Children's Home run by The Acorns Leicester Limited in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2783593 1 Registered provider: The Acorns Leicester Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

It provides care for three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has resigned. The responsible individual was present during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, no children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector was aware during this inspection that serious child protection allegations were being investigated by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the allegations were considered (where appropriate) alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform the inspector’s judgement.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and/or the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2783593 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

This is the home’s first full inspection since it opened in November 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

One child moved into the home in February 2025, and they left in April 2025. The manager resigned on 1 May 2025.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

While the child has only lived at the home for a short time, their experiences and progress have been negatively affected by the poor leadership and management.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders were unable to demonstrate effectively how they ensured that they could meet the needs of the child before they moved into the home. The responsible individual was unable to provide the inspector with evidence that the child’s moves into and out of the home had been planned.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child was not supported to reflect on their behaviour and discuss their worries with staff. Following one incident, the child was quickly dismissed when they initiated a discussion. The child was informed that they were responsible for their behaviours and told there would be serious consequences if they were unable to manage their emotions. This did not help the child to communicate their feelings in a safe way nor help them to alleviate any anxieties. The child did not have a trusted adult to talk to about any worries or problems.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The regulator is aware that there has been one formal complaint, which was initiated by staff. However, the manager did not provide the child with a formal response. This lack of a response could undermine trust.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff carried out key-work sessions with the child. However, these were mainly unplanned and took place following an incident or an issue that had been raised. This is reactive, and there was no proactive planning for work to support the child in areas for progress or to capture their voice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child had been prescribed medication. However, there was no documentation available during the inspection to evidence that the child had been receiving their medication as directed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home needs some redecoration and new furniture. Communal areas need to be improved to create a homely environment. Some internal fittings in the home are damaged and have not been repaired in a timely manner. As a result, the environment does not promote the well-being of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s education is a key priority for the home. Staff recognise the importance of education for children’s futures, and they encouraged the child to attend school. Inspection report for children’s home: 2783593 3

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

The child was cared for by an inexperienced team of staff, who were unable to provide them with the stability they needed.

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

The child was not provided with a safe and nurturing environment in which to live. There was considerable damage to doors, kitchen cupboards and a window. No attempt was made to repair the damages while the child was living in the home.

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

Management oversight of the incidents, including incidents when the child was physically held, was poor. When practice has been below expected standards, there have been no lessons learned or debriefs with children or staff. This leaves children at risk of harm as staff are not challenged about the poor-quality practice.

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

Staff have not followed the agreed risk management plans to ensure the child’s safety and well-being. For example, during an activity that should have been supervised, staff did not do this as they were not being provided with the funds to take part in the activity. This resulted in the contact with another person being unsupervised and the child being allowed access to a mobile phone. This inadequate approach to safeguarding increased the child’s vulnerability.

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

Staff have not completed the provider’s mandatory training. During the inspection, the provider confirmed that this was due to a lack of funds. Therefore, staff did not have the necessary skills to meet the child’s needs. Staff have received training to carry out restraints. However, when the child had been held, staff did not use that learning to apply holds correctly and safely. Additionally, the police were called to support staff in managing the child’s behaviour. This had a negative effect on the child.

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

Risk management and behaviour support plans included important information about the child and their needs. However, the plans did not include strategies that demonstrated to staff how they should support the child. Staff did not respond to incidents appropriately and did not offer emotional support to the child when they needed it.

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

The child was supported to complete a fire drill on the day they moved into the home. However, the fire alert system was not working. No further fire drill was completed. Therefore, the child and staff did not know what to do in the event of a fire.

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

Checks relating to information provided by the Disclosure and Barring Service were not fully assessed for two members of staff. The responsible individual recognised that a detailed risk management plan was required in relation to these concerns. However, advice provided to the manager was ignored, and whether these adults posed any potential risk to the child was not considered. Inspection report for children’s home: 2783593 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The leadership and management of this home were ineffective. Leaders and managers failed to provide oversight that ensured the child was safely cared for and provided with positive experiences that could support their progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager resigned shortly after the child left the home. The responsible individual does not have oversight of the home and acknowledged concerns about the poor care provided by the manager. Those concerns were escalated to director level, but no action was taken. As a result, leaders and managers failed to provide staff with sufficient leadership and oversight of their practice and quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

During the inspection, several documents relating to the child’s care and records relating to staff performance were missing, including records of the medication taken by the child. The responsible individual is liaising with the previous manager to return them to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

A staff team has been appointed that lacks experience in children’s residential care. Only the registered manager has qualifications in residential childcare. Staff have not been provided with the necessary practice guidance to help them achieve the aims set out in the statement of purpose to help children to reach their full potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff have faced difficult situations. They have had to manage some behaviours that were challenging. Not all staff were positive about the support being offered by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are shortfalls that leaders and managers have failed to identify and act on. Monitoring and review systems are ineffective, and recording is poor.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

As a result of the concerns identified during the inspection, Ofsted issued a notice restricting accommodation following this inspection to prevent any further children moving into the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2783593 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

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;

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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;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(vi)(b)(d)) 18 July 2025

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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 children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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 home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; 18 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2783593 6 ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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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; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d)) 18 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2783593 7 The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

securely in the children’s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there. (Regulation 36 (1)(b)(c) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all records are available, signed and kept up to date, with updates and outcomes included in the records. 18 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(c)) 18 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children are aware of the procedures that should be followed in the event of a fire and that they participate in fire drills. 18 July 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping, and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising Inspection report for children’s home: 2783593 8 way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’, supporting them to view and contribute to the record that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)

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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: 2783593 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Acorns Leicester Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 50 Dalby Avenue, Bushby, Leicester LE7 9RD

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Inspector

Corline Parker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2783593 10 regulates 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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