Children's home run by St Caspian Care

Inspection report for children’s home: 2637521 1 Registered provider: St. Caspian Care 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 is a privately owned home that provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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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 the inspection, two children were living at the home. The inspector spoke to one child.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector was aware during this inspection that serious child protection allegations were being investigated by the appropriate authorities. Actions taken by the home in response to the concerns were considered alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform the judgement.

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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: 2637521 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/08/2024 Full Good 12/12/2023 Full Good 18/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2637521 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy, and they like living in the home. Staff create a warm, nurturing environment where children feel safe, secure and valued. Children benefit from daily routines and the stability that staff provide. This helped a child who recently moved into the home to settle very quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are confident in their relationships with staff and feel comfortable talking about how they feel. Staff have meaningful conversations with children. Some conversations are planned to help children learn valuable social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A key strength of the staff team is its focus on helping children build and maintain positive social connections. Staff support and encourage children to spend quality time with their friends and family members.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make steady progress, including in their education. Most children move to the home after being out of formal education for some time. Managers work closely with other professionals to find suitable schools for children. Staff are persistent in encouraging children to engage with their tutors and in educational activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities, such as horse riding, visiting theme parks and taking part in community events. These opportunities are highly valued by children and contribute positively to their emotional well-being and development. Staff also help children to learn skills they need for adult life. One child has developed their cooking and baking skills and is better at keeping their bedroom clean and tidy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff manage the complex process of children moving on from the home sensitively, ensuring that each child’s changing needs are met. One member of staff said that they feel saddened when this happens but are happy that children leave with new skills and good memories. Some children visit often to see staff.

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

Children are safe because managers and staff have a strong commitment to safeguarding children. Clear safeguarding procedures are in place, and a culture of vigilance helps to protect children effectively.

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

When a safeguarding concern arises, staff follow the correct procedures and act promptly to share information with safeguarding partners. These include children’s social workers, who collaborate with staff to implement effective processes to keep children safe.

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

Children feel comfortable raising concerns, including about staff. Managers take all allegations against staff seriously and share information with relevant agencies. Inspection report for children’s home: 2637521 4 However, the registered manager does not always inform the local authority designated officer promptly when they consider concerns to be less serious. Despite this, there is no evidence that children were harmed because of this omission.

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

Staff are highly skilled and responsive to the individual needs of children. They manage incidents well and are trained to de-escalate difficult situations calmly and effectively.

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

Incidents of children going missing from home have reduced. Staff work diligently to help children understand the risks they may face when away from home. This support has encouraged a child to answer calls from staff while out, share their whereabouts and ask to be collected if it is too late to use public transport. These actions help children stay safe while enjoying time with their friends.

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

The home’s safeguarding procedures include robust safer recruitment practices. This ensures that all necessary checks are completed thoroughly, so only staff suitable to work with children are employed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leadership is stable, effective and child focused. This stability has a direct and positive impact on children, providing a predictable and secure environment where children can flourish.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager provides effective guidance and direction to staff, ensuring that the provider’s vision of high-quality care is met. Leaders and managers have regular meetings and proactively identify and address areas for improvement. This ensures that they act quickly to address shortfalls, so that children receive consistently good care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager regularly checks care records to ensure that these are clear and accurately reflect the care provided to children. However, staff and children’s care records do not always use language that is child friendly and respectful. For example, staff use the term ‘absconding’ when referring to children going missing from home. Managers are committed to addressing this with staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers create a culture of learning and development for all staff. Staff feel well supported in their roles and empowered to make decisions that are in the best interests of children. Staff praise the quality of training, supervision and support from leaders and managers. This equipes them with the skills and knowledge needed to provide tailored support to meet each child’s needs. One member of staff said, ‘I feel well supported, and there is synergy amongst the team.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders, managers and staff promote collaborative working with children’s social workers and other professionals. Inspection report for children’s home: 2637521 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff use language that is child friendly and respectful, including in records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the local authority designated officer is informed promptly of all allegations against staff that come to their attention. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.18)

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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: 2637521 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: St. Caspian Care Limited

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Inspector

Thobekile Bandama, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2637521 7 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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