Children's home run by Within Reach Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2668747 1 Registered provider: Within Reach Services 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

This home is owned by a private provider. The home is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home. Another child lived at the home until January 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2022, when this home was registered.

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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: 2668747 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/07/2024 Full Good 04/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2668747 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children living at this home were spoken to as part of the inspection. One child was away from the home on holiday and was spoken to on the phone. The other child was seen and spoken to in person.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The two children currently living in the home have begun to form positive relationships with some staff. These relationships have helped children to settle and begin to make some progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved out since the last inspection. During their time living at this home, this child made good progress in some areas. For example, they formed positive relationships with some staff and were consistently attending education. Towards the end of this child’s time at the home there were an increased number of significant incidents. Managers identified that staff were not able to safely meet this child’s needs, and the decision was made for them to move out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers have used learning from the end of this child’s time at the home to improve and strengthen practice. Planning for children’s moves into the home is robust. Managers gather information and consult in depth with professionals, and children’s views are considered throughout. One child said that having the opportunity to learn about the home and meet staff before moving in was helpful to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff work well with external professionals to support children to access appropriate education. When children are not in full-time education staff help children establish appropriate routines and take part in educational activities. Children are supported to take part in different activities outside of the home. For example, children have enjoyed trips to theme parks, museums and local parks with staff. Both children have holidays arranged over the summer, which they are pleased and excited about.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individual living spaces are highly personalised with photographs and decorations on display in line with their individual tastes and interests. Some areas of the home need repair or refreshing. The manager is aware of this, and plans are in place for redecoration to be carried out in the near future. One child’s living area is impacted by blockages to the drains near their home, causing an intermittent smell. Managers advised that work is undergoing to identify and address the source of this issue.

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

When significant safeguarding incidents take place, managers follow relevant procedures and take appropriate action to safeguard children. Managers share information efficiently and work well with external safeguarding partners to ensure children are kept safe and are supported appropriately. Inspection report for children’s home: 2668747 4 One child lived at this home for a period of nearly two years. Towards the end of their time at the home there was a significant increase in the number of serious incidents. Leaders and managers recognised they were no longer able to meet the needs of this child and keep them safe. As a result, the decision was made for the child to move out.

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

Children’s care and support plans provide clear guidance to staff on how best to support children and keep them safe. Staff generally understand these strategies well and provide children with good-quality care and support. Staff speak to children about online safety and how to keep themselves safe. There are appropriate measures in place to monitor children’s phone use depending on their individual needs.

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

When restraint is used, this is generally in appropriate circumstances and to prevent serious harm. Staff speak to children after incidents and sensitively explore with them what happened and why. Management oversight following incidents is robust, and staff are given opportunities to reflect on their own practice. When there are concerns about staff practice or responses, managers identify and address these promptly. However, for one significant incident, managers did not address practice issues in full or clearly identify learning from this event.

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

At the time of the inspection, some concerns had been raised about the impact of children’s behaviour on each other. Managers have taken swift action to address this. Managers and staff speak to children regularly about expectations of appropriate behaviour and healthy and safe relationships. Managers have arranged for additional mediation type support to be provided to both children. However, at the time of the inspection, this work had not yet been completed and the full impact of this could not therefore be considered during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is overseen by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. She has a good understanding of the individual needs of the children living at the home and of the staff team’s strengths and areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is aspirational for children and advocates strongly for them. The manager provides external professionals with effective challenge and escalates concerns appropriately. For example, as a result of challenge made by the manager, one child now has increased education hours in place. Another child is now on a waiting list for additional assessment of their support needs after a significant delay to this progressing prior to them moving to this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Appropriate monitoring systems are in place which the manager uses to track children’s progress. Children’s views about their care are sought regularly and used to inform their care and support plans. When children raise concerns, these are taken seriously and investigated. Managers take learning from complaints and children’s views and use these to improve practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2668747 5 Since the previous inspection, 14 new members of staff have started working at this home. The manager has recognised the potential for this to impact on the consistency of care given to children, and she has taken action to stabilise and upskill the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff are provided with an appropriate induction, and all staff receive appropriate training specific to the needs of the children who live here. Supervision takes place regularly and team meetings are used effectively by managers in order to share information with staff and to reinforce expectations. The manager has recently increased the frequency of team meetings to support the establishment of a clear culture and ethos in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working at this home and were positive about the support they receive from managers. Professionals and family members were positive about the care and support provided to children at this home and the quality of the communication from managers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2668747 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that any issues regarding drainage in the home and any recurring smell in children’s living space are properly and permanently addressed. 10 September 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are supported to develop understanding and empathy for each other and that poor behaviour is challenged and discussed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11)  The registered person should ensure that management oversight following significant events is consistently robust and that opportunities for learning and improving practice are identified and acted on. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Inspection report for children’s home: 2668747 7

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2668747 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Within Reach Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: c/o Hazlewoods LLP, Windsor House, Bayshill Road, Cheltenham GL50 3AT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Trevor Ridgewell

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Inspector

Janet Jauregui, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2668747 9 regulates 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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