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Inspection report for children’s home: SC437069 1 SC437069 Registered provider: Derbyshire County Council

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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 operated by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with learning and/or physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection. One child lives at the home on a shared care basis, only being in the home for three days a week. Two children contributed to the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is being led by an acting manager, who is not registered with Ofsted.

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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: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC437069 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/03/2025 Full Good 03/01/2024 Full Outstanding 17/01/2023 Full Outstanding 12/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC437069 3

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improvement to be good

Children receive support from dedicated staff, who are committed to providing them with a safe and caring environment where they can reach their full potential. The children have made progress since the last full inspection in March 2025. Staff talk, with pride, about the children’s achievements and how the children’s skills have been developed or enhanced. However, opportunities to capture this progress are not yet in place and so providing the evidence to fully demonstrate this progress is made more difficult.

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improvement to be good

The staff support children to see the important people in the children’s lives. Staff plan the meetings between children and those they are close to and ensure they have conversations with all involved, to make it the best possible experience for all involved. Staff are keen to ensure that children and those important to them, enjoy their time together and make special memories.

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improvement to be good

Children are registered with the necessary health services. In addition, staff have ensured that children attend specialist health appointments, if required. Children have a varied and balanced diet. At times, the meals provided do not fully consider the needs of all the children. For example, one child struggles to eat some textures of food and while the staff make an alternative meal, it would be helpful if one meal was cooked that everyone could enjoy together.

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improvement to be good

When staff and children have discussions on specific issues the staff record these discussions. However, there is no individual time spent with children that focuses on issues that are important to the children, such as managing their feelings or keeping themselves safe. This is a missed opportunity where staff could educate children and help them develop their own ways to manage emotions and build their resilience.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy going into the local community. They are supported to take part in a wide range of activities. Staff are keen to provide children with as many opportunities to sample life outside of the home as possible. They understand how it will enhance the children’s overall development and understanding of the community and world they live in.

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improvement to be good

The children require a great deal of ongoing supervision and support from staff to keep them safe. Staff provide this supervision and support, and they remain vigilant to ensure the children’s safety.

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improvement to be good

The staff rarely resort to holding children to keep them safe. Since the last full inspection in March 2025, there has only been one occasion where a child was held by staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC437069 4 However, the recording of this incident is poor and lacks the required level of detail. Additionally, the staff and child were not debriefed following the incident and there is no oversight or evaluation by the manager.

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improvement to be good

There have been errors in the medication administration process. This has prompted the process to be reviewed and recently updated. Staff are becoming familiar with the new process, but it is taking some time to embed this fully. Children’s medication records are not yet clear, and staff do not have a definitive record of medication that the children have been prescribed.

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improvement to be good

New staff have been recently recruited. Safer recruitment processes were not followed for one new member of staff. The manager did not complete all the necessary employment checks. This was rectified while the inspection was ongoing, but this omission should not have happened.

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improvement to be good

The location risk assessment has recently been reviewed and updated. However, it does not capture the necessary details as required. Without this essential information, the manager does not have a clear understanding of potential risks in the local area. Keeping this assessment up to date is vital for the safety and wellbeing of children and staff.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments do not reflect the needs of the children. Risks are not clearly defined, nor what is needed to mitigate that risk. This leaves staff vulnerable in their roles as they are not equipped with the essential information, they need to keep children safe.

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

It has been an unsettled time since the last full inspection in March 2025. The registered manager left. Since that time, there have been two different managers and currently the post is vacant. This has created instability and uncertainty.

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

The senior leadership team have undertaken a review of the home. Through the review, they have identified areas where care practice requires strengthening. Consequently, an action plan has been developed to provide a structured approach to resolving the concerns found from that review.

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

The changes in the leadership team within the home has proven difficult for staff. In addition, the leadership team have not worked collaboratively to ensure a joint approach. Instead, pockets of practice have been formed within the home, where there is no clear accountability in place.

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

The manager has not developed robust monitoring systems to support their oversight. Therefore, the quality of work undertaken by staff has not been reviewed or evaluated. At times, the language within documents does not reflect a caring and nurturing approach. Inspection report for children’s home: SC437069 5 When documents are updated, there is no formal system to ensure staff are promptly informed. Therefore, staff are without all the essential information they require to fulfil their role and appropriately support children.

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

Staff enjoy their role and are of the view that the whole team work together well to support the children. Team meetings are held on a regular basis and staff feel they benefit from these. Staff have not been provided with regular, reflective supervision as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. When staff practice has fallen below expectations, the manager has not undertaken supervision to discuss this.

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

The manager and team work collaboratively with external agencies. All information relating to the care of the children is shared in a timely manner with external professionals involved in the day-to-day arrangements for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC437069 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, 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 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

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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this refers to there being risk assessments and home care plans in place that identify known and potential risk for each child and staff are familiar with them. 2 February 2026

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child;

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this refers to staff following the medication process and that all paperwork relating to medication is up to date. 2 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC437069 7 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. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this refers to staff and children being debriefed after measures of control have been used.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 2 February 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—

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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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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)(b)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager needs to ensure that the staff work together to improve outcomes for children. Relevant information is shared with staff in a timely manner, and documents are updated when needed. In addition, the manager needs to 2 Feb 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC437069 8 ensure that they have in place suitable monitoring and review systems.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The employment of staff standard is that the registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing personal development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice led supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once a year. (Regulation 33 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this refers to ensuring that staff are supervised in line with the home’s supervision policy. In addition, staff are provided with supervision following any concerns relating to practice. 2 February 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12 (2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1)(2))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this refers to the manager ensuring that there is a suitable and appropriate location risk assessment in place. 2 February 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure there is good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment processes are followed to minimise potential risks to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) Inspection report for children’s home: SC437069 9

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: SC437069 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Derbyshire County Council, County Offices, Matlock, DE4 3AG

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Inspector

Lizette Watts, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC437069 11 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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