Children's Home run by Solace for Children Limited in Worcestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2651823 1 Registered provider: Solace for Children Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a small private company. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties as a result of their childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2025 and holds a level 5 qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, four children were living at the home.

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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 good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2651823 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/06/2024 Full Good 07/06/2023 Full Good 08/06/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2651823 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All four children living at the home spoke with the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home in a planned way, in line with their care plan. Two children have remained living at the home, and two new children have been welcomed following a thorough assessment of their needs. The child who moved out has maintained contact with the staff team. They provided the inspector with feedback about their positive experiences of moving on from the home and the support they have continued to receive. This feedback demonstrates the quality of the relationships between children and staff and the staff’s commitment to maintaining healthy and positive relationships with children as they move on to the next stage of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All four children are making good progress from their individual starting points. One parent commented, ‘He is now a lively, happy little boy. They did the impossible in my eyes. He is loving life; he is back to the boy he was.’ All four children are accessing education, and staff work in creative ways to ensure that all children have access to extra-curricular activities to further support their learning. Children are encouraged to try new experiences and are supported by staff to invest in hobbies and interests that are personal to them. Each child has their own incentive chart, which is regularly reviewed and provides a clear visual aid to show the progress they are making. The charts are frequently updated to reflect the children’s current hobbies and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to manage their physical and emotional health needs. Staff work closely with children to help them understand the importance of attending appointments and engaging with health professionals. Each child’s health needs are clearly identified and recorded in their individual care plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of social activities and opportunities. Staff attend adventure activities and help each child to identify a charity they would like money raised to go to. This demonstrates the staff’s commitment to creatively sourcing opportunities for children to participate in activities and to develop their understanding of the role they can play in helping others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and facilitate children’s contact with their families. Family members have commented on how well staff keep them informed about their child’s progress and consistently update them when any risks to the child’s safety are identified. One parent said, ‘I feel very involved. I know I can pick up the phone anytime and share any worries that I have.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2651823 4

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

Children have trusted adults they can speak with. Their individual risks are clearly identified, well understood and managed effectively by staff and leaders. Detailed risk assessments provide staff with the information they need to keep children safe, and staff consistently apply these in practice.

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

Since the last inspection, there have been a total of seven missing-from-home episodes. Staff have managed these incidents effectively. Information is appropriately recorded and shared with external agencies, parents and carers. Staff understand the actions to take if a child goes missing and have clear plans in place to follow.

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

Staff carry out high-quality key-work sessions and meetings to educate children about risks, safety and diversity. They are also skilled at identifying ‘reachable moments’, which are unplanned opportunities that arise during day-to-day interactions to discuss safety with children. Staff are highly attuned to children’s individual needs and understand that they process information in different ways. Staff regularly reflect on situations with children to assess their understanding of risk and to identify any emerging concerns regarding their safety.

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

Staff help children to manage their emotions and feelings. They take the time to get to know each child and understand which strategies work best for them. Support plans are developed, regularly updated, and shared effectively with the team to ensure that staff provide consistent boundaries and support.

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

Physical intervention is minimal and used only as a last resort to keep children safe from harm. Incidents are appropriately recorded by staff. Children and staff are spoken to promptly to reflect on the experience and to ensure that children’s rights are upheld. There is a strong culture of learning from incidents, and staff are encouraged to reflect and consider what could be done differently to reduce the need for physical intervention.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is child focused and is supported by a leadership team that shares her ambitious vision to provide the best possible care for children. Staff have high expectations for the children and are passionate about supporting them in achieving their full potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and the management team clearly understand each child’s progress. The management team recognises the home’s strengths and areas for development and is continually striving for improvement. Leaders have effective systems in place for monitoring and review, which they use to identify and implement improvements. Internal documents, such as supervision templates and themed key-work templates, have been updated to drive practice. The manager is committed to reviewing the resources available to the staff team to enable them to explore children’s wishes and feelings effectively and, crucially, to continually identify the goals children want to set and how staff can support them in achieving these. Inspection report for children’s home: 2651823 5 There is a supportive environment for staff to learn and develop. Staff feel well supported and receive regular, high-quality supervision that provides opportunities to

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

reflect on their practice and identify areas for improvement. Children are invited to give feedback on each member of staff undergoing appraisal. This highlights the importance that management places on capturing children’s views and using them to drive the quality of practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The team has built strong working relationships with key professionals in children’s lives. Professionals have commented on how well the team communicates with them and that they feel confident they have the most up-to-date information about the children, enabling them to provide the right care and support. One professional commented, ‘The young person is settled in the home, accessing education, working alongside police, and accessing therapeutic support. This would not have been possible without her feeling safe and supported within [name of home].’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2651823 6

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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: 2651823 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Solace for Children Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Tadcaster House, Kempton Road, Pershore, Worcestershire WR10 2TA

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Inspector

Charlotte Tippett, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2651823 8 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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