Children's Home run by Nile living services in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: 2813095 1 Registered provider: Nile Living Services

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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 children’s home which provides care for up to three children who have emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection after registration on 10 March 2025. The registered manager is undertaking the relevant qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living at the home and was spoken to during the inspection.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2813095 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s needs were well considered before they moved into the home. They experienced a supportive transition despite moving in an emergency. Staff have established warm and trusting relationships with the child. They have a good understanding of the child’s individual needs and interests. The child receives responsive and personalised care which promotes their sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child attends school full time and is making excellent progress. This is significant in comparison to when they moved into the home. The registered manager advocated for the child to increase their school timetable. As a result, the child now has appropriate support and structure in school, to thrive. The child’s teacher said that the child’s journey has been ‘transformational’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that they meet the child’s health needs. The child recently attended the dentist for the first time in a long time. The child has shown notable growth in their confidence and self-esteem. They have begun to explore and engage in new hobbies, such as dancing and boxing. These activities provide them with positive outlets for self- expression and helping to manage their emotions in a constructive way. They also contribute to their sense of identity and personal achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child receives care from staff who reflect their cultural background and ethnicity. Staff understand the child’s cultural values well. This encourages a sense of familiarity and belonging for the child. Staff support the child’s routines and traditions, which are important to them, and this support enables the child to maintain a connection to their heritage.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support family connections when safe to do so. Family members are positive about the care their child receives. One parent said, ‘Right now, I can sleep knowing they are okay.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment provides the child with cosy and comfortable surroundings. The environment requires some attention in relation to maintenance. The registered manager took action to rectify some of this during the inspection. The child’s request to decorate their bedroom in their chosen colour remains outstanding.

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

The registered manager and staff understand their safeguarding role and responsibilities. When incidents occur, staff follow risk assessments to ensure the child’s safety. The child then has timely follow-up conversations about what happened with the registered manager. This provides the child with a safe and supportive space to reflect on their experiences. Inspection report for children’s home: 2813095 3 The manager identifies patterns and recurring themes in the child’s behaviour. This insight informs care planning and provides staff with good guidance on how best to support the child. This enables staff to understand and identify triggers to the child’s behaviour and to respond in a way which helps the child to calm down when they are upset or angry.

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

Staff support the child to understand how to keep themselves safe. The child has developed safe strategies to help them to manage their feelings. As a result, incidents of self-harm have reduced.

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

Staff support the child’s emotional well-being. They confirm their feelings through empathetic, child-centred approaches. This helps the child feel heard and understood.

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

There has been one incident during which staff physically intervened. Records lack clarity about how staff helped the child to calm before a hold was used. Records also state that staff threatened the child verbally with the use of physical intervention. This is an isolated incident.

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

The child’s risk assessment does not record any review of the measures in place to keep the child safe or how effective they are. Therefore, it is unclear if the strategies used by staff to support the child remain relevant and supportive of the child’s needs.

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

The monitoring and oversight of the home requires improvement. Monitoring systems to oversee the quality of care children receive are weak. This has potential to compromise the manager’s oversight. The responsible individual is taking action to improve the home’s monitoring systems.

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

Some staff do not receive training which supports their understanding of the child’s needs. Some training is not specific to the child’s individual needs either. Some staff training records are out of date and disorganised. Therefore, the manager cannot be certain that staff have the skills to meet the child’s needs, which could impact on the consistency of care given to the child.

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

Staff receive regular supervision, which encourages them to reflect on their practice. One member of staff has a risk management plan in place. However, it is not evident that all the actions to monitor and support them are in place, for example whether they have read and understood the home’s policies and procedures.

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

Record-keeping practice in the home varies. Some records contain inaccuracies and language which could be stigmatising. This does not support the child’s understanding of their journey living in the home.

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

The registered manager is enthusiastic and committed to the child. The members of the staff team are equally committed and are aspirational. Professionals provided unanimous Inspection report for children’s home: 2813095 4 positive feedback about the care the child receives. The child’s social worker said, ‘I know their lived experience without being there.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2813095 5

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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

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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(c)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that they develop adequate systems to oversee and consistently monitor and 10 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2813095 6 evaluate the care children receive. This includes effective systems to monitor and evaluate staff conduct and practice. Monitoring systems must also include consultation with children about their experiences living in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that all staff, including the registered manager, receives regular training to ensure they have the skills and abilities to care for children, including those children with any specialist diagnosis or need.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This registered person should ensure that information recorded about children is detailed and up to date in order to make sense of children’s experiences. They must also ensure that the language used does not stigmatise children. 10 November 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff support children to personalise and decorate their bedroom to help them feel a sense of belonging. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.19)  The registered person should ensure that children’s risk assessments are regularly reviewed and the rationale for any measure in place to keep children safe is clearly stated. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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: 2813095 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nile Living Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 19/21 Hatchett Street, Birmingham B19 3NX

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Inspector

Sarah Berry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2813095 8 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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