Children's Home run by Forte Care Ltd in Birmingham

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2652817 1 Registered provider: Forte Care Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns this children’s home. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s manager is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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Inspection date: 21 October 2025

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: 2652817 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

At the time of this inspection, there was one child living in the home. The inspector spoke to the child, who said that they felt safe and liked the staff. They went on to describe their experiences in the home as being ‘105 out of 10’ and said that one staff member was ‘the best person ever’.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff take appropriate action when the child goes missing to ensure their safe return. They follow missing-from-home protocols in searching for the child and ensure that appropriate agencies are informed. Staff have a good understanding as to where the child might go. This has enabled staff to put in place plans and additional support to help reduce the risk of further incidents.

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Findings from the inspection

Since the last inspection, there has been a high turnover of staff, which has been unsettling for the child. However, the manager has worked hard to ensure that permanent staff work with familiar agency staff to provide some consistency for the child. Recruitment is also under way to secure more permanent staff for the home. These arrangements help to provide some stability and consistency for the child.

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Findings from the inspection

The child’s concerns are investigated and reflected on by leaders to support learning and improvement. External professionals are notified and updated when incidents occur. However, some internal investigations do not always include discussions with agency staff involved. Also, the quality of the investigations has the potential to be compromised due to a conflict of interest between the manager and responsible individual. To reduce this risk, a new responsible individual has been employed, who will provide oversight and support to the manager.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff support the child to have fun and engage in regular activities. The child enjoys role play games and staff work hard to promote the child’s interests effectively. However, the safety aspects of allowing the child to play in the home’s car are not always fully considered or assessed well. This has the potential to compromise the safety of both the staff and the child.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff do not aways take the time to help the child understand the dangers of the child’s actions. For example, the child has found vapes outside the home which they then use. There is limited work in place to help them understand the dangers and no clear plans to find alternative safer options to distract them from this. This is a lost opportunity to support the child to make better choices in relation to their health and well-being.

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Findings from the inspection

The child’s bedroom lacks appropriate storage. While the home is pleasant overall, the child has nowhere to hang their clothes, which were piled untidily in their wardrobe. This does not support the child to take pride in their belongings and feel well cared for. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2652817 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/08/2025 Full Good 27/08/2024 Full Good 02/08/2023 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2652817 4

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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

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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they have clear management oversight of incidents and the experiences of the child living in the home to support improvements in the quality of care provided.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 30 November Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2652817 5 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

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

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that effective plans are in place to help the child to understand the risks associated with vaping and take action to help reduce those risks. 30 November

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that the child has appropriate storage for their clothes. 30 November Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2652817 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 213 Station Road, Stechford, Birmingham B33 8BB

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Inspector

Louise Naylor, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2652817 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2652817 8

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