Children's home run by The Forge Nuneaton Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2673408 1 Registered provider: The Forge Nuneaton 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

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to six children who may experience emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has applied to register with Ofsted and is suitably qualified.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, five children were living at the home. The children spoke to the inspectors during the inspection.

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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 good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

This home was judged as inadequate at a full inspection on 29 and 30 July 2025. Compliance notices were issued under regulation 12, the protection of children standard, and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit on 8 September 2025 found the compliance notices were met. This is the home’s first inspection since the compliance notices were lifted. Inspection report for children’s home: 2673408 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/07/2025 Full Inadequate 10/03/2025 Full Good 18/04/2023 Full Good 04/01/2023 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2673408 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to develop emotionally warm and trusting relationships. One child said that ‘it’s lovely here’ and another child said that ‘it’s good’ as staff are ‘helpful’ and talk to children. Staff encourage children to share their views, wishes and feelings about their futures and their home. This creates a nurturing living environment where children feel listened to and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s relationships with their families are understood and valued by staff. One parent said that staff are ‘amazing’. Staff are creative in helping children to learn about their family relationships. For example, two related children are being helped to live together. When children feel anxious about their family visits, they are encouraged to share their views, wishes and feelings. As a result, children feel reassured and have confidence in the staff who are responsible for supporting them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are attentive in supporting children’s education. All children are in school and were observed wearing their school uniforms with pride. Education professionals speak positively about the advocacy of the manager and staff when children experience barriers to their education. As a result, children receive personalised support to reflect their learning needs and to encourage their aspirations for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff create positive routines which support and promote children’s activities. This proactive approach develops children’s confidence and independence. Children enjoy a variety of sporting and artistic activities, including horse riding, swimming, football, dance and going to the theatre. Staff encourage children’s participation in their activities by attending their sports training, football matches and dance recitals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and staff provide children with a comfortable living environment. Communal areas and the children’s bedrooms are personalised to reflect their diversity, personalities and tastes. The garden is well maintained with a flowerbed and hedgehog house, both designed by the children. However, staff have not consistently maintained the physical environment of children’s bedrooms and the manager recognises this is an area for development.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are helped and supported to live together safely. When children experience difficulties living together, staff work with the clinical team and external professionals effectively to understand the reasons. For example, two related children are being supported to develop their personal interests alongside their relationship with each other. As a result, children are being provided with a safe, nurturing and inclusive living environment. Inspection report for children’s home: 2673408 4 Allegations and complaints by children are investigated carefully by the manager. When children report concerns about external professionals, the manager ensures they are promptly addressed. This helps children to understand that their views, wishes and feelings are being taken seriously. Consequently, this ensures that children are being cared for and supported by responsible and safe adults.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff help children to learn about online safety. They establish positive routines for children’s internet use, which supports healthy bedtime and sleep routines. The manager and staff understand the risks for children in their local community. When children go missing, the manager and staff work with external professionals effectively to review the risks. This collaborative approach ensures that children feel safer.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff work with the clinical team to understand children’s needs and vulnerabilities. For example, one child is being supported to explore their preferred styles of communication. Another child is being supported to understand their lived experiences. As a result of this joint approach, children are receiving individualised care and support. Managers recognise that an area for development is for the guidance provided by the clinical team to be recorded effectively in children’s plans.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Since the last inspection, there has been one incident requiring physical intervention to be used. Staff receive bespoke training to use physical intervention safely if it is required. Staff help children to reflect on the reasons for the intervention and to explore their views, wishes and feelings regarding this. However, staff are not always supported to reflect on the intervention used and the manager has identified this as an area for development and is taking action.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff are united in their vision to create a safe and nurturing home for children. They are enthusiastic and dedicated in helping children to achieve their ambitions. External professionals speak positively about the quality of support, partnership working and communication with the manager and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers understand the importance of safer recruitment. Children are encouraged to take part in this process by devising interview questions. This approach reflects the commitment of leaders and managers to developing a diverse and qualified staff team that understands children’s needs. The manager and the responsible individual are vigilant in reviewing staff training to ensure it reflects the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff value the support they receive from the clinical team. Also, leaders support staff development in supervision sessions and team meetings. The manager and responsible individual recognise that an area for staff development is recording information clearly and the organisation of children’s plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have introduced detailed monitoring systems to review children’s care and staff practice. For example, all physical Inspection report for children’s home: 2673408 5 interventions are now reviewed by the management and clinical team. This provides a holistic management review of staff practice and identifies any future training that is required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An independent person has carried out external monitoring of the home every month. While these visits are completed within time frames, they do not fully focus on developing or improving the home. For example, the independent visitor does not consistently provide feedback and guidance regarding the strengths and development areas to improve children’s care and staff practice. Consequently, the external monitoring systems do not always improve the quality of care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2673408 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that everyone working at the home understands their roles and responsibilities when the manager is absent from the home. This specifically relates to there being consistent routines for maintaining the physical environment of the children’s bedrooms. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. This specifically relates to including the guidance from the clinical team in the children’s plans, streamlining documents and ensuring that children’s files are appropriately organised. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny. This includes ensuring that adults

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Recommendations

involved in restraints are spoken to about the measure within 48 hours of its use. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person should ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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: 2673408 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Forge Nuneaton Limited

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rebecca Grimshaw

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Inspectors

Siân Heffey, Social Care Inspector Gill Rudkin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2673408 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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