Children's home run by New Forest Care Limited in Southampton

Inspection report for children's home: SC402135 1 SC402135 Registered provider: New Forest Care Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a private organisation and is registered to provide care for up to four children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since December 2024.

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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: 27 November 2024

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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: SC402135 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/11/2024 Full Good 13/02/2024 Full Good 07/03/2023 Full Good 22/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC402135 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in the home. They are supported by a dedicated team of staff who offer them stability. Trusting relationships have been created because staff listen to children and act on their wishes and feelings. One child asked to change their therapist. Leaders acted on this request, which has had a significant and positive impact on the child’s emotional development and has helped the child to feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff speak proudly of the achievements of the children. One child said, ‘There is nothing I would change, I love it here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are given opportunities to take part in a wide variety of enjoyable activities, including horse riding, skateboarding and swimming. Both children have been on personalised holidays with staff. For one child, this was their first opportunity to experience a different culture and language abroad.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress academically. Both children now attend school more regularly and staff work closely with their schools to help them to overcome barriers to learning. For example, staff supported one child to access their timetable flexibly while they were adapting to a new school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time has improved for both children. Staff help children to develop skills to manage their relationships more independently. As a result, families say that the time they have with their children is more positive. Similarly, children are given support to make and sustain friendships outside of the home. This ensures that children maintain links with those people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move out of the home, staff work with the children and their families to agree changes to their plans which help them to prepare to move. One child gradually spent more time in the care of their family before moving home. This approach meant that the child’s confidence and independence improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is in the process of being renovated to improve the experiences of children. Children are involved in choosing how to decorate their personal spaces. However, there are some areas of the home where increased attention to cleanliness and maintenance is needed.

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

Staff understand their responsibilities when children go missing from the home. They work closely with other agencies such as the British Transport Police. They use their knowledge of children’s likely destinations to locate them quickly and ensure they return to the home safely. When strategies are not effective, they are reviewed. Recently, a Inspection report for children's home: SC402135 4 change in staff’s proactive approach for one child has been highly successful and has resulted in a significant reduction in incidents of them going missing.

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

Leaders take effective action in response to any emerging concerns. Referrals are made to relevant agencies to ensure that children receive specialist support when they need it.

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

Managers work closely with other safeguarding professionals. They promptly share information with partner agencies when children have made disclosures about their previous experiences. When there have been concerns about the practice of staff, action has been taken to investigate, and appropriate referrals have been made to the local authority designated officer. This means that children are kept safe and receive the support that they need.

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

Children are helped to learn about acceptable behaviour through the setting of clear boundaries and expectations. They are rewarded for their achievements in both structured and spontaneous ways that are individual to them. For example, children have received concert tickets and enjoyed meals out. As a result of this approach, no consequences have been imposed since the last inspection.

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

Staff are helping children to learn how to manage their own behaviour. As a result, there has been only one incident requiring the use of physical restraint since the last inspection. Managers have reviewed the incident, however, they have not spoken to staff or children about the use of restraint. Therefore, managers may have missed opportunities to identify further learning.

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

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement because the management oversight of the home has not identified shortfalls in the quality of children’s records and the home environment. Despite this, children continue to make good progress because of the stability and care provided by staff.

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

The leadership arrangements have been inconsistent since the last inspection. The home has not had a permanent manager since March 2025. Ofsted was not informed about a change in the person nominated to oversee the management of the home while a new manager was recruited; this limited effective regulatory oversight. A new manager has been appointed and the relevant recruitment checks are being carried out.

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

The home does not hold children’s most recent statutory care plans. Staff are unclear about some aspects of children’s placement objectives. As a result, managers are unable to ensure that staff are working towards children’s agreed goals.

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

Door sensors are used to monitor children’s movement overnight. However, children’s plans in relation to this are not regularly reviewed and do not clearly assess the need for this monitoring in relation to each child’s specific needs. Inspection report for children's home: SC402135 5 The responsible individual has recently been acting as the manager. They have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and are working to rectify shortfalls. This arrangement has provided greater stability for staff and children. Staff are positive about the current leadership and the impact that this has had on children’s experiences. They say that team morale is good.

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

Staff say that they are well supported and that their supervisions are useful to them and help them to reflect on their practice. They are fully trained to meet the needs of the children in their care. New staff say that their inductions prepared them well for their roles.

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

Feedback from families and professionals is consistently positive. One child’s parent said, ‘I can’t thank them enough for what they have done for my child.’ A social worker said, ‘The home is absolutely fantastic. [The child] is thriving and has made incredible progress.’ Inspection report for children's home: SC402135 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 promotes their welfare.

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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 home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there are effective systems in place to enable them to identify and address any shortfalls in the maintenance and cleanliness of the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that children’s most up- to-date statutory care plans are held and used to inform the care that children receive from staff. 10 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. 10 October 2025 Inspection report for children's home: SC402135 7 (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the person who is appointed to be in day-to- day charge of the home in the absence of a permanent manager proposes, or is likely, to be absent from the home for a continuous period of 28 days or more, the provider must notify Ofsted in writing. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 60, paragraph 12.5)  The registered person should ensure that any modifications to the environment of the home are made only where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. This relates to the door sensors used at night. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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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: SC402135 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Forest Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: West Shore House, West Street, Hythe, Southampton, Hampshire SO45 6AA

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Inspector

Glen Strowbridge, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC402135 9 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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