Children's Home run by Insight Care Group Ltd in Sandwell

Inspection report for children’s home: 2805014 1 Registered provider: Insight Care Group Ltd

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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 was the first inspection since the home registered with Ofsted in December 2024. It is owned by a private organisation and is registered to provide care for up to two children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is qualified and has been in post since the home registered with Ofsted. There have been two responsible individuals since registration, who have both left.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no responsible individual in post.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living at the home at the time of the inspection and spoke with the inspector. One other child has moved out of 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 requires improvement to be 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: 2805014 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home offers a welcoming, child-centred environment where children are actively involved in decisions relating to the development of the home. Children’s bedrooms reflect their personal interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have developed strong, positive relationships with staff. One child said that they ‘like everything’ about the home and rated it ‘10 out of 10’. Daily praise and encouragement are recorded in children’s journals and are read aloud to children. This celebrates their achievements and boosts their self-esteem. Children’s views are regularly captured through key-work sessions and weekly catch-ups. Staff act on these views and advocate on children’s behalf, with additional support from external advocates visiting monthly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s learning is consistently promoted, and the manager works collaboratively with others to help secure suitable education placements for children. Consequently, following some time away from school, the child is now attending a specialist provision. The child is supported by staff who champion their learning through creative learning activities. Another child, who lived in the home for a short period of time, was supported to visit local education provisions after they had moved in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The social development of children is prioritised. Children are encouraged to take part in community clubs, and this has helped to improve their confidence and social skills. One child now maintains peer friendships more consistently. Staff make good use of therapeutic approaches and adapt them to meet children’s emotional needs. Examples include co-developed strategies to support a child to regulate and the use of communication cards following incidents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are understood by staff. While one child consistently attends routine health check-ups, another initially faced challenges with attendance. In response, staff implemented tailored incentive strategies to encourage and improve engagement. Emotional well-being is prioritised through collaboration with specialist services, including Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), supporting children to have further assessments and targeted support where necessary.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When a child moves into the home, the support of staff helps them to feel comfortable. However, not enough attention is always given to considering children’s compatibility before a new child comes to live at the home. On one occasion, this led to two children engaging in risk-taking behaviours and going missing from home, and one child moved on prematurely. Staff handled the situation with care, ensuring the child felt supported and not blamed. The manager has since reflected on this and strengthened procedures to ensure that assessments are more rigorous for future children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2805014 3

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

When children have made allegations, these have generally been responded to in a timely and appropriate way. However, on one occasion, there was a delay of seven days before a concern raised by a child was explored. In addition, the managers and leaders did not follow their own child protection policy and inform the local authority designated officer in a timely manner. Records do not demonstrate that outcomes have been consistently shared with children following investigations.

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

There has been an increase in missing-from-home incidents, particularly during the period when two children were residing in the home simultaneously. These incidents have, in the main, been managed effectively, with the manager demonstrating a collaborative approach to safeguard children by initiating multi-agency strategy meetings to review and respond to emerging risks. However, children do not always have the opportunity to talk to someone independent when they return to the home after being missing. This is a missed opportunity for the professional network to fully evaluate risk, patterns and learning opportunities.

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

Incidents that have needed the use of physical intervention to help keep children safe and incidents of children harming themselves are well managed to ensure that children are kept safe and medical attention is received. Children receive a nurturing response following incidents. This means children feel cared for.

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

Children are supported to understand how to keep themselves safe through child- friendly ways. The creative use of images, symbols and direct work raises the children’s awareness of safety issues and ways in which they can be safer. As a result, children feel safe living in the home.

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

Plans for managing mobile phone use and online safety for children have not reduced risk effectively, and some risk assessments lack timely updates. This results in unclear guidance for staff to follow. Additionally, external door security has not been adequately reviewed against fire safety protocols when changes have been made.

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good

The home is led by a qualified and experienced manager who demonstrates a clear commitment to supporting children and promoting staff development. Staff report feeling supported in their roles and are provided with training tailored to the needs of the children. External professionals speak positively about the home’s communication and strong advocacy for children.

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good

The manager is a reflective leader and is aware of both the home’s strengths and areas for improvement. However, the absence of oversight from the responsible individual has left the manager feeling unsupported, and gaps remain in incident monitoring and record-keeping. For example, on one occasion, leadership responses Inspection report for children’s home: 2805014 4 to a physical intervention were delayed. Records often lack clarity and sufficient detail. The director has since taken a more active role in offering support following the vacancy.

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good

Staff turnover has been high since the registration of the home. This has impacted on the children’s stability. While leaders have delivered sessions to improve recording practice by staff, the learning is not embedded in practice. Updated management monitoring systems and reflective practice have been introduced but the effectiveness is yet to be demonstrated. Inspection report for children’s home: 2805014 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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies.

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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)(a)(i)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that when children have access to mobile phones, plans are reviewed and practice amended to safeguard children effectively. When children report concerns, this should be explored without delay and reported in line with child protection policies.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the manager should ensure that day-to-day care arrangements are in place to protect children and that these are suitably assessed and reviewed regularly to prevent restrictive levels of practice. 5 October 2025

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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— 5 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2805014 6 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

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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received;

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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)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that outcomes are shared with children following allegations and there is a clear record of this with children’s views. When reviewing incidents, they must use information to improve practice. They must ensure that children’s records are clearly recorded and are accessible. Leaders and managers must use monitoring systems to review the quality of care.

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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.

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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

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home.

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when children move into the home, all information is obtained and 5 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2805014 7 assessed. They must consider and evaluate the risks and needs against other children in the home.

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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: 2805014 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Insight Care Group Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ace House, 22 Chester Road, Sutton Coldfield B73 5DA

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Inspector

Joanne Humphreys, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2805014 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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