Acre Wood Housing Limited

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Acre Wood Housing Ltd 1 Acre Wood Housing Limited Registered provider: Acre Wood Housing Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

The supported accommodation service is operated by a private provider in the West Midlands. The service can accommodate up to nine children in two shared or group- living homes that are limited for looked-after children and care leavers.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, eight individuals were being accommodated. Eight of them were looked-after children aged 16 or 17.

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provider

The provider has been registered since 24 November 2023. The service manager has been registered with Ofsted since 5 February 2025.

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Inspection dates: 8 to 11 September 2025

The inspection was announced on 8 September 2025 and started that day. The inspectors were on site on 10 and 11 September 2025.

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Outcome

Consistently strong service delivery leads to typically positive experiences and progress for children. Where improvements are needed, leaders and managers take timely and effective action. The next inspection will be in approximately three years.

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Summary of findings

Children experience tailored support and plans that are individualised to their strengths, aspirations, needs and interests.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers want the best for children and are committed to continuous improvement across the service.

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Summary of findings

The registered manager has good oversight of the service and knows the children well. They have high standards, which is reflected in the quality of the support children receive. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Acre Wood Housing Ltd 2 The quality of accommodation is exceptionally high, which means that children feel safe and secure in their environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are supported in building trusted relationships with staff, which enables their welfare to be actively promoted and their aspirations and needs to be advocated for. An independent reviewing officer described the relationship between children and staff as ‘excellent’ and said there is ‘very supportive and excellent communication’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff are child focused in their practice, and this ensures that children’s voices are listened to. Staff enable children to talk about their feelings, views and wishes. Staff are excellent advocates for children and help them to make progress. This includes supporting children with their chosen interests or future career options. A social worker said that a child they are working with ‘is happy at the home’, ‘is doing well’ and ‘can speak to staff’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff work closely with children, mindful of their starting points to tailor individualised support accordingly. One social worker said that staff ‘consistently follow up on meetings and planned tasks, ensuring that the young people remain engaged and supported in their journey toward independence’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to access education. Most of the children are involved in education, and some are following up with plans to go on to university or to pursue specific career options.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to develop practical independent living skills, such as budgeting, cleaning and cooking. From the time children move in, staff identify with each child their strengths and the areas to be progressed. This enables children to work with staff to develop their skills, which increases their self-confidence and self- sufficiency.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children have positive experiences and speak confidently about the service. Comments from children included, ‘It’s great here,’ ‘What is not to like about living here’ and ‘It is sound here’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Leaders and managers ensure that children are appropriately placed within supported accommodation and that they are making progress in line with their individual support plans. Leaders and managers appropriately challenge placing local authorities when referral information is limited or new information emerges following children moving into their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff are proactive in supporting children to develop and maintain safe, strong and healthy relationships with friends and their family networks. This endorses children’s feelings of belonging. Where this is not immediately possible, staff keep the child’s family in mind. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Acre Wood Housing Ltd 3 Children are comfortable in their homes. They experience a sense of belonging, and this builds their self-esteem. The accommodation standard and maintenance are exceptionally high quality. Children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms and are proud of their home environment. This shows children feel a sense of belonging and are proud of where they live.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

The location of the homes enables children to participate in local activities, such as going to the gym, bowling, college and faith-based services. This enables children to maintain relationships with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

The service was commended by a social worker for ‘the high quality of care and support provided’. They said, ‘Their strengths-based and empowering practice has had a positive impact on the young people’s readiness for adulthood and future transitions.’

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How well children are helped and protected

Children say that they feel safe in their home and in the community. Their home is safe and enables them to feel secure and protected. The children report that they can talk to staff about concerns they may have and feel that these are listened to and responded to.

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How well children are helped and protected

The premises provide a comfortable and nurturing setting where children can thrive. A social worker said the service ‘has provided a safe, supportive and nurturing environment, and I am pleased with the outcomes achieved for the young people placed there’.

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How well children are helped and protected

Managers and staff follow local procedures when children go missing from their home. The staff work closely with the police and social workers to safeguard children. This secures the children’s safe return and ensures that jointly agreed plans are followed to promote the safety of children.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff support children in accessing specialist support when required. This includes personal advisers, counselling and solicitors.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff proactively manage any risk, and this leads to children becoming increasingly safe. Staff complete individual risk assessments for every child. They identify any vulnerabilities and have clear written guidance on actions to be taken to reduce the harm or risk of harm.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children experience a consistent staff team. Leaders and managers have appropriate recruitment and selection systems, which prevents unsuitable staff from being employed to work with children.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers have a strong focus on the training of staff. They provide mandatory training, including safeguarding training. When a specific form of training is required, this is sourced and provided, such as on county lines. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Acre Wood Housing Ltd 4 Leaders and managers are fully familiar with procedures in responding to safeguarding concerns. Child protection issues are appropriately shared with the police and local authority as required, and records are very well maintained and updated. However, the service had not reported one notifiable incident to Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have good oversight of the premises and day-to-day running of the service. They know the children well and have a good understanding of known or emerging risks of the children. One social worker reported that they ‘provide an outstanding service to both children and professionals’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers’ strength is that they build positive relationships with children, spend time with them, encourage discussions, provide guidance and think with them about what they want to do and work towards. This makes a positive difference in the children’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The service has permanent staff, and this provides continuity of support for the children. When the need for additional staff arises, for example to cover leave or sickness absences, the registered manager ensures that the use of non-permanent staff entails a small cohort of people, who can be consistently called on for the period required’ This provides stability for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers work proactively with agencies, professionals and families to ensure that plans for children address their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff feedback is positive about support provided by the leaders and managers. Staff say that they have access to a range of training, which they value. These opportunities to enhance their learning give them the additional skills to work with children in line with their specific needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Management and staff receive regular supervision that focuses on their well-being and development and covers updates on children. However, there is currently a lack of evidence that the sessions provide opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers are effective in sharing information with professionals, actively advocating for children and positively enhancing their transition to adulthood. One social worker stated that communication is ‘amazing’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers challenge effectively and take action to resolve situations. This includes challenging placing authorities when a new placement is made and it emerges that information was not fully shared.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers carry out regular audits to monitor the quality of support provided for children and the progress children make. Children’s records are generally well presented. The journeys of the children can be seen from admission to where they are at now, and growth is evident. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Acre Wood Housing Ltd 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that Ofsted is notified of any serious incidents, in line with their safeguarding policy. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 24)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the registered service manager, receive supervision of their practice from a suitably skilled and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the young people accommodated in the setting. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 51)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Acre Wood Housing Ltd 6

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Acre Wood Housing Limited

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: zoe@acrewoodhousing.co.uk

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Inspectors

Phyllis Dyer, Social Care Inspector Helen Fee, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Acre Wood Housing Ltd 7 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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