Children's Home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited in Nottingham

Inspection report for children’s home: 1254745 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to five children with emotional and social difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2025.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children were living at the home. The inspector observed and spoke to two children. One child was not in the home during the inspection.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 28 January 2025

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1254745 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/01/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/03/2024 Full Outstanding 28/03/2023 Full Outstanding 24/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1254745 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is large and spacious. Areas of the home have been redecorated, providing a comfortable living space. Areas yet to be updated require attention to provide a homely living environment. Children’s bedrooms are not clean and tidy. One child’s bedroom requires redecoration and additional storage. Staff seek children’s wishes when redecorating the home, providing a sense of belonging.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children access education and children are making progress. When children do not have an education provision, staff escalate this as a concern. Staff have listened to a child who wishes to pursue training in nails and beauty. Staff have sourced a nails and beauty education placement and proposed this as an option.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff speak to children about their health needs, ensuring that children have access to a doctor and a dentist. When children require specialist healthcare, staff help them to access this support. If children choose not to access healthcare, staff seek advice to ensure that the child’s health needs are still met. For one child, staff are working collaboratively with mental health services.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are helping children to develop interests and enjoy positive experiences. One child is interested in archery and rifle shooting. Another child goes horse riding. Staff take children on holiday. Staff support children to develop independence skills. One child is now able to travel independently, cook healthy meals and budget their money. The staff and children have diverse cultures and experiences. This provides opportunities for children to learn about differences. Staff promote children’s culture and identify. A staff member has accessed training to better understand one child’s heritage. Staff are seeking support from LGBTQ+ networks to support a child with their gender identity.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have arranged for an advocate to regularly visit the children. This provides an opportunity for children to feel heard and understood. A child has expressed the wish to return to their birthplace, and staff have shared this with the social worker. Staff understand the importance of children spending time with their family. Staff have supported one child to spend a week with extended family and have strengthened another child’s relationship with their parent.

p.3

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

Staff proactively work with other professionals to provide a multi-agency response to safeguard children. Professionals said that staff are good at communicating and reach out for support. Staff have training to support them to keep children safe and meet children’s needs. Staff speak to children about their needs and the plans in place to keep them safe. At night, staff use sensors upstairs in the home to monitor children’s movements. Staff do not allow children to keep razors in their room, which are instead Inspection report for children’s home: 1254745 4 locked in the staff office. These measures are generalised measures that are not based on children’s individual needs.

p.3

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

There are rules in the home and the children know what they are. Staff speak to children about behaviour and how to manage feelings safely. Staff use consequences and reparation in the home. If children agree to reparation, staff reduce proposed consequences. The nature of the consequence used by staff is not always aligned to the behaviour of the child. This makes the use of consequences confusing and not restorative. Leaders in the home felt that consequences used are not effective.

p.4

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

When children go missing from the home, staff look for them and make efforts to contact them. Staff report children to the police when they are missing. When the child is found, and if they do not return home, staff complete regular safe and well checks. When there are concerns about keeping children safe, the registered manager seeks regular meetings with professionals. These meetings are to review care plans and continue to provide strategies to safeguard children. Staff understand what to do if a child makes an allegation to keep the child safe.

p.4

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

Staff take action to help children stay safe when online. Staff identified one child was unsafe while using the internet. Staff took swift action, removing devices that had online access. Staff arranged a meeting with professionals to develop a plan to keep the child safe while online. Staff are working with education professionals to provide a mentor for the child to work with them to develop skills to be safe while online.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has created a development plan to improve the care provided by staff. This has improved recording and monitoring of children’s medication. The manager has improved staff’s practice when children go missing from the home. The manager now evaluates episodes of going missing. These changes have helped the manager to identify lessons learned and create plans to continue to develop the care delivered to the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager does not have robust systems in place to ensure that there is management oversight and evaluation of all aspects of care records. This has meant that children’s plans are not up to date, and not all records have sufficient management oversight. The lack of evaluation of records has meant there has been a missed opportunity to identify indicators a child may be at risk of exploitation. The manager has not ensured that care provided is aligned with the therapeutic approach reflected in the home’s statement of purpose.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers provide staff with regular, meaningful and reflective supervision. A staff member said that supervision ‘helps me understand where I can improve and gives me a different view’. Managers facilitate team meetings every month. The manager uses team meetings as an opportunity to share learning, discuss the children and provide opportunity for staff to share their views. Inspection report for children’s home: 1254745 5 The manager has recruited sufficient, experienced and qualified staff to care for the children. The manager does not use agency staff. This allows children to be cared for by staff who know them well, providing a sense of security and stability. The manager regularly seeks feedback from children, staff and professionals, including asking others to review aspects of care. The manager uses this feedback to continually develop staff’s skills and knowledge. The manager has a collaborative approach when working with

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

professionals. Inspection report for children’s home: 1254745 6

p.5

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

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;

p.6

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)(h))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s risk management plans take into account information in the child’s relevant plans. 4 September 2025

p.6

Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

p.6

Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

p.6

Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

p.6

Requirement Due date

is necessary and proportionate; 4 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1254745 7 is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe (Regulation 21(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

p.7

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 community. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  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 way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of children. This includes providing bedrooms that

p.7

Recommendations

are well maintained, well decorated and have appropriate storage for all children’s belongings. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

p.7

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: 1254745 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lumonics House, Valiant Office Suites, Valley Drive, Rugby CV21 1TQ

p.8

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Carla-Marie Dore

p.8

Inspector

Laura Copus, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1254745 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9