Children's home run by Axis Residential Care Solutions

Registered provider: Axis Residential Care Solutions

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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 small, private provider operates this home, which is registered to provide care for up to two children who have experienced trauma and present with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager was registered with Ofsted in December 2024 and holds appropriate qualifications for the role.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none.

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improvement to be good

Shortfalls in the help and protection of children have negatively affected some children’s progress and experiences.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, one child has lived at the home. However, managers did not complete a thorough assessment of the child’s care needs prior to their admission. Subsequently, managers issued notice to end the child’s placement. This decision resulted in a further premature ending to the child’s home environment, following multiple previous placement disruptions. Poor care planning has adversely affected the child’s sense of safety and emotional security.

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improvement to be good

Leaders commissioned their internal clinical psychologist to provide therapeutic support for a child when there were delays in specialist health provision. However, although there is some evidence of leaders engaging in multi-agency discussions regards to the child’s need for therapy, leaders did not provide sufficient challenge to social care and health professionals to progress a timely referral. As a result, the child became increasingly isolated, withdrew from family and education, and showed a reduced ability to manage their physical health needs. Despite clear signs of regression across multiple areas of development, staff and managers did not escalate concerns sufficiently to secure the necessary support. This insufficient lack of action helped contributed to a decline in the child’s school attendance and in their physical and emotional well-being.

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improvement to be good

Staff supported the child to maintain contact with their family and understood the importance of helping children sustain relationships with those who are significant to them. However, when a safeguarding concern arose regarding the time the child was spending with a family member, staff failed to record and report this on multiple occasions. As a result, the child—who had initiated disclosures about this risk—was not appropriately supported or validated. This failure to act compromised the child’s safety and emotional well-being.

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improvement to be good

Staff supported and encouraged the child to participate in new activities. They celebrated the child’s achievements and promoted involvement in group settings to help broaden their social network.

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improvement to be good

When the child experienced difficulties attending their education provision, staff worked effectively with education professionals to explore creative strategies that supported the child’s re-engagement with learning.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not consistently taken effective action to ensure the child’s safety. Risk assessments designed to support the child’s behaviour and manage their vulnerabilities were not clearly understood or followed by all staff. This lack of understanding contributed to inconsistent and, at times, insufficient safeguarding responses. For example, when the child disclosed a significant safeguarding concern, two staff members failed to record and report the disclosure in line with the homes safeguarding policy and the child’s best interests. This failure potentially placed the child at continued risk. When the disclosure was brought to the manager’s attention, they took appropriate and timely action to address the shortfalls in practice.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not demonstrate a sufficient understanding of the risks associated with children’s use of the internet. The strategies in place to promote online safety were underdeveloped and did not effectively support the child in learning how to keep themselves safe online. Staff failed to follow the clear guidance outlined in the child’s risk assessments to reduce these risks. Leaders and managers did not address these shortfalls with staff and failed to consider alternative strategies to ensure children’s online safety.

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improvement to be good

Positive behaviour is promoted, and staff use creative approaches to recognise the child’s achievements and progress. Reward systems were tailored to the child’s individual care needs and were implemented consistently.

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improvement to be good

When physical intervention was used, there was evidence of management oversight, including reflective discussions with staff about alternative approaches. However, on one occasion, the manager noted, ‘I do believe that staff’s responses and actions increased the incident.’ This highlights concerns about the appropriateness of staff responses. Physical intervention was not consistently used as a last resort, and staff did not always notify the child’s social worker in a timely manner following such incidents. In response, all staff have received refresher training to reinforce the importance of de-escalation and to ensure that physical intervention is only used when absolutely necessary.

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

The staff team lacked experience in supporting children with complex health and emotional needs. A lack of professional curiosity during the child’s admission process, particularly from the manager, contributed to staff being ill-prepared to meet the child’s care needs. The manager has since reflected on this shortfall and developed a plan to strengthen staff skills in key areas, including trauma-informed practice.

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

There has not been consistent management oversight of children’s case records. Internal auditing and review systems failed to identify the lack of support the child was receiving to help them keep themselves safe. This gap in oversight limited opportunities to address safeguarding concerns in a timely and effective manner.

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

In addition to the monthly visits by the independent person, a quality assurance manager within the organisation also conducts audits of the care provided by the manager and staff team. One such audit was completed in December 2024 but was not shared in writing with the manager until May 2025. Furthermore, recommendations from these audits were not communicated in writing to the manager. The manager did not request this information, resulting in missed opportunities to implement improvements and address identified shortfalls in practice.

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

Staff receive regular, good-quality supervision and attend frequent team meetings where they can discuss children’s care and share reflective practice. However, there is no record to verify that staff have received an annual performance appraisal. This has not been identified in the manager’s internal auditing and can limit opportunities for staff to formally review their performance and plan for their ongoing professional development.

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

Managers ensured that reflective discussions took place with the staff team following the child’s departure from the home. These discussions focused on identifying areas for improvement to ensure that children receive the highest standard of care. This approach supports staff to reflect on their practice and deepen their understanding of children’s needs.

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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take effective action where there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff’s responsibilities for reporting and recording safeguarding concerns about children in their care. It also concerns the provision of appropriate support and guidance to help children understand how to keep themselves safe. 7 June 2025

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The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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are kept up to date. 7 June 2025 This specifically relates to staff accurately recording all safeguarding concerns regarding the children in their care.

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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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helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager’s responsibility to maintain a robust system for monitoring and reviewing records. 7 June 2025

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In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)(d)

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager’s responsibility to ensure that any delays by the placing authority in securing specialist provision for a child are appropriately and promptly escalated. 7 June 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. As part of the performance management process, poor performance should be addressed by a timely plan to bring about improvement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Axis Residential Care Solutions

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 15 Heritage Park, Hayes Way, Cannock WS11 7LT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Kerry Hutchinson

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Inspector

Charlotte Tippett, Social Care Inspector

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