Children's home run by Stepping Stones Care (Midlands) Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2686012 1 Registered provider: Stepping Stones Care (Midlands) Limited 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 with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection, and all were spoken to by inspectors.

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Information about this children’s home

This inspection was brought forward in order to address specific concerns or allegations received by Ofsted.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2686012 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/04/2024 Full Good 18/04/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2686012 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children were living at the home at the time of inspection. Since the last inspection, two children have moved into the home, and one child has moved out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move on from the home, staff work with them, their placing authority and their new home to support their move to be as positive as possible. Alongside this, staff provide ongoing support to children, which enables children to maintain contact with adults who have cared for them, and they help them settle into their new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been difficulties with attendance in education and training for some children. Staff have explored these issues with children and worked with different education providers and placing authorities to identify alternatives. As a result, one child has begun a job, and another child was able to sit their exams at the end of the school year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to gain life skills to support their independence in line with their age and ability. In addition to this, two children in the home have been supported to gain paid employment, and one has been supported to climb Snowdon to raise funds for a charity. The support from staff is helping children gain valuable employment experience and contribute to wider society.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have not always been supported to have consistent routines and boundaries. Undesirable behaviours, such as vaping, use of bad language and poor sleep routines, are not consistently challenged by staff. Responses from staff to these challenges need to be strengthened to ensure that children understand appropriate behaviour and routines and that they are well prepared for adult life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their family in line with agreed plans. They advocate for children’s views around family time and encourage decisions to be made in children’s best interests. This helps children to maintain relationships that are important to them and ensures they have a wider support network around them.

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

Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children. They are well trained and knowledgeable about safeguarding procedures and have a good awareness of children’s needs and vulnerabilities. This helps to ensure that staff respond to children in line with these needs and are able to keep them safe.

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

There have been some incidents of children being missing from the home. When incidents occur, staff follow protocols to locate children and report to relevant agencies in a timely manner. When children return home, staff spend time with them, offering them support and advice. Positive responses to these incidents have helped ensure children Inspection report for children’s home: 2686012 4 are located and returned home safely, as well as helped children understand the risks associated with being missing from home.

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

There have been no incidents of staff physically restraining the children. This demonstrates that staff are effective in managing children’s behaviour and are able to help children in ways that prevent incidents from escalating.

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

Incidents of self-harm are managed effectively. Staff offer first aid and know when to escalate concerns and seek additional medical support. Staff reflect on incidents with children, sensitively discussing feelings and alternative coping strategies.

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

There is a registered manager in post, who is supported by a deputy manager. They know the children well.

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

Internal monitoring is not always effective in ensuring that managers have sufficient oversight of children’s care. On some occasions, managers have not had effective oversight of staff practice, and managers’ decision-making has not always been clearly recorded. In addition, managers have not always shown a suitable level of professional curiosity in relation to some incidents and have, at times, given inconsistent messages to staff. While this has not significantly affected children’s experiences, poor oversight and a lack of consistency from managers mean that staff have not always been provided with the necessary guidance they need. This has the potential to affect staff’s ability to consistently provide good-quality care to children.

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

There is a stable and consistent team of staff. This means that children are cared for by staff who know them well. Staff enjoy working at the home and say that they feel valued and supported.

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

Staff complete a wide range of training to ensure that they have the skills and knowledge to meet children’s individual needs. This has included upskilling sessions from the clinical team, a session from the local police on managing concerns relating to substance misuse and training on how to manage allegations.

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

Staff are provided with regular supervision sessions, which are practice related and used to support staff welfare. In addition to this, there are regular team meetings. These meetings provide an opportunity for staff to come together and share information, as well as development opportunities for staff.

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

The manager has developed effective links with external professionals that promote a multi-agency response in supporting children. Professionals are positive regarding the quality of care children receive. A professional said, ‘There is always super communication; it is very effective. They are one of the best homes I have worked with.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2686012 5 The manager does not always notify the regulator when there are serious incidents. This prevents the regulator from having up-to-date and effective oversight of children’s care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2686012 6

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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

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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 the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that all management decisions are recorded, that all information is shared with staff consistently and that staff are following the policies and procedures agreed within the home. 12 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s 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 arrangements are in place to— 12 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2686012 7 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 or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(ii)(iii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should consistently support children to have routines that will assist them to prepare for adulthood, and they should also challenge any behaviours that may negatively impact on children’s future outcomes.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 12 December 2025

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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: 2686012 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stepping Stones Care (Midlands) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Camomile House, 6 Embassy Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 1TP

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Inspector

Kate Savage, Social Care Inspector Chrisoula Contoyianni, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2686012 9 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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