Children's home run by Azalea Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2796475 1 Registered provider: Azalea Care Limited 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 organisation. It provides care for up to six children with physical or special educational needs and/or disabilities (S

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2024. The manager is currently completing a level 5 qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

In August 2025, a monitoring inspection identified serious and widespread concerns. Compliance notices under regulation 12 (The protection of children) and regulation 13 (The leadership and management of the home) were issued along with a restriction of Inspection report for children’s home: 2796475 2 accommodation. In October 2025, a further monitoring visit determined that all compliance steps had been met, and the restriction of accommodation was lifted. Inspection report for children’s home: 2796475 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/04/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2796475 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The shortfalls identified in the help and protection of children, and the leadership and management of the home, have affected the children’s overall experiences. This has resulted in an overall judgement of inadequate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home, and one child has moved on. At the time of the inspection, there were two children living at the home. Both children spoke with the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not advocated on behalf of one child. They have failed to ensure that a child living outside their local area maintains regular contact with a parent. Leaders and managers have not ensured that one child has the required specialist services support, which has contributed to a deterioration in the child’s health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home looks tired and unwelcoming. The walls and ceilings have cracks and filler visible as well as dirty marks on the bedroom walls. The maintenance of the home is not carried out promptly. This does not provide children with a sense of pride in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Two children have sufficient education provisions in place. However, one child did not have an education provision in place for the duration of their time at the home. This does not provide all children with the opportunity to learn.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Two children’s health appointments are up to date. One child did not attend health appointments for the duration of their time at the home. The child’s physical health and emotional well-being were not assessed or monitored by professionals. The child’s health deteriorated, resulting in an emergency hospital admission.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to ensure staff’s practice is child centred and consistent. One child’s thoughts and feelings have been omitted from their care plan. Actions in the plan had been noted to ensure an application was made to relevant bodies to help the child access identified entitlements. These actions have not been completed. There were no consistent plans, activities, routines and boundaries in place for the child. This failed to provide children with security and safety.

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

Leaders and managers have failed to meet the individual care needs of one child. This has resulted in a serious deterioration in the child’s physical and mental well-being.

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

Leaders and managers have failed to assess whether a child is at risk of harm and make arrangements to reduce the risk of harm to thechild. The child’s presentation reflected their historical and known concerns. The historical risk was not reflected on. The child Inspection report for children’s home: 2796475 5 was withdrawn for a prolonged period. No decisive actions were taken to ensure that the child’s welfare was prioritised.

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

Leaders and managers have failed to take effective action when there has been a serious concern about a child’s welfare. They did not escalate these concerns to specialist agencies. The child could not access the necessary and appropriate support, and their health and well-being declined.

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

Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that staff have the skills to identify and act on signs that a child is at risk of harm. Staff were not provided with the specialist training or guidance to understand and support one child with their specific needs and risks. One child remained withdrawn in their bedroom for several months. They had no meaningful engagement with staff, resulting in no trusting relationships being established. Effective monitoring strategies and actions plans were not in place for staff to recognise an escalation of risk for the child and respond appropriately. This caused harm to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to help children to aspire to their potential or to promote a child’s welfare. One child’s risks increased during their time at the home as a result of a lack of understanding of the child. The child moved from the home in an unplanned way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not ensured that staff have the necessary skills and experience to meet a child’s individual needs. Staff have not received specialist training to understand and respond to a child’s needs appropriately. One child was withdrawn and disengaged. Staff did not have the guidance, experience, knowledge or skills to encourage engagement. One child requires specialist medication. Not all staff have been provided with the training required to administer this safely. The staff have made a number of errors in administering medication.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to ensure effective oversight, monitoring and supervision of staff. This has resulted in a lack of action to address concerns about staff practice. Leaders and managers have failed to provide staff with good quality and reflective supervision sessions. Staff have shared concerns, which have not been acted on. The quality of care provided has been inconsistent and has not been addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not demonstrated professional curiosity when considering children’s needs and risks. This resulted in a child being admitted to the home whose needs did not align with the statement of purpose. The child’s needs were not understood by the manager or staff. The child’s vulnerabilities and risks were not minimised or managed effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: 2796475 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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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. (Regulation 12(1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)(b)) 5 January 2026

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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— 5 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2796475 7 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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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

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. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h)

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s moves into the home consider the significance of all known risks and vulnerabilities for children. 5 January 2026

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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. 5 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2796475 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s privacy will be respected and the circumstances when it may have to be limited;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to prepare for any review of the child’s relevant plans and to make the child’s views, wishes and feelings known for the purposes of that review; and

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Requirement Due date

make each child aware of and, if necessary, remind them of each of the matters in sub-paragraph (d)(i) to (iii);

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Requirement Due date

is enabled to provide feedback to, and raise issues with, a relevant person about the support and services that the child receives;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that an explanation is given to each child as soon as reasonably practicable after the child’s arrival about—

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Requirement Due date

what advocacy support or services are available to the child, how the child may access that support or those services and any entitlement the child may have to independent advocacy provision; and Inspection report for children’s home: 2796475 9 ensure that the views of each relevant person are taken into account, so far as reasonably practicable, before making a decision about the care or welfare of a child. (Regulation(1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(i)(iii)(d)(iii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff understand how to administer medication safely and have the knowledge and skills to do this safely. 5 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4) (b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff receive good quality reflective supervision in line with the home’s workforce development plan and policy. 5 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming. In particular, they should ensure that repairs and general maintenance to the home are carried out without delay. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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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: 2796475 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Azalea Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Tax Assist, Unit 6, Minerva Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6FT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Lyana Sinclair Russell

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Inspector

Sarah Cooper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2796475 11 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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