Children's home run by Infinity Care Home Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2759825 1 Registered provider: Infinity Care Home 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

The home is owned and managed by a private provider.

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Information about this children’s home

It provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since January 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2759825 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/08/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2759825 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive help and support from a nurturing, committed staff team. The staff know the children well. They speak about the children with fondness and pride. Positive interactions were observed during the inspection between children and staff such as playing games and going out for lunch.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and well-being are promoted. When children’s mental health is fragile, staff seek advice and guidance for children and support them to take ownership of their health needs and encourage them to attend appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the education needs of children. The manager advocates for children to ensure that they are receiving support in line with their specific needs. When there is delay from the child’s placing local authority in relation to implementing support, as detailed in the child’s education plan, the manager escalates concerns to the relevant professionals. One child has recently been awarded the headteacher’s award for their contribution in class.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Activities such as swimming, music festivals and rock climbing, as well as gym and boxing, are encouraged. One child has recently had fish and a fish tank purchased for them. Children’s birthdays are celebrated by the whole staff team to ensure that children feel valued and included. Special occasions and anniversaries are carefully thought out by staff about, and children can remember loved ones with staff by marking the occasion sensitively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support family time in line with children’s care plans. Staff help children to maintain links with their family members. One child’s parent said, ‘The staff team communicate regularly with us, so we feel close to [child’s name] life.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop skills and learn about their community through a variety of activities, key-work sessions and significant discussions. Staff provide advice and education during these discussions and follow up on these sessions by providing children with information and revisiting topics in children’s meetings.

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

Risk assessments are clear and understood by the staff team. The manager and deputy manager have regular oversight of working documents to ensure that plans are reviewed regularly. Staff have a good understanding of the risks that children face and are strong advocates for ensuring that the voice of the child is heard.

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

Physical intervention is only used to ensure the safety of children or others. Recordings are detailed and management oversight is clear and analytical, and debriefs take place. Inspection report for children's home: 2759825 4 Medication administration and recording are thorough, and staff know the medication procedure well. This ensures that children are receiving the correct daily medication for their specific medical needs.

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

When serious incidents have occurred, such as children going missing from home, staff respond quickly to ensure the child’s safety. Reports contain a detailed chronology of the events and include how professionals and children’s family are informed.

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

Following missing-from-home incidents, children are provided with a return home interview from a professional external to the home. On one occasion, however, the regulator had not been notified of a serious incident relating to one child out in the community.

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

When children have been intoxicated, staff use professional curiosity to understand the reasons why and help the child to understand the dangers of experimenting with substances. Furthermore, the manager and the staff team liaise with and refer to specialist services to provide the child with the opportunity to access support with someone independent from the home.

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

Staff respond to children’s behaviour with a consistent approach to reinforce acceptable boundaries. When children living in the home have conflict with one another, staff are quick to intervene with verbal guidance and support to de-escalate the situation and to provide a resolution. The use of restorative practice in these situations has been effective.

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

The children live in a comfortable, welcoming home. Children’s bedrooms are clean and tidy and personalised, and communal areas are well kept. The physical environment for children is safe.

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

The location risk assessment is reviewed and updated. Staff have positive working relationships with community professionals who support children to keep safe in the local community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is supported by an experienced deputy manager. Together, they have a clear vision for maintaining standards and expectations in relation to children’s care and support. The manager undertakes regular consultation sessions with the children to gain their views and wishes in relation to the care that they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are committed to caring for children. There is a stable workforce in place whichitself on effective communication. There is a shared commitment to caring for children and one member of staff described the staff team as one that ‘genuinely cares’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective relationships with a range of professionals and family members. Professionals who are involved with children speak positively about the staff Inspection report for children's home: 2759825 5 team and managers in the home. One professional said that the manager is ‘proactive at accessing training for the team, which has impacted positively on the child’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular, robust and reflective supervision sessions completed by the manager and deputy manager. Records demonstrate that staff are actively supported and encouraged to develop their skills and knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff are safely recruited to the home. All staff are welcomed and supported with a full induction process and training programme to help them safely care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Communication across the staff team is effective. Team meetings and daily handovers take place regularly, are well attended and documents are clear and easy to read. Inspection report for children's home: 2759825 6

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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 registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 28 August 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand and can meet each child’s needs, in line with their responsibilities. Specifically, that all staff have completed relevant training such as children who are vulnerable to exploitation in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5)  The registered person should ensure that the staff rotas are clear with consideration given to having one version which details all relevant information relating to the hours worked by staff on a weekly or monthly basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3) Inspection report for children's home: 2759825 7

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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: 2759825 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Infinity Care Home Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 The Downs, Cheadle SK8 1JL

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Inspector

Michelle Greenhalgh, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2759825 9 and inspects to 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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