Children's Home run by A&S Rescue Services Limited in Leicester

Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 1 Registered provider: A&S Rescue Services 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

This home is registered to provide care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

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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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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from living in a warm, welcoming and well-maintained home that provides a nurturing and child-centred environment. The house is spacious with artwork and photographs displayed throughout, which creates a personalised and homely atmosphere. Children are supported to decorate their bedrooms to reflect their own tastes and interests. An additional space, known as the ‘chill out room’, is equipped with LED lighting and beanbags, offering a calm and inviting area for relaxation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between staff and children are strong. Staff invest time in getting to know the children well and create a culture of fun and playfulness. Interactions are characterised by warmth, humour and genuine care. One child spoke positively about their experience of living in the home. They described staff as ‘sound’ and expressed that they felt safe, listened to and well cared for, even though their longer-term goal was to move closer to their home area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and wishes are routinely sought and acted on. Weekly meetings have been held in a one-to-one format due to the home’s single occupancy at the time, and these are used effectively to plan activities and meals with the child. Children are encouraged and supported to pursue their interests. One child regularly attends the gym and boxing classes following discussions in these meetings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make meaningful progress during their time at the home. Staff work proactively to support children’s re-engagement with learning. One child, who had been out of education for a prolonged period, is now attending daily tutoring sessions, with plans in place to increase educational provision in line with their progress and readiness.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Direct work with children is carried out regularly and contributes to their overall development and emotional understanding. However, the recording of this work does not consistently reflect the quality or depth of the discussions taking place. This limits the ability to evidence the impact of the work, and should be improved to better capture the experiences of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some shortfalls exist in recording practices, particularly in relation to care planning documentation. In one instance, a compatibility risk assessment contained inaccuracies about a child’s level of risk and need. This limited its effectiveness in supporting safe placement decisions, especially considering the complex and high-risk behaviours of children placed in the home. Leaders and managers are aware of this and are taking steps to improve the accuracy and quality of such assessments to ensure safe decision- making in the future. Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 3

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

Children benefit from living in a home where their safety and well-being are priority. Staff demonstrate a strong understanding of safeguarding practices and implement consistent strategies to manage risk effectively. As a result, there have been relatively few incidents in the home. When they do occur, staff respond swiftly and appropriately.

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

Staff take proactive steps to reduce risk. For example, one child with a history of going missing has been supported through clear boundaries and consistent supervision, significantly reducing the number of missing-from-home episodes. On several occasions, the skilled and timely intervention of staff has prevented the child from going missing, demonstrating the team’s ability to manage complex behaviours in a calm and effective manner.

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

Safer recruitment practices are effective. All necessary checks are undertaken prior to staff taking up their roles, including enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks and verification of references. This ensures that only suitably vetted adults work with vulnerable children and contributes to the overall safety of the home.

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

Risk assessments are in place for all children and are reviewed regularly. In some cases, these documents are detailed and demonstrate a good understanding of the individual needs and vulnerabilities of children. However, the quality of risk assessments is inconsistent. One child’s risk assessment contained outdated and contradictory information, which did not fully reflect their current needs or behaviours. In another example, a child was inaccurately assessed as being at high risk of child sexual exploitation without any supporting evidence. Additionally, some assessments lacked clear, practical strategies for staff to follow, such as generic references to key-work sessions without explaining the rationale, frequency or intended outcomes.

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

Although these shortfalls do not currently place children at significant risk of harm, they do limit the ability of staff to respond with maximum effectiveness, especially in the context of dynamic risk. The manager is aware of this and is taking steps to improve the consistency and quality of written risk assessments, including through training, supervision discussions and more rigorous oversight.

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

Staff clearly understand the risks that children face and work effectively as a team to manage them. Daily handover discussions, team meetings and reflective practice discussions support staff to maintain a shared and evolving understanding of each child’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a committed and passionate registered manager who demonstrates a clear child-centred ethos. She is highly motivated to ensure that children receive high- quality care and achieve positive outcomes. The manager speaks with genuine warmth and pride when discussing the children and is determined to create a safe, nurturing environment in which they can thrive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 4 Leaders prioritise placement decisions carefully. The manager has shown commendable professional integrity by resisting external pressure to fill vacancies prematurely, instead choosing to wait until she is confident that staff can meet the individual needs of children being considered for placement. This reflective and needs-led approach ensures that placements are considered, which reduces the likelihood of placement breakdowns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains strong and effective working relationships with a range of external professionals. Feedback from partner agencies is consistently positive. One social worker commented, ‘I truly believe [child] felt valued and [registered manager] was especially empathetic with [child] and showed genuine care for him, which I’m sure gave him comfort given the ending of the placement.’ In this instance, the manager and staff worked closely with the placing authority to support the child’s emotional well-being in the lead up to a custodial sentence, demonstrating a deep commitment to the child even as the placement ended.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are equally positive about the leadership and management of the home. They describe a supportive place to work and value the open-door culture created by the manager. Staff feel listened to, and morale is high. New staff benefit from a structured and thorough induction process, followed by relevant and ongoing training. As a result, staff feel confident and equipped to meet the needs of the children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides staff with regular supervision discussions, during which they receive both support and professional challenge. Team meetings are used well to reflect on practice, share learning and reinforce a consistent approach to care. This fosters a culture of accountability, continual development and high expectations. Staff are encouraged to develop professionally and to contribute ideas that enhance the running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have good oversight of the quality of care provided. They understand the strengths and areas for development in the home, and take action to address shortfalls where necessary. Monitoring systems are in place and are used effectively to identify trends and ensure that children’s experiences and outcomes remain central to all decision-making. Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that risk assessments are up to date, reflect all current risks for children and are clear in terms of how the risks can be reduced. 19 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that new arrivals to the home are adequately risk assessed and these assessments contain information pertaining to the child, which is assessed against the needs of the child living in the home. 19 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 6

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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 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 in a way 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: 2807068 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: A&S Rescue Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Phoenix Studios, 253-255 Belgrave Gate, Leicester LE1 3HU

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Inspector

Lauren Barwell, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 8 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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