Children's home run by Island Choices Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2748592 1 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Registered provider: Island Choices Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2023.

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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: 2748592 2 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/01/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2748592 3 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child lives in a cosy, welcoming home. Their bedroom is decorated in line with their preferences, and they have their personal photos on display. This helps them feel proud of who they are and gives them a strong sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is making progress. They attend school regularly and have good attendance. They have grown in maturity and confidence and are becoming more independent. The child received an award from the local authority for ‘growth and maturity’. The child’s social worker attributed this to the support the child receives from staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is healthy. They have healthy routines and a healthy diet. Staff encourage the child to attend routine health appointments to ensure that their health needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen carefully to children. This creates an environment where they feel safe to express their feelings and know they will be heard. Regular child-led meetings provide opportunities for children to share their views about the home and suggest changes. Staff follow up on these discussions and provide feedback through a ‘you said, we did’ approach, ensuring that children see the impact of their voices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is regularly praised and supported through a clear reward system that encourages positive behaviour. The goals are tailored to the child’s needs and care plan. For example, they received a book for a positive first week at school, which boosted their confidence and encouraged them to keep trying.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child receives calm and consistent support through staff kindness and clear strategies. This helps them manage difficult and overwhelming moments. The child engages in meaningful activities they enjoy, such as swimming, painting and meal preparation. This helps the child to feel involved and settled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who move on from the home are assisted in doing so in a planned way. There is communication with the child and relevant professionals during the process, and staff maintain contact with the child following the move.

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

Staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities. They recognise the value of multi- agency support for ensuring that children are safe. Safeguarding concerns are recorded and reported appropriately to social workers. However, the process for recording treatment and support offered following incidents lacks clarity, making it difficult to ensure that any necessary follow-up actions are carried out.

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

Consequences given to children to encourage positive behaviours are recorded. The registered manager does not yet have a system in place to monitor how effective these Inspection report for children’s home: 2748592 4 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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

consequences are. At the time of the inspection, a monitoring system was being developed but had not been put into practice. As a result, it is difficult to assess whether the consequences help children learn from their behaviours or make positive changes.

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

The child has positive relationships with staff. Staff are attuned to the child’s needs, so the child can seek support freely from trusted adults. Staff greet the child with warmth and smiles when they return from school. There is an interest from staff to know how the child’s day has been. This helps the child feel secure in the knowledge that they are wanted and loved in the home.

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

Staff demonstrate awareness of the child’s needs. They anticipate difficulties and proactively prepare them for changes in the household, such as preparing them for another child moving into the home after a lengthy period alone. This fosters a supportive environment that encourages emotional regulation and independence.

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

Staff receive regular training in line with children’s needs. The organisation’s managers review staff training needs weekly, and the home’s manager discusses training with staff during monthly meetings. Therefore, children receive care and support from staff with suitable skills to best support them.

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

The home follows safer recruitment procedures to ensure that suitable staff are employed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has led the home since it opened, building strong relationships with staff and the child. The manager spends time with the child by taking them to school, collecting them, and participating in different activities with them. This helps them understand their needs and make informed decisions about their care. After a difficult period of managing children’s behaviours, the manager paused new admissions to focus fully on the child’s recovery and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the registered manager and say that the working environment is positive. One staff member said, ‘We are like a family.’ Staff described the registered manager as ‘approachable’ and said that they care about their well-being. This contributes to a stable and nurturing environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision and can seek support from the manager outside of formal supervision. However, the supervision records lack continuity, as previous actions are not consistently recorded to ensure accountability and support professional growth.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager maintains regular oversight of incidents. However, this is not always effective in promoting staff development. For example, a delay in identifying and addressing a practice concern hindered timely learning and improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager works well with key professionals to best support children. Feedback from an external professional is positive. They commend the manager’s ability Inspection report for children’s home: 2748592 5 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

to work with them in the child’s best interests and describe their communication as ‘brilliant’. They attribute the child’s progress to the support from staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2748592 6 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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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 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

In particular the registered manager should ensure that following incidents where children have been injured staff clearly record support offered. 11 December 2025

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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

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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (f)(g))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that areas of development regarding staff practice are highlighted and addressed as they arise. They must also ensure that they have a monitoring system in place to record any consequences implemented. 11 December 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that actions from supervision sessions are recorded and followed up to ensure accountability and support professional growth. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4) Inspection report for children’s home: 2748592 7 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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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: 2748592 8 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: East Quay, Kite Hill, Wootton Bridge, Ryde PO33 4LA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: William Stanbridge

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Inspector

Chido Mangava, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2748592 9 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Inspector

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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