Children's home run by Mellifera Homes Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2818548 1 Registered provider: Mellifera Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted on 24 February 2025 and is owned and run by a private organisation. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has not yet applied to register with Ofsted.

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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: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2818548 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector spent some time with the child living at the home, and interactions between staff and the child were observed. The child gave negative feedback about the staff and said that they did not feel listened to. Despite this, positive interactions were observed between the child and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has made good progress with their engagement with education since living at the home. The child had been on a part-time timetable for over a year and has now been helped to transition to a full-time education setting. Staff endeavour to organise educational activities on days when they are not in education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive moves into the home, which are informed by their wishes and feelings. When children choose not to visit the home before moving in, they are visited by staff and offered many opportunities to meet the staff and become familiar with the home through telephone and video calls. Impact risk assessments consider all children’s known risks and how the team can meet their individual needs. The well-planned care helped the child to settle into the home quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff hold important conversations regularly with children. These cover topics that are relevant to children’s lives, and staff allow children to guide conversations so that they can reflect on issues that are important to them, such as their experiences in foster care and some difficult relationships. More could be done to ensure that important conversations also help children learn about their own risk-taking behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is regular consultation with children about their wishes and feelings. Leaders and managers ensure that reasonable requests are actioned, or efforts are made to facilitate the child being able to engage with safer alternatives to those requested, for example when a child has asked to drive a car, staff have found a virtual simulation so that the child could experience driving in a safe way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met, and they are encouraged to be involved in decisions about their healthcare. Children are encouraged to self-administer medication when it is appropriate, and staff know how to support the child with this. This means that the child feels supported and trusted to take responsibility for aspects of their care, and they are helped to increase their independence.

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

When children go missing from home, staff search for them and notify the police in line with relevant protocols. Staff thoroughly consider what led up to incidents and what may have caused the child to be distressed. Staff, leaders and managers learn from incidents and adapt their ways of working to meet the child’s specific needs. Most Inspection report for children’s home: 2818548 3 incidents have good management oversight; however, this is not the case for more recent incidents.

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

Staff know and understand the child well. They are knowledgeable about the child’s background and how previous trauma can affect the child’s behaviours. When the child is upset, staff use a therapeutic approach to try to help the child calm down and are empathetic and patient in their conversations with them. This has likely contributed to a minimal number of significant incidents since the child has lived in the home.

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

Rigorous safer recruitment checks are carried out to ensure that employed staff are safe to work with children. Leaders and managers ensure that bank staff work alongside regular staff to provide consistency for the child. Regular bank staff know the child and their risks well, and they understand how to respond to them and keep them safe.

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

When children raise historic concerns about previous carers, these are taken seriously. The information is provided to relevant agencies; however, a lack of information from social care means that it is not clear whether these concerns have previously been investigated. More could be done to promptly follow up on these concerns or escalate them when a timely response is not received.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a change of manager since the home opened. Staff speak positively about the new manager and the changes that they have brought to the home. Staff say they feel listened to and can voice concerns if they wish. They also feel that the child’s voice is now being heard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly. Important aspects of the child’s care are discussed, and staff are encouraged to reflect on how they support the child. Staff present their ideas on how to better support the child at times of difficulty.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff engage in regular supervision, which includes reflecting on how they feel and their care of the child. When staff find a particular incident challenging, this is quickly raised with the manager, who offers further supervision to provide time and opportunity for the staff member to reflect.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When external agencies fail to meet the child’s needs, more could be done to escalate concerns. There is no delegated authority in place for the child, and this presents clear issues in terms of daily decision-making and planning for emergencies. A lack of communication from social care has also meant that the child could have had earlier access to a telephone, and this would have benefitted the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals from social care and education report very positively on the quality of care provided at the home. The manager communicates effectively with external professionals, who have praised the excellent response from staff to a recent significant incident. External professionals commented on the close and trusting relationships that the child has developed with staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2818548 4

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

If the registered person considers or staff consider a placing authority’s or 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. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that where there are concerns that the local authority is not fulfilling its statutory duties, this is appropriately escalated. Additionally, when it is not known whether historic concerns have been investigated by relevant agencies due to a lack of response from social care, this should be escalated in a timely manner. 7 August 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff regularly talk to children about their risk-taking behaviour, the risks these behaviours may pose to themselves, and strategies to manage and mitigate such risks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.10)

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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: 2818548 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Mellifera Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Jerroms Business Solutions Limited, Lumaneri House, Blythe Gate, Blythe Valley Park, Shirley, Solihull B90 8AH

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Inspector

Minnette Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2818548 6 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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