

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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: 2813382 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Avon House, 435 Stratford Road, Solihull B90 4AA

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Inspector

Mandy Wake, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2813382 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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Inspector

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