Children's Home run by The Twilight Care Group Limited in Leicester

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2726075 1 Registered provider: The Twilight Care Group Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to five children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since 31 October 2024. The current manager has applied to register. The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual, and we are currently checking that this person has the relevant capacity, experience and skills to carry out this role.

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2726075 2

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Findings from the inspection

No serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children were identified at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Since June 2025, four children have moved into the home, and three children have moved out. The provider gave notice on the children’s placements, feeling they could no longer meet their needs. One child had only been at the home for one month. At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Findings from the inspection

Children did not benefit from positive routines or clear structures for much of their time in the home. This instability was largely due to placement decisions, and staff being focused on managing risks. This limits children’s progress and contributes to poor day-to-day experiences. More recently, leaders and staff have introduced structured weekly routines, with children encouraged to contribute their views and activity preferences.

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Findings from the inspection

Children are supported to maintain family relationships, with staff engaging effectively with families and social workers. When safeguarding concerns arose with one child meeting friends, staff worked with the social worker to implement a safety plan. Social workers have shared that communication has been positive and that partnership working has been effective. The social worker for one child no longer living in the home shared that, despite the significant challenges, staff demonstrated resilience and commitment to supporting the child.

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Findings from the inspection

Two children have kept in contact with staff since moving out. One child returned to the home to say goodbye, with staff preparing a gift and card. This demonstrates the positive relationships that were formed, even during difficult circumstances.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff could not manage the level of complexity within the group of children living in the home. This led to poor risk management, high levels of safeguarding incidents and increased pressure on the workforce. Staff did not consistently provide the protective boundaries that children need, and incidents often escalated unnecessarily.

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Findings from the inspection

There has been a high number of physical interventions and restraints. While the use of restraints were justified and proportionate in most situations, one serious incident involved unsafe practice, resulting in staff being suspended and external investigations. Leaders respond appropriately to allegations and all staff have since received further training in the safe use of physical interventions.

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Findings from the inspection

Weaknesses in safety management have also placed children at risk. In separate incidents, a child removed knives from the home without staff awareness and children accessed staff car keys and drove a vehicle, requiring police involvement. These incidents highlight insufficient oversight and safety management within the home. Leaders have since strengthened safety procedures to prevent reoccurrence. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2726075 3 Leaders’ decisions about children moving into the home have not consistently prioritised children’s safety. Leaders have not fully explored or understood risks, nor did they adequately consider whether staff had the skills and capacity to meet children’s needs. In addition, when making decisions, leaders have not fully considered the impact on children already living in the home. This has led to a high number of avoidable incidents, increasing risks and vulnerability to children.

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Findings from the inspection

Although staff have completed safeguarding and behaviour management training, this has not yet translated into consistent safe practice. Leaders acknowledge that placement decisions were not made appropriately. Leaders have demonstrated an understanding of the importance of staff having the skills, training and experience that are aligned with children’s needs before accepting new placements.

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Findings from the inspection

Two requirements, regulation 44 and 27, from the previous inspection have been met. The requirements under Regulations 12 and 13 have been carried over. A further requirement from this inspection was also raised. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2726075 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/06/2025 Full Good 04/03/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/12/2024 Full Inadequate 05/03/2024 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2726075 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

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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation13 2(a)(b)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that staff have the appropriate training, experience and skills to meet the needs of children in their care, and to the manager ensuring that all staff, including agency staff, have a thorough understanding of children’s needs, risks and safety plans. This also includes managers reviewing and learning from incidents to improve practice. Managers must also ensure that staff are supported to gain the appropriate qualifications in a timely way. 30 October 2025 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2726075 6 The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(viii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly relates to managers ensuring that staff understand the health and safety policies, ensuring that personal items are stored safely and daily checks are completed. This also relates to all staff ensuring that they always follow children’s safety plans and risk assessments. This particularly refers to staff being skilled and confident in challenging and dealing with inappropriate and risky behaviour. Managers must also ensure that measures are in place to manage risks and relationships between children living in the home. 30 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— 30 October 2025 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2726075 7 receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

Managers must ensure that staff have the right skills and experience to care for children in their care. This particularly refers to recent children’s placements ending by the provision giving notice to the placing local authority. Management must ensure that, before making decisions, there is a robust understanding of children’s needs and what the impact will be on children already living in the home.

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2726075 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Twilight Care Group Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5 High View Close, Leicester LE4 9LJ

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Inspector

Tazim Akhtar, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2726075 9 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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