Children's home run by Wrottesley Care Limited

Inspection report children's home: 1280623 1 Registered provider: Wrottesley Care Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home. The home is registered to provide care for up to three children with complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a suitably experienced manager in post. The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2024. She is working towards the diploma level 5 qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home. They were present during the inspection; two children spoke to the inspectors.

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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

Date of last inspection: 14 January 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 1280623 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2025 Full Good 01/10/2024 Full Inadequate 20/03/2024 Full Good 13/12/2022 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 1280623 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is beautifully decorated, providing children with a homely environment that they deserve. Pictures of children are on show in each room capturing the positive experiences and happy moments they have had whilst living here. Children’s belongings fill the home, books and games are easily accessible and soft furnishings help to create a nurturing environment. Children personalise their bedrooms and this allows them to take a sense of pride in their home and promotes their well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff place a strong emphasis on education as they understand the positive impact it has on children’s lives. All children are making good progress with their education. For example, one child who had missed almost two years’ worth of education is now achieving 100% attendance. Care and education staff work closely together, forming an effective team around the children. One education professional told the inspector, ‘From the first day, communication between home and school has been excellent. The home is extremely proactive in contacting the academy if they have any concerns or have noticed any changes in the presentation of the young person. The staff are able to keep our young person safe, and we have had no safeguarding concerns. The young person who joined us had been out of education for a long period of time and has made excellent progress in attending school and working on the gaps in his understanding. The home

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

knows our young person very well and has a holistic approach. The staff at the home attend all meetings and provide a safe and nurturing environment for them’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that staff are skilled and equipped to meet all children’s needs. This enables the staff to prepare and support children well, so that their moves into the home are smooth and successful. Staff support children moving into this home well. Plans for moves into the home are developed in line with children’s needs, and children's views are heavily considered during this. Children visit before they move in and the children already living in the home are prepared by staff and take part in settling the children in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to maintain regular contact with their families when this is safe and appropriate. They provide practical and emotional support to maintain and develop these relationships. This means that children are not isolated from those who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of children’s health needs, and the health needs of children are well managed. All health appointments are up to date and children are able to access specialist services when required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff place great emphasis on children making memories and having shared experiences that they can cherish and keep forever. Children have fun and experience a variety of different activities that they have never experienced before. Staff are constantly thinking of new ideas to enhance children’s lives as well as listening to what Inspection report children's home: 1280623 4 children would like to do. For example, all children went on their first ever holiday abroad to Spain and one child has been to their first football match to watch Aston Villa.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Internal care planning processes are structured and well recorded. Staff complete internal placement plans to a high standard. These plans detail clear targets and enable staff to track children’s progress and achievements. Children’s internal care plans detail longer-term aims and mirror statutory care plans. This promotes good-quality and consistent care.

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

Managers and staff are clear about their responsibilities to protect children. Staff understand the homes child protection policy and know how to report a safeguarding concern. The manager has an effective system in place for recording, reporting and monitoring safeguarding concerns. Liaison with professionals is effective. The manager liaises appropriately with the designated officer, sharing with them all incidents involving concerns about staff practice or allegations. This ensures that there is independent oversight to keep children safe. Safeguarding records are comprehensive. They detail the outcome of any concern as well as further actions staff need to be aware of.

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

Staff physically intervene when children become unsettled and show behaviours which place themselves or others at risk of harm. Staff understand the reasons behind behaviour and provide good support to children afterwards. This helps children to move on from the incident. The manager provides close scrutiny of all incidents and measures of control to ensure that their use is fair and proportionate. Good management oversight and prompt action to address issues means that children are treated fairly and stay safe.

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

The manager and staff demonstrate a great understanding of the vulnerabilities and potential risks posed to children. There is clear guidance with strategies to follow in the children’s written risk assessments. This helps ensure that the children are protected from harm.

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

Emphasis is given to helping children to express their thoughts and feelings about their care. Children actively participate in decisions about their care and have their say. With staff support, children contribute to writing their crisis and behaviour management plans. Children have shared their known triggers, behaviours and how they would like to be supported. Staff have actively listened to children, and this has supported them to understand the children and respond appropriately. This has strengthened the relationships between children and staff. As a result, incidents in the home are rare.

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

When children go missing from care, staff follow guidance in children’s plans effectively. Searches conducted by staff and persistent attempts to make contact show children they are cared about. Proactive collaboration with parents, local authorities and police supports children to return home safely. Missing-from-care incident records are clear, enabling thorough monitoring of these events by the manager. Inspection report children's home: 1280623 5 Consequences given to children are not always restorative in nature or in line with the home’s ethos. Recording of these require improvement as they are not in line with regulation. This makes it difficult to determine if these are appropriate and proportionate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate about the service and advocating for children's views. She is suitably experienced and child-centred in her practice. She is aware of the home’s strengths and areas for development and is motivated to continue to make developments to the care and support provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal monitoring systems for the home are well established. This comprehensive oversight makes sure that all aspects of care and the running of the home are maintained to a good standard. This better assists the manager to identify concerns and make prompt changes to maintain and improve good standards of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records are well organised and kept up to date. Staff are clear about the specific care, support strategies and goals for the children. This ensures that the children’s progress is methodically and closely observed, in conjunction with their individual and specific care and support plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision, which addresses the children’s care and any practice or performance concerns. Team meeting discussions are reflective and provide a comprehensive overview of the progress made by the children. This allows all staff an opportunity to discuss the children’s progress, generate ideas and have a consistent approach to the care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has succeeded in building a staff team with the knowledge and experience to provide consistent and stable care of a high standard for the children. Staff speak positively about working at the home. The manager is well regarded, and she is nurturing towards the team. This means that staff work in an environment where they feel well supported. One staff member said ‘The management are very passionate about the work we do. They keep us on track and motivate us to do the best job we can’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working is a key strength of the home and supports the positive outcomes experienced by children. Staff work in conjunction with children, social workers and a range of education and health agencies to plan and support children’s current and future placements. One social worker said ‘It is a blessing to have Sarah as the manager – she is responsive and proactive. She and the whole staff team consistently advocate for the children’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Not all staff have received an annual appraisal in line with the company policy. Without this it makes it difficult for the manager to assess whether staff are making progress and understand their roles and responsibilities in providing care to children. Inspection report children's home: 1280623 6 The staff undertake an array of training courses to support them in their roles. However, training has not been delivered around children's specific needs and diagnosis', such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and asthma. This means some staff do not have the skills to understand and manage children’s needs. Inspection report children's home: 1280623 7

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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, 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 promotes their welfare.

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that training is delivered to the team specific to the children's needs. 04 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all staff receive an annual appraisal in line with the company policy. 04 January 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community and ensure that records are in line with regulation 35. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’ page 46, paragraph 9.38) Inspection report children's home: 1280623 8

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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 children's home: 1280623 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Wrottesley Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Office 28, 28 Cleveland Street, Wolverhampton WV1 3HT

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Inspectors

Marianne Grandfield, Social Care Inspector Helen Dickens, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1280623 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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