Children's home run by Assure Residential Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2723872 1 Registered provider: Assure Residential Care Limited

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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 owned and managed by a private company. It offers care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home, and they contributed to this inspection.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2723872 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/10/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2723872 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s care plans are not up to date and do not reflect their current needs or progress. Staff’s knowledge and understanding of children’s care plans are inconsistent, which at times results in confusion and a lack of clarity about how best to support children in areas such as their health and identity needs.

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improvement to be good

Children report positive experiences and describe feeling supported by staff. Staff encourage children to have positive daily routines and ensure children’s views are sought and considered in shaping what their routines look like.

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improvement to be good

Staff have regular discussions with children about their individual needs and risks. Staff support children to take part in a range of activities, supporting their social development and enabling them to build friendships with others.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to maintain contact with their families and important people to them. Where safe and appropriate to do so, staff welcome families to visit their children and supervise family time, contributing to sustaining important relationships.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children’s education, including transporting children a considerable distance to school to ensure consistency in their education. For children not accessing formal education, staff encourage participation in home learning. The manager has sourced home tutors to support children’s education while awaiting school placements.

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improvement to be good

Suitability assessments for children moving into the home are not consistently completed. The manager does not thoroughly consider the compatibility of children’s needs and risks, or staff’s skills and experience in meeting them.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand missing-from-home procedures and work effectively with safeguarding partners. For one child, the manager and staff work effectively with the child’s network to agree and review safety plans, which has reduced the occurrence of missing-from- home episodes.

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improvement to be good

When children experience crisis, staff respond to their individual needs with care and sensitivity. The manager provides reflective oversight of incidents and identifies areas of learning and improvement. The manager also holds discussions with children and staff following incidents, supporting reflection and learning for everyone involved. Inspection report for children’s home: 2723872 4 The quality of children’s risk assessments is inconsistent. Some are out of date or lack sufficient detail to inform staff practice effectively. This limits staff’s ability to manage risks proactively and have the right information to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff are inconsistent in their approach to consequences for children’s behaviour, leading to confusion for children and limiting opportunities for them to learn from incidents.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers response to allegations is not consistent. In some instances, allegations have not been investigated appropriately, creating uncertainty in how concerns have been managed and whether necessary actions have been taken to protect children. When allegations have been investigated, the recording of actions and decisions are weak. Investigations completed by the manager have not been formally documented or subject to appropriate senior management oversight. Staff’s knowledge and understanding of allegation and whistle-blowing procedures is limited and inconsistent.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have not ensured safer recruitment practice has been followed, meaning that not all pre-employment checks have been fully completed or recorded.

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

The manager’s oversight of children’s care is not consistent and in some areas is poor. Leaders and managers have identified the shortfalls, and action plans have been developed to address the areas of concern.

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

Staff report positive support from leaders and managers. While there have been changes to the leadership team, staff report a consistent and stabilising presence from the manager.

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

The manager has sourced child-specific training, which staff report has been beneficial in supporting children’s emotional well-being. However, training in key safeguarding areas has not been provided to all staff. Staff identify these areas as being where they need further training and support to safeguard children.

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

Team meetings are held regularly and are described by staff as positive and reflective, providing opportunities for open discussion and shared learning. However, the manager has not provided regular supervisions to all staff.

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

While leaders and managers reflect on areas for improvement, they do not implement identified actions to improve practice, which means identified shortfalls continue to be repeated. Inspection report for children’s home: 2723872 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 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— that staff— 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

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

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must appropriately investigate allegations and complaints made by children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that all staff understand allegation and whistle-blowing policy and procedures, including their responsibilities and actions required to be taken.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s risk assessments are up to date, are fully completed and include relevant information. 28 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2723872 6 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

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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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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)(a)(c)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there is oversight of all aspects of children’s care.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must reflect on practice and proactively implement lessons learned to ensure good practice.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff have regular supervision. 28 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2723872 7 The registered person must ensure that staff have relevant training to make sure that children are cared for safely.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(i)(iv)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff’s knowledge and understanding of children’s needs is accurate and consistent.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s care plans are up to date and reflect children’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that children’s health and identity needs are accurately understood and supported appropriately. 28 November 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.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; 28 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2723872 8 The requirements are that—

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff are safely recruited.

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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: 2723872 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Assure Residential Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2–4 St. Georges Way, 1st Floor, Leicester LE1 1SH

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Inspectors

Chloe Harvey, Social Care Inspector Terrianne George, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2723872 10 regulates 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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