Children's Home run by Gemstones Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report children’s home: 2772912 1 Registered provider: Gemstones Care Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns this children’s home. It registered in March 2024 and provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual, and we are currently checking 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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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 10 February 2025, Ofsted completed an assurance visit. Serious and widespread concerns were identified during the visit. As a result, a notice restricting accommodation and three compliance notices under regulation 12, the protection of children standard, regulation 13, the leadership and management standard and regulation 14, the care planning standard were issued. Inspection report for children’s home: 2772912 2 Ofsted completed a follow up monitoring visit on 19 March 2025 and found that the compliance notices had been met and the notice to restrict accommodation was lifted. Inspection report for children’s home: 2772912 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/07/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2772912 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There was one child living in the home at the time of the inspection, who was present and spoken to. The child had moved into the home five days before the inspection. Another child, who had lived in the home for one year, had recently moved out. Improvements made by leaders and staff since the last assurance visit have had a positive impact on children’s overall experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have positive endings when they move from the home. For one child, staff ensured that the child was able to see their new home and meet the new staff before moving in. Staff helped the child to purchase items that they might need and celebrated their time in the home in line with the child’s wishes. This helped to reduce the child’s anxieties of moving on and supported the child to feel cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions into the home are well planned. Information is widely sought to help assess potential risks and make informed decisions about the suitability of the home for children. For one child, the transition was managed well, and the child was able to visit and meet the staff before they moved in. This enables staff to carefully consider whether they can safely meet the child’s needs before they move in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to implement clear and consistent routines and boundaries for children. This has included direct work with one child to establish a healthy evening routine. As a result, the child is ready and suitably prepared to participate in education and other activities during the day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to engage with their education. When children lack the confidence to participate in education, staff identify alternative work for them to engage in, based on their interests. This helps to maintain children’s routines and provide clear expectations with regards to the importance of education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain positive relationships with people who are important to them. For example, staff support one child’s family member to regularly visit the child in the home. This helps children to stay connected to loved ones and feel wanted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s environment is warm and welcoming. It is kept clean and is nicely decorated and maintained. However, one child’s bedroom lacks personalisation that would help to give the child a greater sense of belonging.

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

Children feel safe living at the home. Staff implement clear and consistent boundaries to help children understand what is expected of them. When children are distressed, staff help them to manage their emotions safely. As a result, serious incidents reduce, and children become safer. Inspection report for children’s home: 2772912 5 Incidents involving children are rare. There has been one incident since the last inspection. On this occasion, staff worked well with other professionals and the child to understand what had happened. The manager provided good oversight and learning from the incident was shared with staff. This positive practice helped to reduce the risk of a similar incident happening again.

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

Staff understand children’s risks and the action needed to keep them safe. When a child was at risk out in the community, staff put in place a safety plan. The plan was shared with the child and reviewed, when needed, to ensure that it remained fit for purpose. This gave the child reassurance that staff cared about the child’s well-being.

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

Staff help children to understand risks to their safety and well-being. For example, staff have worked with one child to help them understand what healthy relationships might look like. This equips children with the understanding needed to help them keep safe when forming new relationships.

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

Overall, staff were able to explain what they would do if a child went missing from the home. However, one child’s protocol had not been fully completed or recorded effectively to provide guidance to staff. Furthermore, not all staff had completed this training. These shortfalls have the potential to compromise children’s safety.

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

Since the last inspection, there have been changes to the leadership and management of the home. The previous manager withdrew their application with Ofsted following the assurance visit in February 2025. The deputy manager has taken over the management role and is being supported by a newly appointed responsible individual. Together, they are working hard to deliver improvements and improve the care that children receive.

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

The management team has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. They have worked hard to identify and deliver the improvements needed. This has included upskilling the staff team and implementing new safeguarding systems and processes for keeping children safe.

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

Leaders have high aspirations for children and high expectations of staff. They speak proudly of the progress made by the children and how well they managed their transitions in and out of the home. One child has settled quickly following their move and is developing positive relationships with the staff. Another child described the manager as an ‘inspiration to children’ and that they made them feel like they could have a good future.

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

Staff feel well supported and are working more cohesively as a team. They receive regular supervision and are encouraged to regularly reflect on their practice. When a child recently moved from the home, the manager held a reflective session with staff to identify any learning. In addition, the manager ensured that staff completed training Inspection report for children’s home: 2772912 6 requested by a local authority to meet one child’s specific needs. This helps staff to improve and raise standards of care for children.

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

However, there are some gaps in the manager’s oversight of staff training. One new member of staff has not been able to access some of the online training. In addition, the manager was unable to clarify what training new staff required before they worked in the home. Consequently, staff cannot always be sure that they have the right training needed to support children effectively.

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

Safer recruitment systems and processes require some improvement. The manager does not consistently identify or explore the reasons for gaps in staff employment before any appointment is confirmed. Consequently, leaders cannot be fully assured about the suitability of people they allow to work in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2772912 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there is clear oversight of staff training needs to ensure that training is completed in a timely way. Staff should be clear about what training they need to complete and when it needs to be completed.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that robust systems are in place for monitoring all aspects of the service to identify any shortfalls and take action as appropriate. This specifically relates to ensuring that important records contain accurate and complete information. 7 July 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

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or 7 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2772912 8 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, 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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that gaps in staff’s employment history are fully explored and considered before allowing staff to work with children.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that is homely and meets the needs of the children. This specifically relates to the lack of personalisation of one child’s bedroom. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing or away from the home without permission. This specifically relates to the lack of clarity and guidance recorded for staff to follow in the child’s missing-from-home protocols. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28)

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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: 2772912 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Gemstones Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: International House, 126 Colmore Row, Birmingham B3 3AP

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Inspector

Louise Naylor, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2772912 10 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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