Children's Home run by First Steps Care Ltd in Worcestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2636996 1 Registered provider: First Steps 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

This privately owned home is registered to provide care for up to four children who may have specific emotional needs and who may have experienced trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspection started on 21 May 2025. The inspector returned on 4 June 2025 to gather additional evidence in line with ‘Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy’.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children were living in the home. All children were present during the inspection and spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager resigned from their role on 8 December 2024. A new manager has been appointed but following this inspection withdrew their application to register.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual, and Ofsted is currently checking that this person has the relevant capacity, experience and skills to carry out the role.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 16 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2636996 2 Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2636996 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/04/2024 Full Good 19/04/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2636996 4

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from a spacious and well-resourced home. The communal areas are welcoming and well maintained. However, some children’s bedrooms had not been cleaned and were unhygienic. Staff have not taken good enough care to ensure that children receive the support they need to maintain their bedrooms.

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improvement to be good

At nighttime, staff lock internal doors, restricting children’s access to communal areas. The manager has failed to consider whether this is proportionate or necessary. This is not in line with the home’s ethos of promoting a homely and supportive environment.

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improvement to be good

Door alarms are in use. While leaders state that the purpose of these is as a safeguarding measure, this is not reflected in children’s plans or individual assessments and there has been no managerial oversight or review of the practice. This blanket approach fails to consider whether restrictions on children’s privacy remain necessary and proportionate.

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improvement to be good

Children’s education needs are well supported by staff. Staff maintain regular communication with teaching staff, with one school professional noting that communication from the staff is a strength. Another professional praised staff for promptly visiting a child’s school to introduce themselves and establish a positive working relationship with education staff. This approach ensures that professionals take a cohesive approach to promoting children’s educational progress.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to spend time with people who are important to them. Children’s religious and cultural needs are also supported and, when appropriate, external resources are sought to help children engage in their religious practices. This helps children to maintain their identity and respects their individual beliefs.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they feel listened to and are provided with opportunities to have their say. The manager encourages children to attend Children in Care Counsels. Not only does this provide an opportunity for children to raise their views and wishes and contribute to decisions that affect their daily lives, but it also helps them to develop skills in advocacy and communication.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from positive relationships with staff. Staff take time to get to know children. They engage in shared activities and play with children. This not only provides children with opportunities to have fun but helps to strengthen their relationships with the adults caring for them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2636996 5

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improvement to be good

The manager has not fully considered or effectively planned to manage known risks to children when they move into the home. This has resulted in gaps in risk management.

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improvement to be good

There have been occasions when children have been missing from home. Staff have made attempts to contact children and actively look for them. However, on one occasion, staff were slow to contact the police. Managers have reviewed the incident but did not identify that staff did not act in accordance with the child’s plan. A failure to follow the child’s plan could have left them at risk of harm, and poor oversight of the incident means that there was a missed opportunity to address practice concerns.

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improvement to be good

There are inconsistencies around how staff respond to allegations. Some allegations have been promptly responded to and appropriate safeguarding procedures followed. However, there has been one occasion when a potentially significant allegation was not identified by the manager. This inconsistent response compromises the effectiveness of safeguarding measures and potentially places children at increased risk. Senior leaders are aware of the shortfall and have taken action to strengthen monitoring in this area to ensure that it does not happen again.

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improvement to be good

Where there have been concerns around children’s safety, leaders have sought external intervention to promote children’s well-being. Return home interviews consistently take place. This provides an opportunity for adults to understand what has happened when children’s whereabouts have not been known, and helps them to identify risk during this time.

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improvement to be good

There have been occasions when staff have been unable to deter children from unsafe behaviours, and staff have had to use physical intervention. When they have occurred, staff actions have been proportionate to keep children safe. Discussions take place with staff and children following incidents. However, on occasions, there have been delays to these discussions taking place. This inconsistent approach does not ensure that children and staff have the support that they may need and weakens the manager’s safeguarding oversight.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to complain and feel comfortable and confident to do this. When complaints are made, managers investigate these to gain insight into children’s experiences. Feedback is provided to children following concerns raised, which helps them to feel valued and listened to.

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

The manager started working at the home in January 2025 and has applied to be registered with Ofsted. Managers do not demonstrate effective oversight of the home. There is a lack of robust monitoring systems in place, which hinders their ability to identify and address shortfalls. As a result, important issues have gone unnoticed, such Inspection report for children’s home: 2636996 6 as the absence of a current local authority care plan for one child. This compromises the managers’ ability to ensure that children’s needs are being met in line with their plans.

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

Consequences and safeguarding records are not reviewed promptly or thoroughly. This has meant that the manager has not identified when the use of consequences has not been restorative in nature or when there are practice concerns relating to incidents. Poor management oversight means that managers have failed to ensure that care provided to children is effectively monitored and improvements made when needed.

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

Senior leaders have sought support from experienced residential professionals, including a newly appointed responsible individual, to support improvement work. Staff are positive about the changes that have been made and identify that the ethos of the organisation is committed to delivering good-quality care to children. Staff feel valued by leaders, and this will support the ongoing development of the home.

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

Leaders ensure that staff are safely recruited. This helps to ensure that safe adults are working in their home. Team meetings and supervisions take place regularly and provide staff with an opportunity to reflect on their work and stay up to date. Managers provide an array of training opportunities for staff, including training around children’s individual needs. This supports staff’s confidence in being able to manage children’s behaviour and, in turn, improves the care that they provide to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2636996 7

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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

that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)) 19 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s bedrooms are well maintained and hygienic. 19 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— 26 June 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2636996 8 receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that they have the most up-to-date local authority care plan.

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure;

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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)(b)(i)(c)) 19 June 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(h)) 26 June 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, just as in a family home, children are able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each child in the home. Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider Inspection report for children’s home: 2636996 9 community. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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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: 2636996 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: First Steps Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Capital Office, 124-128 City Road, London EC1V 2NX

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Inspector

Chrisoula Contoyianni, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2636996 11 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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