Panache Care Ltd Ashton Court

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Panache Care Ltd Ashton Court 1 Panache Care Ltd Ashton Court Registered provider: Panache Care Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

A private provider operates this service. The service offers accommodation for up to 12 children in seven premises, including two single occupancy premises and five properties solely for accommodating looked-after children and care leavers.

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provider

At the time of inspection, the service was supporting one 17-year-old looked-after child. The service was also supporting six adult care leavers.

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provider

The nominated individual and registered service manager both registered in May 2023. The service was registered in August 2023.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 29 September 2025 and started that day. The inspector was on site on 1 and 2 October 2025.

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Outcome

Inconsistent quality of service delivery adversely affects some children’s experiences, and this may limit their progress. Leaders and managers must make improvements. The next inspection will be within approximately 18 months.

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Summary of findings

Residents, including one child, shared positive experiences about living in their homes. They said they felt supported by the staff and knew who to contact in an emergency or with a complaint.

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Summary of findings

The service has a stable and diverse workforce. Staff are developing a specialism in working with asylum-seeking children and care leavers.

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Summary of findings

Staff support children with their education and follow procedures to help them keep safe. Staff attend regular multi-agency meetings and keep professionals informed of children’s progress. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Panache Care Ltd Ashton Court 2 Management oversight of incidents and allegations is varied. Some safeguarding incidents are not fully investigated. There is limited evaluation of feedback from children and professionals.

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Summary of findings

The accommodation seen is not homely, and bathrooms and kitchens need renovating.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children feel safe in their home and know staff are available to help with their independence skills. Children are encouraged to engage in extra-curricular activities. Going to local gyms and sports clubs helps build relationships with peers and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

There is a diverse team of staff who are skilled in supporting children’s identity, gender and culture. Staff work with unaccompanied children to support their asylum applications and social integration. Effective plans are in place to support children’s communication needs when English is not their first language.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

The consistent management and staff teams have knowledge of the children they support. This allows children to build trusting relationships with them. Staff advocate for children to receive their entitlements in preparation for their independence. Staff signpost children to specialist services which promote well-being and encourage independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff are proactive in getting support for children. They ensure children enrol in education and register with health services. This ensures children feel supported, and any unmet needs are addressed quickly. Staff engage with professionals and organisations when attendance and enrolment present challenges. Alternative education is supported when mainstream education is not possible or appropriate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are encouraged to attend house meetings to share their views, although participation at these meetings is varied. Staff’s attempts to engage children in sharing their views about the service lack creativity. This means that opportunities are missed for children to shape the future of the support offered.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Premises are centrally located and close to local amenities. The provider offers some over-18 accommodation in the same location. Children can move to these homes when they turn 18. This helps to reduce their worries about these moves as they already know the area and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Some homes need renovation and lack a homely feel. A maintenance system is in place but there have been delays in modernising bathrooms and kitchens. One garden is not private and members of the public use it as a walk through. Children have said they are unhappy with unwanted visitors to the premises. Staff have lacked professional curiosity regarding individuals seen in or around the premises and have not responded to incidents appropriately. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Panache Care Ltd Ashton Court 3

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff help children to understand the rules of the house when they arrive. Children know who to contact in emergencies or if they have a concern or complaint. Managers respond promptly to children’s complaints and queries. This helps build trust and promotes stability in the home.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers have not consistently reported safeguarding concerns to external professionals. For example, an allegation made by a child against a member of staff was not reported to the local authority designated officer or police. Furthermore, a serious incident involving a child being missing from home and at risk of exploitation was not reported to Ofsted. This prevents the regulator from having effective oversight of how managers respond to risk.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff are aware of children’s risks, including sexual and criminal exploitation. Staff say training has helped them be more aware of children’s triggers and risk factors. Managers are aware of major incidents in the service. Staff regularly attend multi- agency meetings and keep risk assessments and safety plans up to date. This helps to reduce potential risk to children.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff have meaningful and targeted conversations with children to help them understand the impact of their behaviour. They support children to reflect and learn from incidents, understand the risks of being missing from home and develop strategies to keep themselves safe. Each child has an independent development plan that is updated during these sessions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Managers have oversight of incidents and address most of them promptly. However, the quality of records is inconsistent. This can leave children uncertain about what has been done in response to incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Managers have systems in place for monitoring and improving the service. However, children and staff’s views are not included in the quality of support review reports. The absence of children’s views limits the potential effectiveness of these processes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff feel supported by managers and appreciate regular training opportunities. Staff say senior managers are approachable and offer support and guidance. Regular supervision focuses on personal development and well-being. Team meetings and case reviews support staff to better understand the needs of children they support. Staff say they feel valued. This contributes to high staff retention, providing stability for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Managers had not ensured that the assessment of the location of the premises accurately reflected the risks. This was only identified at a local authority monitoring visit. Leaders and managers have since reviewed and updated their location assessment. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Panache Care Ltd Ashton Court 4 Some recruitment records lack clarity and information required is not always clearly captured. For example, when gaps or anomalies are identified, management decisions and oversight are not always sufficiently clear.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have not ensured that Ofsted has been promptly notified when premises have ceased to be used as supported accommodation. In addition, they have not ensured that the statement of purpose has been updated to reflect changes in premises. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Panache Care Ltd Ashton Court 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection standard is that children are enabled to feel safe and that their needs are met.

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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

are familiar and act in accordance with child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of abuse, neglect, exploitation or any other harm, and act to reduce such risk;

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Requirement Due date

work collaboratively with other professionals and agencies, and share information where relevant to keep children safe. (Regulation 5 (1) (2)(f)(i)(ii)(iv)) 31 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify the CIECSS and any relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation or child criminal exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child and the registered person considers that incident to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the supported accommodation undertaking or a person working for it;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry— 31 October 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Panache Care Ltd Ashton Court 6 is instigated, or

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry);

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Requirement Due date

there is an incident involving the use of a measure of restraint of a child;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

any other individuals or organisations who or which have been notified;

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

is made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 27 (3)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)(f) (4)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain a system for monitoring and improving the quality of support provided by the supported accommodation undertaking by completing a review (“a quality of support review”) at least once every six months, which must take into account—

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Requirement Due date

the views of children, including any feedback and complaints received;

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Requirement Due date

feedback from individual children on the impact the supported accommodation has had on the child’s life, especially regarding how well prepared the child felt for transition into supported accommodation and how well prepared the child feels for transition out of supported accommodation;

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Requirement Due date

feedback from each child’s accommodating authority, staff and any relevant persons;

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Requirement Due date

any relevant research and developments in relation to the way in which the needs of children are best met. 31 December Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Panache Care Ltd Ashton Court 7 After completing a quality of support review, the registered person must produce a written report setting out the actions the registered person intends to take as a result of that quality of support review.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide a copy of the review report to the CIECSS within 28 days beginning with the day on which the report is completed, and make a copy of it available on request to each child’s accommodating authority. (Regulation 32 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d) (2) (3))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that supported accommodation homes are always homely and welcoming environments. Settings should seek as much as possible to maintain a domestic rather than institutional impression. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 29)  The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 46)  The registered person should ensure that if premises cease to be used, or are intended to no longer be used, they give notice to Ofsted in writing not more than 10 working days from when they become aware of that decision. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 64)

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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: Panache Care Ltd Ashton Court 8

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Panache Care Limited

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Daniel Neequaye

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: info@panachecareservices.co.uk

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Inspector

Chris Jay, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Panache Care Ltd Ashton Court 9 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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