Arch Homes and Support Ltd

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Arch Homes and Support Ltd 1 Arch Homes and Support Ltd Registered provider: Arch Homes and Support Ltd

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

provider

This supported accommodation service can accommodate up to 34 children in total. This includes one self-contained premise for the sole purpose of individual children and 10 shared or group-living premises that are not limited to accommodating looked-after children and care leavers.

p.1

provider

At the time of the inspection, 19 looked-after children aged 16 and 17 were being accommodated.

p.1

provider

The service manager and nominated individual is the same person and has been registered with Ofsted since 19 April 2024.

p.1

Inspection dates:

The inspection was announced on 27 October 2025 and started that day. The inspectors were on site on 29 and 30 October 2025.

p.1

Outcome

Serious or widespread weaknesses lead to significant concerns about the experiences and progress of children. Leaders and managers must take urgent action to address failings. The next inspection will be within approximately six months.

p.1

Summary of findings

Leaders and managers do not consistently operate this service in accordance with their statement of purpose. They admit children that require higher levels of care and supervision over a sustained period.

p.1

Summary of findings

Leaders and managers do not monitor the service effectively to ensure that staff are providing good-quality support to all children. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Arch Homes and Support Ltd 2 Children’s experiences and progress within the setting are inconsistent. While some children speak positively about their time in placement, others express dissatisfaction.

p.1

Summary of findings

Some children are not in education, training, or employment, which limits their opportunities for personal growth and future independence.

p.2

Summary of findings

The accommodation is not consistently well maintained, which can affect children’s sense of stability and self-worth. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Arch Homes and Support Ltd 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff provide high levels of support for some children. For example, several children receive support during the day and night. This is inconsistent with the intended purpose of supported accommodation. Children are not ready to develop independence skills necessary for adulthood. As a result, not all children make progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children

Leaders and managers do not ensure that all children’s support plans address their needs. Their content is generic and not specific to the individual child. The plans lack details of what actions to take, who is responsible and by when to complete actions. This can lead to inconsistent support.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff encourage children to engage in education, training, or employment. Staff support children to join college courses and online learning. This includes subjects like animal care, mathematics and English. However, not all children are in education, training, or employment. Some children said that they felt lonely, unhappy and did not have much to do.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to learn independent living skills. This includes cooking, cleaning and doing the laundry. However, there is not a structured approach to this support. Staff do not always help children to take age-appropriate risks. Staff lock away sharp knives and cleaning products and children must ask if they can use them. This limits children’s ability to prepare for living on their own.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff help children to register with health services such as doctors and dentists. Staff support children to attend their appointments if required. This means that children access the health services they need.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to engage in faith-based activities if they wish. Children know who to talk to if they have concerns and access support. Some children have said they are happy where they live. They also think the support from staff is good.

p.3

How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers do not ensure that children’s risk assessments are succinct and up to date. Important details get lost in too much information. This means that staff do not have clear strategies of how to support children.

p.3

How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers sometimes take a restrictive approach to managing children’s behaviour. Staff use consequences that do not promote children’s independent living skills, such as restricting their access to the community .

p.3

How well children are helped and protected

Staff do not always use effective de-escalation techniques specific to each child. At times, they take actions that increase children’s risks. For example, members of staff have taken a phone off a child in a forcible way. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Arch Homes and Support Ltd 4 Staff do not always follow the agreed protocols when children go missing from home. Staff do not consistently take action when they are unable to locate or contact a child who has not returned home as expected. For example, staff did not contact the police for one child until the next morning. This places children at increased risk of harm. Furthermore, staff do not challenge children’s placing authority when they do not offer children an independent return home interview. This is a missed opportunity to help children to reduce missing-from-home incidents.

