Children's Home run by High View Children's Services Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report children’s home: 2655778 1 Registered provider: High View Children’s 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 provides care for up to three children who have learning disabilities. A private company runs the home, which was registered with Ofsted in May 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, a new manager has been appointed. He holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management and registered with Ofsted in June 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

There were no children in living in the home at the time of inspection.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was judged as requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection, in May 2024. Leadership and management were judged inadequate. As a result of ongoing concerns about the leadership and management of the home, a compliance notice was issued in relation to regulation 13 of The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A subsequent assurance inspection took place in September 2024. The steps set out in the compliance notice in relation to regulation 13 were not met and this was issued for a Inspection report children’s home: 2655778 2 second time. A monitoring visit took place on 13 November 2024, and the steps in the compliance notice were found to be met. Inspection report children’s home: 2655778 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/05/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/05/2023 Full Good 03/01/2023 Full Good 14/09/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: 2655778 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children have moved from the home since the last inspection. There were no children living in the home at the time of inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

While there have been no children living in the home, it has been redecorated to a good standard. As a result, the environment feels homely and welcoming. Staff feel a sense of achievement and said that they are looking forward to welcoming children to the newly decorated home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s experiences when moving on from the home are positive. When children move on from the home, they do so with a clear plan in place. The staff carefully coordinate moves with the children and external professionals. They obtain children’s views and feelings and support them accordingly. When children leave the home, staff remain in touch so that they can access support from familiar adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child was supported to move back to the care of their parents. Their parents said that the staff provided good care to their child. They added that staff managed the child’s behaviour well, had good communication and that their child had been happy living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make consistent efforts to build trusting relationships with children. They actively encourage children to share their views, wishes and feelings. This approach helps children to feel safe and supported and contributes positively to their overall welfare and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points. They are supported to attend school and achieve well. If they are struggling to attend or engage in education, staff work with professionals to support children in line with their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Records written about children are child focused. However, there are some shortfalls in the quality of records, with some not being clear or completed in full.

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

Risk assessments are clear and outline the known concerns for children and the steps staff should take to reduce those risks. This helps staff to understand each child’s vulnerabilities, and they are clear about what is needed to support children to be safer. However, prior to one child moving from the home, the risk assessment was not reviewed or updated for a period of two months, despite incidents occurring in that time that should have been considered as part of any review. This had the potential to impact on staff’s ability to ensure the child was kept safe. Inspection report children’s home: 2655778 5 Staff support children to reflect on their behaviour and the choices they make. This approach is restorative in nature and encourages children to make amends for actions that have had a negative impact on others. This helps children take responsibility for their actions.

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

Staff manage challenging situations well. Feedback from a child’s social worker praised the staff for their positive practice. They said that ‘staff were adept at de-escalating challenging situations and implementing strategies to promote [name of child]’s emotional well-being. Their dedication and commitment to providing individualised care were truly commendable and played a crucial role in [name of child]’s overall development and progress.’

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

Physical intervention is only used as a last resort. Staff use effective de-escalation strategies that support children to learn how to self-regulate their behaviours. When physical interventions do occur, these are well managed and are appropriate and proportionate to keep children safe. Following incidents, children are spoken to without delay to ensure their views are obtained. On occasions, however, the manager has delayed having discussions with all staff involved in the incident. This could result in poor practice not being addressed promptly.

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

Staff are recruited safely, with detailed and robust vetting procedures in place. These measures help to ensure that staff are suitable to be working with children before they take up their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced. He is supported by a deputy manager and a team of experienced staff. Together, they offer children security and stability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers place a strong focus on meeting the individual needs of children. They ensure that staff receive a variety of training to build their skills and knowledge. This helps staff support children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about working in the home. They feel supported by the management team and say that their views are valued and respected. Staff communicate effectively with one another and are enthusiastic about offering consistent, good-quality care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular supervision sessions and team meetings are detailed and explore topics relevant to the children’s care. During team meetings, staff benefit from workshops that focus on therapeutic approaches. This has provided learning opportunities for staff to develop their practice. In addition, annual appraisals of staff’s performance are now taking place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective systems in place to monitor and review the quality of care children receive. He has a good understanding of the areas in need of development in Inspection report children’s home: 2655778 6 the home. This helps him understand children’s progress and celebrate their achievements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team has positive working relationships with external professionals. Feedback from professionals is positive. Managers appropriately challenge professionals when they do not meet children’s needs. This ensures that any delays in children’s needs being met are resolved quickly. Inspection report children’s home: 2655778 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

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

In particular, the registered person must ensure that risks to children are kept under regular review, including following any incidents. 13 August 2025

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(b)(i)(ii)) 13 August 2025

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Recommendation

Inspection report children’s home: 2655778 8  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. 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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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 children’s home: 2655778 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: High View Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Azzurri House, Walsall Road, Aldridge, Walsall WS9 0RB

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Inspector

Kate Savage, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2655778 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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