Children's Home run by Almond Care Children’s Services Ltd in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2515380 1 Registered provider: Almond Care Children’s Services 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

The home is owned by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for one child who may require support with social and emotional difficulties and a learning disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child is living at the home, and their views were considered as part of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2515380 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/06/2025 Full Inadequate 18/03/2025 Full Good 19/12/2023 Full Good 13/09/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2515380 3

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improvement to be good

One child is living in the home. Since the last inspection, improvements have been made, and these are beginning to become embedded into care practice. The child has benefited from increased stability in staff retention. This has enabled the staff and child to spend more time together and develop improved relationships. Staff speak about the child with warmth, and they demonstrate a commitment to the child’s well-being. This has enabled the child to begin trusting staff and to disclose more personal information. The child benefits from living in a comfortable environment. However, the child’s bedroom remains untidy and unhygienic, particularly due to leftover food items not being removed. This presents a health concern. Staff are actively trying to support the child to maintain a clean room. Progress in this area remains variable. The child is not experiencing consistent routines or clearly defined behavioural

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improvement to be good

boundaries being implemented by staff. Recent events have meant the child is often staying awake late into the night and spending extended periods alone in their bedroom during the day. The child’s wishes and feelings are regularly explored through key-work sessions and everyday conversations between the child and staff. Staff encourage and support recreational engagement, including the recent purchase of passes to visit exciting new places, and there are plans to attend a concert. The child is not yet in formal education. The staff are working collaboratively with the social worker and the responsible local authority virtual school, and an application for a college place has been submitted. The child engages positively with CAMHS and receives support for her mental health needs. The child also has access to an independent advocate. This enables the child to have the additional support they need. External professionals who work alongside the staff have been complimentary about the

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improvement to be good

manager and the relationships that have been developed with the child. A social worker stated, ‘The manager is transparent, accountable, accepting and reflective. They know the child well and engage in a manner that is helpful.’

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improvement to be good

Some staff have completed online training in safeguarding and risk management. Leaders have also provided staff with supplementary face-to-face training. The training has covered a wide children’s safeguarding training. The training is aligned to the needs Inspection report for children’s home: 2515380 4 of the child living in the home. Despite training progress, not all staff have yet received key-work training.

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improvement to be good

The children have individual behaviour support plans and risk assessments, and these are now regularly revised and updated. There are systems in place to ensure that all staff have read these and understand the content of these plans and assessments to keep children safe. Behaviour support plans capture the child’s lived experiences and provide insight into behavioural triggers and patterns. They also offer tailored strategies to reduce and respond to behaviours that may be more challenging for staff to manage.

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improvement to be good

There was an incident of fire in the home. Crucial information that could have helped and supported staff to manage this risk was missing. For example, a child had an electronic hair styling tool in their bedroom. This is a fire risk if not managed properly. The manager acknowledged that this item should have been safely stored after use.

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improvement to be good

When staff, at times, hold children to keep children safe, this is not always clearly or explicitly recorded. While some information is embedded in the child’s relevant plans, it does not clearly outline safe practice in relation to holding children. The child is increasingly settled, with only two incidents since the last review. Both were well- managed with staff oversight and reflective debriefs taking place.

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improvement to be good

The child knows how to make a complaint if they are dissatisfied with any aspect of their care. Managers respond to complaints appropriately and undertake full investigations and debriefs for both staff and the child. The child receives the outcome of their complaint in a manner they can understand. This helps the child to feel listened to and that their concerns are taken seriously.

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improvement to be good

Staff complete daily recording, and this has improved. The staff also undertake key-work sessions with the child, which are child-centred and focused on helping the child understand and manage their risks and vulnerability.

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

The registered manager is planning to leave the home and is currently in her notice period. Leaders are actively recruiting to the post of manager because they understand the importance of this role for children’s stability. The leadership and management of the service has been strengthened with the appointment of an operations manager. This bolsters the leader’s ability to provide additional layers of quality assurance.

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

Leaders are aware of the home’s strengths and areas for development. To help improve this area, managers undertake weekly audits to ensure consistent monitoring and action planning. Staff speak positively about the changes to the home and now feel they have more development opportunities. However, these changes are recent, and their impact is not yet fully embedded.

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

Leaders have taken a proactive approach to improve practice through supporting staff with development and learning to improve their knowledge and skills. For example, a Inspection report for children’s home: 2515380 5 mental health nurse was recruited to complete targeted work with staff specifically relating to the child’s needs. This intervention has helped staff to consider how to support the child based on their past experiences, and staff are now better informed. The managers and leaders have identified some developmental child-specific workshops. However, dates for these are still pending.

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

The recruitment of staff continues with two new team leaders being appointed. This increases the support available to staff. Staff say they feel happy and supported. However, with the manager’s pending resignation, the team will encounter further changes.

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

Staff are supported through regular individual supervision and team meetings. These meetings discuss the child and staff needs. The minutes from team meetings lack detail on attendance and staff views. Safeguarding practices are becoming embedded through training, staff supervision and team meetings. This continued learning helps staff to understand their roles and safeguarding responsibilities.

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

There have been some good developments for the child. The child is benefiting from a more stable and caring environment, risk management processes are improving, and leaders are more aware of weaknesses. However, gaps in training, inconsistency in daily routines and boundaries, unaddressed fire safety risks, and pending leadership changes mean these improvements are not fully embedded and further improvement is required for the home to be good. Inspection report for children’s home: 2515380 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(b) (2)(a)(i)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff have the training and skills to provide children with consistent routines and boundaries. This also relates to staff providing children with clear guidance and modelling acceptable behaviour. 2 September 2025

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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) Inspection report for children’s home: 2515380 7 Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2515380 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Almond Care Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Almond Care Ltd, 4 Barling Way, Nuneaton CV10 7RH

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Inspector

Tazim Akhtar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2515380 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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Inspector

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