p.3

How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers act on allegations made against staff. They work with the local authority to protect children. However, they do not record these actions on the member of staff’s file. This weakens accountability and limits managers’ oversight.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers do not always consider children’s needs before accepting referrals. Some children have complex needs and are not ready for semi- independent living. As a result, staff provide high levels of supervision and care that does not always meet children’s needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers do not always report serious incidents to Ofsted. These include allegations against staff, police involvement and child protection enquiries. This limits the oversight of the regulator. Without clear reporting, there is no assurance that children are being kept safe.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers do not always make sure that children live in accommodation that is safe and homely. In two homes, walls and cupboard doors remain damaged. In another, a locked gate is used as a fire exit. A child raised a concern about a member of staff climbing through their bedroom window. This results in a lack of comfort, safety and security for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers complete quality of support reviews. They miss opportunities to gather feedback from children, staff or other stakeholders. They do not identify areas for development and strengths for the service. This makes it harder for leaders and managers to improve the service in a meaningful way.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers follow safer recruitment processes when recruiting staff. They recently expanded their staff team. However, the workforce plan lacks details such as staff’s work-related experience, qualifications and the training they need to do the job. In addition, the process for how leaders and managers induct, support and keep staff is not detailed.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff are positive about the support they receive from leaders and managers. They have regular supervision and attend team meetings. Staff complete mandatory training and say it helps them in their work. However, team meetings do not always focus on children’s needs. This limits opportunities for staff to reflect on practice and improve support. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Arch Homes and Support Ltd 5

p.4

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’. The registered person must comply within the given timescales.

p.5

Requirement Due date

*The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the supported accommodation undertaking that puts children first and prioritises their well-being and development.

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the supported accommodation undertaking in a way that is consistent with the ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the undertaking’s statement of purpose;

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place to manage referrals of children to the supported accommodation undertaking and admissions of children to premises used as supported accommodation, including, where relevant, emergency referrals and admissions. (Regulation 4 (1) (2)(a)(f)) 14 December

p.5

Requirement Due date

*The registered person must notify the CIECSS and any relevant person without delay if—

p.5

Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation or child criminal exploitation;

p.5

Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child and the registered person considers that incident to be serious;

p.5

Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the supported accommodation undertaking or a person working for it;

p.5

Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry— 14 December Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Arch Homes and Support Ltd 6 is instigated, or

p.5

Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry);

p.6

Requirement Due date

there is an incident involving the use of a measure of restraint of a child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a notification made under this regulation—

p.6

Requirement Due date

any other individuals or organisations who or which have been notified;

p.6

Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

p.6

Requirement Due date

is made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 27 (3)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)(f) (4)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection standard is that children are enabled to feel safe and that their needs are met.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

are familiar and act in accordance with child protection policies; 14 December Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Arch Homes and Support Ltd 7 work collaboratively with children to help them understand how to keep safe, by offering guidance and support on how to minimise any potential risk of harm;

p.6

Requirement Due date

work collaboratively with other professionals and agencies, and share information where relevant to keep children safe;

p.7

Requirement Due date

understand the relevant roles and responsibilities assigned to them by the registered person in relation to protecting children. (Regulation 5 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(f)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that risk assessments include clear strategies for supporting each child to manage vulnerabilities and make progress.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile, in relation to the supported accommodation undertaking, a plan (“the workforce plan”) which covers the following matters in respect of the recruitment and employment of all staff—

p.7

Requirement Due date

the experience and qualifications of managers and other staff, and any further training required for those managers and staff;

p.7

Requirement Due date

the processes and timescales for staff to complete induction, probation and core training, including in safeguarding and health and safety;

p.7

Requirement Due date

the process for managing and addressing poor performance;

p.7

Requirement Due date

the process and timescales for supervision and monitoring of staff. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)) 14 December

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain a system for monitoring and improving the quality of support provided by the supported accommodation undertaking by completing a review (“a quality of support review”) at least once every six months, which must take into account—

p.7

Requirement Due date

the views of children, including any feedback and complaints received;

p.7

Requirement Due date

feedback from individual children on the impact the supported accommodation has had on the child’s life, especially regarding how well prepared the child felt for 14 December Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Arch Homes and Support Ltd 8 transition into supported accommodation and how well prepared the child feels for transition out of supported accommodation;

p.7

Requirement Due date

feedback from each child’s accommodating authority, staff and any relevant persons;

p.8

Requirement Due date

any relevant research and developments in relation to the way in which the needs of children are best met.

p.8

Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of support review, the registered person must produce a written report setting out the actions the registered person intends to take as a result of that quality of support review. (Regulation 32 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d) (2))

p.8

Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

p.8

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the accommodation is a homely and welcoming environment for children. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 29)  The registered person should ensure that the service operates in line with fire safety requirements. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 31)

p.8

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Arch Homes and Support Ltd 9

p.8

Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Arch Homes and Support Ltd

p.9

Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: 60a Hinckley Road, Leicester LE3 0RB

p.9

Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Desmond Frimpong

p.9

Inspectors

Amanda Cooper, Social Care Inspector Steve James, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Arch Homes and Support Ltd 10 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.

p.9

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10