Children's Home run by Midlands Care Services in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2836386 1 Registered provider: Midlands Care Services

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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 children’s home is privately run. It provides care for up to four children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home. The inspector spent time with both children.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in May 2025. This was the home’s first inspection since it was registered. The manager is suitably qualified and experienced.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector was aware during this inspection that a serious child protection allegation was being investigated by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the allegations were considered (where appropriate) alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform the inspectors’ judgements.

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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 requires improvement to be 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 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. Inspection report for children’s home: 2836386 2 Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2836386 3

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improvement to be good

Shortfalls in how children are supported to communicate, how they are helped and protected and in consistency of staffing have affected children’s experiences at this home. Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the shortfalls and areas for development of the home and a clear plan to address them.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently understand children’s views or use visual aids to support communication. Although children’s plans refer to visual aids, staff’s responses about their use were inconsistent. Staff rely on interpreting body language and gestures, but the lack of a consistent approach means children’s wishes and feelings are not always clearly understood or acted on.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from well-planned moves into the home. Since registration, two children have moved in. Staff and managers visited the children beforehand, and children visited the home with their families and met staff. These visits helped children prepare for change and reduced anxieties. One child moved in very recently but was observed to be at ease. Both children were settled.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff recognise the importance of education. Leaders have escalated concerns about the lack of an education placement for one child. Social workers praised the manager’s commitment to meeting educational needs. While children do not currently attend formal education, staff provide educational tasks and activities to maintain routines while awaiting suitable placements. This reduces the risk of children falling behind and supports their emotional well-being.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported well to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Families described good communication with the manager and staff. Staff work collaboratively with families to overcome barriers and ensure they feel heard and informed. This strengthens children’s sense of identity and belonging.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote children’s health and well-being effectively. They support attendance at appointments and encourage healthy eating and exercise. One child has lost a significant amount of weight and is now more physically fit. Families and social workers spoke positively about the impact of living in the home, which has improved the child’s physical health and confidence.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy a range of activities tailored to their interests, including swimming, community walks and visits to a specialist adventure playground. Staff also lead activities in the home, such as messy play, and create memory books with photos of children enjoying these experiences. These activities enhance children’s enjoyment, build resilience and create positive memories. Inspection report for children’s home: 2836386 4

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improvement to be good

Staff have not always followed the home’s safeguarding policies and procedures. On one occasion, there was a delay in reporting a serious concern. Although leaders acted appropriately once aware, the delay reduced the effectiveness of safeguarding actions and could have increased risk to the child. Managers have taken learning from this incident and implemented improvements.

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improvement to be good

Staff are trained in de-escalation techniques, and physical intervention is used rarely and only as a last resort. The manager ensures that children and staff are spoken to after any incident of physical intervention. However, staff do not consistently use communication aids during these discussions, which limits children’s ability to express their views and reduces the effectiveness of post-incident reflection. In addition, staff have not always been spoken to within appropriate timescales, which delays opportunities for learning and support.

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improvement to be good

Staff complete records of incidents, and leaders evaluate these to identify learning. However, evaluations have not always highlighted unclear language in records, and there are discrepancies in some written plans. This creates a risk of misunderstanding and inconsistency in practice, although it has not yet impacted on the quality of care or children’s experiences. Managers recognise that recording and reporting is an area for development.

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improvement to be good

Medication is managed well. The manager completes regular audits, and staff receive training in administration. When an error occurred, the manager responded effectively, ensuring that learning was identified and staff received additional training. Competency assessments provide assurance that staff understand their responsibilities, which reduces the risk of medication errors and promotes children’s health.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to develop self-care skills that prepare them for adulthood. For example, staff have worked closely with a child to build tolerance for haircare routines. The manager arranged a specialist barber appointment and explored tools with the child beforehand. This has improved the child’s confidence and tolerance for personal care, and work is ongoing.

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improvement to be good

Staff benefit from guidance from a therapeutic lead who delivers workshops and reflective sessions tailored to children’s needs. These sessions help staff understand children’s experiences and provide individualised care. However, the impact has been limited by high staff turnover, with the clinician needing to repeat work for new staff. This reduces the consistency and depth of therapeutic support for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2836386 5

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good

The manager is dedicated and committed to the children, staff and developing the home. Both the manager and the responsible individual are reflective and dedicated to bringing about the necessary changes to improve the quality of care. They have a clear shared vision for the service and understand the strengths and areas for development well.

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good

Staff are unanimous in their praise of the manager and say that they feel well supported. They describe leaders as approachable and value the opportunities for reflection in supervision. This helps staff feel confident and supported in their roles, which promotes stability for children.

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good

The responsible individual has good oversight of the home. She is an active presence and knows the children and staff well. The responsible individual has been instrumental in further developing the senior leadership team with the recruitment of an additional person whose role will include quality assurance responsibilities. While this change is recent and not yet embedded, it provides assurance that shortfalls will be identified and addressed quickly.

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good

Staff benefit from a comprehensive range of training, including training tailored to children’s needs. However, high staff turnover and a lack of qualified staff have affected the continuity and consistency of care that children receive. Agency staff have been used to cover shortfalls, which has further reduced consistency. Leaders and managers have reflected on the reasons for staff leaving and taken steps to strengthen recruitment procedures. The manager is ensuring that staff are enrolled quickly on the relevant qualification, which should improve stability and quality of care over time.

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good

Safer recruitment processes are robust. The manager completes clear and considered risk assessments in relation to recruitment information. This reduces the risk of unsuitable people working with children and promotes their safety. Inspection report for children’s home: 2836386 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 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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)((iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and report any concerns without delay. 4 February

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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

promotes their welfare. 4 February Inspection report for children’s home: 2836386 7 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; and

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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)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that there are enough staff to provide consistency and continuity of care to children and that staff are suitably experienced and qualified.

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child; and

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 4 February Inspection report for children’s home: 2836386 8 In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff consistently use communication aids in line with children’s plans to support children to communicate their views, wishes and feelings.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that records of discussions clearly identify how communication aids have been used to support clear and effective communication.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 4 February Inspection report for children’s home: 2836386 9 within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff are spoken to within timescales after any incident requiring physical intervention.

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Recommendation

 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. 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: 2836386 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Midlands Care Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Office 1, Izabella House, 24-26 Regent Place, Birmingham, West Midlands B1 3NJ

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Inspector

Laura Norcop, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2836386 11 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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