Children's home run by Semi-independent House Limited in Peterborough

Inspection report for children’s home: SC452107 1 SC452107 Registered provider: Semi-independent House Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left the home in February 2025. A new manager was appointed in July 2025 and has 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 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

Overall judgement at last inspection requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: good Inspection report for children’s home: SC452107 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/05/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/06/2023 Full Good 23/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC452107 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the inspection, the inspector spoke with both children living at the home. Since the last inspection, two children have moved into the home, and two children have moved out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children make good progress. The positive relationships they have developed with staff have facilitated this progress. The staff help children engage in activities they enjoy. The children speak positively about these activities. As a birthday surprise, staff arranged for one child to tour their preferred football team’s stadium.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive individualised care. Staff encourage them to express their views, wishes and feelings. The children have a say in how their bedrooms are designed and decorated. Children are encouraged to be involved in meal planning, and they sometimes help staff prepare meals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and assist children in developing age-appropriate independence skills. Children and their parents speak proudly and positively about the progress the children have made with their independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education and encourage the children to persevere with their studies. Staff work closely with external professionals to support the children’s education and advocate for them appropriately. This helps children access education with support tailored to their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work diligently to ensure that children spend meaningful time with their families. They help children maintain links with those who are important to them. Staff supported one child in connecting with family members. Staff listened to another child’s wishes and helped them re-establish links with their siblings and parents.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the children and the risks they face. They are sensitive in how they approach and support children so they can identify and understand risks. Children say they feel safe living at the home and can identify staff they would approach if they had any concerns. Professionals and parents are positive about the safeguarding practice at the home. They said they have no concerns with how the children are cared for and safeguarded.

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

Physical interventions and allegations against staff are rare. However, when they occur, they are managed effectively. Staff have completed the organisation’s core safeguarding training and understand how to escalate safeguarding concerns. Inspection report for children’s home: SC452107 4 The manager ensures that the organisation’s safe recruitment practices are consistently followed. Staff are assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures help keep children safe by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them.

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

The children know how to raise concerns and can identify trusted adults in the home. The children’s guide is child friendly and gives children a sense of what it is like living at the home. The guide also contains information to help children understand who to speak to if they are worried or if they need support outside of the home.

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

There have been some incidents of children going missing from the home. When children go missing, staff are quick to respond, and they actively work to ensure that the children return home as soon as possible. The staff work effectively in partnership with the police. However, leaders and managers do not use information provided through the return home interviews carried out by the child’s local authority when assessing risks. Information gathered is not used to put arrangements in place to prevent children from going missing. This means that opportunities may be missed to understand why children go missing and prevent incidents from occurring.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager left in February 2025. An interim manager did not apply to register with Ofsted. The home experienced a reduction in leadership and management oversight during this period. The new manager was appointed in July 2025 and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have not ensured that risk assessments and care plans provide clear and consistent information or guidance for staff to follow. For example, one child’s risk assessment and care plan guide staff to use physical intervention to de-escalate when the child is in crisis. However, the manager stated that physical intervention should not be used for this child, as this escalates incidents. Conflicting information for staff undermines a consistent approach to supporting children when they are struggling with their emotions. If staff employ the incorrect de-escalation strategy, this increases the risk of incidents escalating and children being held.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not have a clear or accurate workforce plan. The plan does not identify further training required for all staff currently working at the home. This leads to the loss of opportunities for staff development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Some staff hold the relevant level 3 qualification or are working towards it. However, there have been significant delays, and not all staff have achieved the qualification within the specified time frames. Lack of suitable professional qualifications potentially undermines staff’s confidence and ability to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff benefit from regular team meetings and annual performance appraisals. However, they have not always received one-to-one reflective supervision. This limits the opportunities to reflect on practice and formally discuss and assess staff’s development. Inspection report for children’s home: SC452107 5 Leaders and managers have reviewed the location and premises of the home. However, they have not consulted relevant external agencies. This limits the scope for assessing risks to children in the wider community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have built positive working relationships with professionals involved in the children’s lives. Feedback from a range of external agencies is good. This includes responses from social workers and parents. Inspection report for children’s home: SC452107 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 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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)(a)(b)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that information provided by independent return home interviews is considered when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child.

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Requirement Due date

Furthermore, ensure that children’s plans are kept up to date and provide staff with consistent and accurate guidance. 1 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— 1 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC452107 7 the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff achieve a relevant qualification within the specified time frame.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 1 September 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. When carrying out the review, the registered person should consult and consider the views of each relevant person. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s workforce plan is accurate and updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and is used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the Inspection report for children’s home: SC452107 8 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph

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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: SC452107 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Semi-independent House Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 51 Ploverly, Peterborough PE4 6HZ

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Inspector

Anver Rose, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC452107 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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Inspector

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