Children's Home run by Active Ark Limited in Cumberland

Inspection report for children’s home: 2506856 1 Registered provider: Active Ark Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It offers care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted on 22 January 2019.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement

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requires improvement

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement

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requires improvement

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted

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requires improvement

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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requires improvement

Enforcement action since last inspection: The home was judged to be inadequate at the last inspection. Two compliance notices under regulation 12 (the protection of children standard) and regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard) were issued. A monitoring visit was carried out on 8 September 2025 and the notices were restated as they had not been met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2506856 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/07/2025 Full Inadequate 06/11/2024 Full Good 25/09/2023 Full Good 13/12/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2506856 3

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improvement to be good

The lack of effective leadership and management continues to affect staff’s ability to ensure that children are safeguarded and reach their full potential.

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improvement to be good

Two of the children who lived at the home at the time of the first full inspection have now moved on to semi-independent living.

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improvement to be good

The child who lives at the home continues to make progress from their starting point. A consistent team of nurturing staff continue to support the child.

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improvement to be good

Staff see education as important and ensure that the child regularly attends school. The end-of-term school report indicates that the child is making progress in education.

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improvement to be good

The child’s care plan still lacks all known up-to-date information. The care plan tells the story of the child’s day-to-day life but is not effective in ensuring that staff have clear guidance to support the child. Records continue to be inaccurate.

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improvement to be good

Staff regularly consult the child about activities, food choices, and other issues, such as personalising their bedroom. This ensures that the child feels listened to and promotes a sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage and support the child to maintain connections with their family and those who are important to them.

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improvement to be good

Feedback from professionals involved in the child’s life is positive.

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improvement to be good

The child says he feels safe at the home and has support from staff he trusts.

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improvement to be good

The manager reviews risk assessments. However, strategies to help staff minimise risk and safeguard children continue to be generic. Risk assessments and care plans do not consistently reflect incidents and concerns. This leaves the child at potential risk.

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improvement to be good

Recording of incidents and daily records has improved, but the language used does not always differentiate between an event and an incident of concern. This could lead to confusion, and opportunities to safeguard the child could be missed.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of children going missing from home are rare. Staff are aware of the protocols to follow to return the child quickly and safely should this occur. Inspection report for children’s home: 2506856 4

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good

The manager was only on site for a brief period during this inspection. The responsible individual led the inspection.

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good

The manager has taken steps to meet the compliance notices, but those relating to care plans and risk assessments have not been fully addressed. Despite amending processes and introducing new formats, the effectiveness of these changes remains unclear.

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good

The manager’s supervision arrangements have not been addressed since the last full inspection. As a result, opportunities are missed to support and challenge the manager.

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good

The manager has introduced new processes to monitor records and practice, including for staff supervision. However, there continues to be little evaluation of what the information means, and therefore staff development is hindered.

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good

The workforce development plan has been updated; however, it does not contain all the elements identified in the standard. All essential training is up to date. However, additional training identified by the manager when reviewing the compliance notices has not yet taken place. Inspection report for children’s home: 2506856 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

helps children aspire 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

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

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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f)(h)) 30 November

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Requirement Due date

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; 30 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2506856 6 have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii))

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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 each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c)) 30 November

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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

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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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)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the registered manager is appropriately supervised and appraised. 30 November

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff record information clearly in files and reports. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that the workforce development plan contains all elements identified in the standard. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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 for children’s home: 2506856 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit E, Baron Way, Kingmoor Business Park, Carlisle CA6 4SJ

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Inspector

Susan Atkinson Millmoor, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2506856 8 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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