Children's Home run by Island Choices Ltd in Isle of Wight

Inspection report for children's home: SC399866 1 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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SC399866 Registered provider: Island Choices Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to four children. Four children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. All places are commissioned by one local authority.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2009.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

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 to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC399866 2 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/03/2025 Full Good 14/11/2023 Full Good 23/03/2023 Full Good 04/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC399866 3 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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improvement to be good

This home has been judged requires improvement to be good, mainly due to shortfalls in leadership and management and safeguarding practice.

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improvement to be good

The living conditions for children are not suitable. Their bedrooms are dirty and dusty. There are cobwebs in the hallway of the home. In one child’s bedroom, there is an old broken television on the floor. In and around the garden, there is old, broken furniture, which has been waiting for some weeks for disposal. These issues have resulted in an unhygienic environment that is not conducive to promoting children’s well-being.

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improvement to be good

Trailing extension leads in children’s bedrooms present a fire hazard. These leads and other loose cables can be found in the bedrooms and throughout the home. Their use does not comply with the home’s fire risk assessment.

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improvement to be good

When children make complaints, action is taken to address them. However, the outcomes are not shared with the children or their social workers. As a result, children are not reassured that their concerns have been acted on or that their voices are heard.

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improvement to be good

Most children are progressing well in education. Two passed their GCSE exams and are now attending college successfully. One child, though not in full-time education, is engaging with an alternative provision and is increasing their attendance. However, one child is not in education or employment, although staff continue to encourage them to pursue opportunities.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to take part in activities that they enjoy, such as dancing, go- karting, theme parks, swimming and fishing. These activities help them to have fun, build confidence and feel more settled.

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improvement to be good

Children are generally in good health. They are well supported by staff to attend all necessary health appointments. Staff show a commitment to meeting each child’s individual health needs and work alongside external professionals.

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improvement to be good

Children’s family time is valued and encouraged by staff. Children are supported to maintain safe contact with family members and friends whenever possible. Staff work with families to ensure that these connections are nurtured. When there are concerns, staff work collaboratively with parents and relevant professionals.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding practice in the home is inconsistent. Children are not always supported to keep themselves safe because the living environment is not consistently clean or safe. In Inspection report for children's home: SC399866 4 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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improvement to be good

addition, this means that they are not being fully helped to develop essential life skills, leaving them less prepared for adulthood and increasing the risks to their well-being and independence.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding concerns are not consistently reported to Ofsted. This undermines the regulator’s role in monitoring safeguarding incidents and concerns to ensure that appropriate steps are being taken to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff apply consequences inconsistently and, when used, they are not always fair or proportionate. The consequences are not linked to children’s behaviour, so they do not help children to understand the impact of their actions. As a result, there are missed opportunities for children to learn from their behaviour in a constructive way.

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improvement to be good

Managers do not consistently carry out safer recruitment checks. For one staff member, their Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) status was not verified as up to date, and they had continued to work. This weakens safeguarding practice and increases the risk of children being cared for by staff whose suitability has not been fully assured.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children when they go missing from home and in crisis. They maintain regular contact with children when away from the home. They make efforts to look for them and communicate with the relevant professionals and family members. Following incidents, children are offered emotional support and can therefore reflect on their behaviour. However, some of the language used by staff to describe children’s behaviour is not supportive to children.

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improvement to be good

Staff use calm approaches to manage children's behaviour. They have regular and helpful discussions with children that are in line with their needs and tailored to reinforce boundaries. As a result, this has helped to improve some behaviours for one child.

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improvement to be good

Internet use within the home is managed through safe search settings and website restrictions. Access is further controlled by turning off the internet for all children at night, to support healthy boundaries and online safety.

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

While there is a registered manager for the home, the home is currently being led by an acting manager. Plans are in place for the registered manager to take on the position of responsible individual and the acting manager to become the permanent manager and register with Ofsted.

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

Concerns regarding staff practice are not being addressed promptly, which undermines effective management oversight. During the inspection, it was noted that a staff member had not followed the manager’s direction to support a child in cleaning their room. This was not the first occasion where they had disregarded directions from the manager. As a result, children do not consistently receive the guidance and support they need and lines of authority are not made clear. Inspection report for children's home: SC399866 5 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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

Management oversight of incidents and sessions completed with children is not effective in driving improvements in staff practice. The oversight does not provide clear direction and fails to consistently provide staff with actionable next steps. Debriefs with staff do not encourage reflection or learning, limiting opportunities to strengthen practice.

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

Some key records for children and staff were not available during the inspection, including one child’s plans and staff supervision notes. Although supervision was said to take place regularly, records are not always completed. The absence of accurate and up- to-date records means that children’s needs may not be fully understood or consistently met, and staff may not receive the guidance that they need. As a result, children are at risk of inconsistent care and support.

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

Staff feel supported by managers and each other. They describe managers as inspirational and helpful. One staff member said, 'Both managers are fantastic managers and super supportive.’

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

Managers know the children well. They spend time with the children and, as a result, are able to make decisions aligned to their needs.

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

Feedback from professionals is positive. They say that the children are making progress and that they are well supported by staff. Professionals describe communication as good, and note that they have regular contact from staff. Inspection report for children's home: SC399866 6 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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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 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

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;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children live in a clean and safe environment and that they are enabled to keep themselves safe. 1 December 2025

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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— 23 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC399866 7 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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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)(b) (2)(a)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the systems in place are effective to best support children;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that management oversight is effective in improving practice and providing clear direction and next steps for staff; and

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Requirement Due date

the registered manager should ensure that supervision records and all children's records are up to date.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and has been restated.

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children's home. (Regulation 25 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that they continue to follow and maintain fire advice in line with the fire risk assessment. 1 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety; 2 January 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC399866 8 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that all staff have up-to-date DBS checks.

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Requirement Due date

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child.

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Requirement Due date

The following measures may not be used to discipline any child—

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Requirement Due date

any restriction, other than one imposed by a court or in accordance with regulation 22 (contact and access to communications), on—

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Requirement Due date

a child's contact with parents, relatives or friends. (Regulation 19 (1) (2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that consequences are fair, proportionate and implemented in line with the child’s behaviour, to support children to address behaviours of concern.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and has been restated. 1 December 2025

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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

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 1 December 2025 Inspection report for children's home: SC399866 9 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that for children's homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. In particular, they should ensure that the outside spaces are free from hazards and that furniture is replaced in a timely manner if broken or destroyed. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home's policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC399866 10 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: East Quay, Kite Hill, Wootton Bridge, Ryde PO33 4LA

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: William Stanbridge

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Inspectors

Chido Mangava, Social Care inspector Maria Calway-Kennedy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC399866 11 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Inspectors

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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