Children's Home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited in North Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1256059 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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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.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home. All three children were spoken to and their views considered as part of the 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 requires improvement

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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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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1256059 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/08/2024 Full Good 31/10/2023 Full Good 18/10/2022 Full Good 26/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1256059 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have listened to children’s views and ideas and acted on these views. For example, they have changed an area of the home into a ‘chill out area’ for the children. Additionally, parts of the home have also been redecorated, and staff have plans to create an outdoor gym and bike workshop for the children. These changes are aligned to children’s interests and help them to develop a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager assesses children before they come to live at the home. This helps the manager to determine if staff can meet the children’s needs. The children’s relevant plans identify the areas of support that the children require. However, plans lack robustness, and some actions are not implemented. Staff training is not always tailored to the individual needs of the children, and this has the potential to affect placement stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend education, and all children are making progress. They are either completing an apprenticeship, applying for a college place or attending a school. When children are not accessing full-time education, staff support them to learn in the home. Staff are creative when delivering education. An education support lead said, ‘Staff use children’s interests and skills to engage them in home education.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s health needs. Staff have registered the children with a doctor and dentist. When required, staff refer the children to specialist health services, such as child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) or drug and alcohol services.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to build good relationships with children. These relationships are secure and safe for children. Staff allocate each child a key member of staff. This member of staff has key and specific responsibilities to advocate and lead in the care provided to the child. One child said that if they were unhappy with their care, they knew they could talk to their key member of staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and children spend time together, such as preparing food and eating together. Staff use this time to learn about children’s wishes and feelings. In addition, staff and children meet monthly to talk about how the children are feeling. Staff develop positive and supportive relationships with children’s families. This helps children to be able to spend time with those who are important to them in a good and safe manner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop independence and daily living skills that will equip them for the future. The children build confidence in their abilities. For example, staff have helped them to use public transport independently, budget and meal plan and cook meals following a recipe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and children participate in joint activities together. Children said they enjoy these activities, which include playing pool, going for walks and water sports. Children said Inspection report for children’s home: 1256059 4 that when staff are supporting individual needs, there are not always enough staff to accompany other children on pre-arranged activities.

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

Staff help children to understand the importance of keeping safe. They support children to develop safer ways to manage their feelings and emotions, and overall, the children’s behaviour is good. The staff will seek advice from external professionals to support children with their behaviour if this is required.

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

The staff encourage children to engage with external services that support their safety and well-being. For example, one child had specific risks identified. Staff are working closely with the police to develop plans to keep the child safe. There is strong collaborative practice that ensures external professional agencies are kept informed and this helps to keep children safe.

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

Staff have established house rules, which the children understand. When these rules are not followed, staff apply behavioural consequences, which are proportionate. Not all consequences are recorded as such. Staff rarely hold children when supporting them with their behaviour. If staff do need to hold children, they are trained to do so and carry out holds to keep children and others safe.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff respond appropriately. Staff try to remain in contact with the children, look for them and report them missing to external professionals. Staff ensure that children can speak with an independent person after returning home to try and understand why they went missing and who they were associating with.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The manager has developed a positive team culture and created a working environment where staff feel valued, supported and motivated. This team dynamic contributes to staff delivering good and consistent care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

An allegation was made in relation to the manager by a child. The responsible individual did not assign an investigative officer who was sufficiently independent of the manager or of the right seniority in the organisation to carry out the investigation. There was a lack of rigorous oversight, and the child who made the allegation was not spoken to as part of the investigation. The child left the home, and their placement ended without any recourse back to the child. There was no closure or proper ending to the placement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The manager has recruited staff using safer recruitment procedures. The manager provides new staff with an induction and probationary period. The induction and probation period are reviewed to ensure that staff have the skills and competence to meet the needs of children. The manager provides staff with regular supervision and appraisal, which staff find useful. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256059 5 The manager makes sure that regular team meetings take place. This provides the team with valuable opportunities to reflect on the quality of care being delivered. Where individual or collective learning needs are identified, the manager arranges learning circles to promote professional development. These sessions support staff to reflect, share good practice and continuously improve the care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The manager has started to implement audit systems to support the evaluation of care provided to children. However, the manager has not yet embedded these systems across all areas of care practice. This means some aspects of care are not consistently evaluated. This has led to missed opportunities for learning and improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The manager has implemented an electronic system to store children’s care records. The system implemented means care records are not easily accessible when required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

At the last inspection, one recommendation was raised. The manager has not been able to evidence that this recommendation has been met, so this is reset, and three statutory requirements are made. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256059 6

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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.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that monitoring and review systems are applied consistently across all areas of care to support accountability, quality assurance and continuous improvement; that staff have the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to meet each child’s individual needs effectively; and that children’s records are maintained in a manner that is well organised and readily accessible to those who are authorised to use them. 2 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out— how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and 2 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1256059 7 the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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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

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256059 8 (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (2) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff have a clear understanding of what constitutes a consequence and that they accurately record it as such in line with the home’s behaviour management policy.

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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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular this refers to ensuring that any allegation or concern raised by a child in respect of staff or registered persons is thoroughly investigated by someone sufficiently independent and with the correct level of seniority in the organisation. 2 October 2025

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Recommendation

 When communicating and recording information about children, staff should use language that affirms a child’s identity and dignity and avoid terms that may feel stigmatising. (‘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 for children’s home: 1256059 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Laura Copus, Social Care Inspector Caroline Coop, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1256059 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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