Children's home run by Zebra Crossings Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2819121 1 Registered provider: Zebra Crossings 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 and managed by a private provider. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection since the home was registered with Ofsted in June 2025. The manager also registered in June 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children have lived in the home since the last inspection. At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home. The inspector spoke to the child.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

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: 2819121 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and celebrate their achievements. They use caring language with children and are affectionate towards them. This promotes a sense of stability and warmth. Children enjoy a wide range of activities within and outside the home. Staff promote children having contact with their family and friends in a safe way. Staff support children to be in good health and to develop their self-care skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress from their starting points. Staff help children to develop and maintain positive relationships with them. Staff promote children’s emotional development and independence. As a result, children feel able to talk about their feelings more.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff maintain a homely environment for children to live in and promote a ‘family feel’ to the home. Staff sit and eat with children, play games with them, and invest time in them. The home is attractive and well maintained. Staff support children to personalise their bedrooms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager plans for children moving in and out of the home well. She consults a range of people to gather information about the child’s needs. Staff supported a child who needed to move out at short notice. They offered the child reassurance and accompanied them to their new home.

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

Children feel safe in the home and staff act to keep them safe. Risk assessments and plans are clear and give staff strategies to use. Staff give a strong, proactive response to children who are missing from the home. One child has experienced a significant reduction in going missing as a result.

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

Staff work in partnership with other professionals working with the children. They gather and share information to help keep children safe. A child’s social worker commented that staff always ensure the child’s safety.

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

Children enjoy relationships with staff that are positive and based on mutual respect. Staff can engage children in discussions relevant to their needs. This includes offering support for their sexual health and relationships.

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

Staff have the skills to help children if they are feeling angry or upset. Staff can de- escalate potential serious incidents as a result. Staff use consequences for children that are fair and proportionate. They ensure that the child understands the reasons for them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2819121 3 The manager takes action when allegations are made. However, on one occasion, the manager did not speak in private to the child involved. The manager sought professional advice but this was a missed opportunity to ensure that the child felt safe and heard.

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

Staff have not always given a clear reason for needing to search a child’s room. The records do not always indicate if the child was present, or whether staff have informed them about the search.

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

The manager has not been able to evidence consistent oversight of practice in the home, for example tracking the effectiveness of consequences for children. Furthermore, the manager has not always identified weaknesses in staff practice that need addressing.

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

When children have been physically held to keep them or others safe, the manager has not recorded her discussions with the child or staff. On one occasion, the manager discussed one incident with a child through their bedroom door. A staff member involved in holding the child was also present. This did not give the child the opportunity to have a private conversation with the manager, which could have hindered the child from being open and honest about their experience.

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

Managers have not completed regular staff supervision in line with the provider’s policy. The quality of the supervision sessions is not consistent. Staff have also not had the opportunity of regular team meetings to support their reflection and learning.

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

The manager acknowledges that changing from paper to electronic records has been difficult. Staff store children’s information using different systems. Leaders plan to complete a full transition to electronic records in the future.

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

The manager is calm and caring in her approach towards children and staff. The manager is child focused and ambitious for the future of the home, and shows commitment to achieving positive outcomes for children.

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

Children benefit from staff with good levels of qualification, experience and skills. Staff said that they feel well supported by the manager. Inspection report for children’s home: 2819121 4

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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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

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

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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)(g)(i)(ii)(h)) 13 February 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home. 13 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2819121 5 The registered person must ensure that—

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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

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

Paragraph (3) does not apply in relation to restraint that is planned or provided for as a matter of routine in the child’s EHC plan or statement of special educational needs.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff understand and adhere to the policy on protecting children from abuse and neglect. This includes handling allegations involving staff in the home. In particular, the registered person should ensure that a person independent of the alleged perpetrator speaks to the child in private to check their welfare and obtain their account of events. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraphs 9.19 and 9.21)  The registered person should ensure that a child’s bedroom is only searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission. Immediate searching may be necessary where there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child’s or another person’s safety or well-being. In all cases, the reason the search is considered necessary should be clearly recorded. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes

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Recommendations

Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)

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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: 2819121 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Zebra Crossings Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 9, 18 East Parade, Bradford BD1 5EE

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Inspector

Sam Saxby-Brown, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2819121 7 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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