Children's Home run by AMMA Childcare Services in Solihull

Inspection report for children’s home: 2832297 1 Registered provider: AMMA Childcare Services

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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 operated by a private organisation. The home is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. This is the home’s first inspection since registration. A suitably qualified manager leads the home. At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home. Both children were spoken with and shared their experiences with inspectors.

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2832297 2

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improvement to be good

Since the home opened eight months ago, four children have moved in and two children have moved on because staff were unable to keep them safe and meet their complex needs. While these moves were in the best interests of the children, they do not promote stability.

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improvement to be good

One child left the home during a time of crisis, when the risks they faced escalated. The other child’s ending was more structured but still occurred within a short timeframe. The child’s final day at the home was not positive because they were anxious and upset. This move created further instability for the child.

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improvement to be good

The children currently living in the home said they were warmly welcomed and are making progress from their starting points. Children like the staff, and external professionals and family members speak positively about their experiences.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from living in a welcoming and warm home. The cinema room is particularly valued, offering a calm space with sensory items and entertainment options that children enjoy. Bedrooms are personalised and spacious, reflecting children’s individual identities and preferences. This promotes a sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

The importance of education is promoted. The manager advocates well for children’s educational needs and ensures that when children are out of education, concerns are escalated and decisions are appropriately challenged. Both children attend school, and when one child was not in full-time education, staff encouraged opportunities for informal learning.

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improvement to be good

Children’s cultural and identity needs are sensitively considered. One child is supported to practise and explore their faith and culture, which is helping to develop their sense of identity and build positive relationships with staff.

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improvement to be good

Children report feeling safe; however, the behaviours displayed by a peer who has recently moved on caused them to feel unsettled. During some incidents, children stayed in their bedrooms to avoid unwanted behaviours. When the child set off the home’s fire alarm several times during the night, this impacted children’s emotional safety, particularly for one child who said the sound of the alarm triggered flashbacks of previous trauma. Inspection report for children’s home: 2832297 3 Aspects of safeguarding practice need to be strengthened. Leaders are aware that, on occasions, shortfalls in staff practice have compromised children’s safety. In addition, staff have sometimes been overly reliant on the on-call manager, which raises questions about their ability to support children effectively.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always provide care in line with the home’s therapeutic approach, and guidance in children’s plans is not consistently followed. De-escalation techniques documented in one child’s plan were not consistently used and, on one occasion, this caused further escalation and increased the child’s distress.

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improvement to be good

Action is taken to escalate safeguarding concerns to external partners. When a staff member’s conduct fell short of expectations, a thorough investigation took place in line with the home’s procedures, and the staff member no longer works at the home. This demonstrates a strong safety net for children. In addition, safer recruitment decisions ensure that only suitable adults care for children.

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improvement to be good

The quality of children’s records varies. While most records are clear and detailed, others lack sufficient detail and managerial oversight. Records relating to a child’s complaint about the use of restraint are not sufficiently detailed. Furthermore, there was a lack of professional curiosity to ensure that the restraint used was necessary and proportionate on that occasion.

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improvement to be good

Health and safety in the home is generally well managed. However, one fire door was wedged open, meaning it would not close to keep children safe in the event of a fire. This was despite the issue being brought to staff’s attention on the first day of inspection. Action was taken by the manager to address this.

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

The manager knows the children well and wants the best for them. However, her monitoring and oversight of all aspects of the home and the children’s care require strengthening to ensure that the quality of care is consistently good.

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

While the manager feels supported, she recognises that her decision-making and confidence to challenge senior leaders, particularly in relation to the admission of new children, have not always been robust. This has hindered children’s progress and affected the stability of the home.

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

Leaders understand the home’s strengths and areas for development. They are responding to the challenges faced since registration and have temporarily paused new admissions. This will allow the home time to stabilise, upskill staff, embed new learning and drive necessary improvement. The recent appointment of an experienced operations manager strengthens the management team.

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

Leaders and managers have not taken sufficient action to ensure that staff have the skills and knowledge to meet the individual needs of children. The manager was unaware that one staff member had not completed required safeguarding training. Inspection report for children’s home: 2832297 4 Furthermore, staff have not received training to help them understand some of the children’s individual needs. One child had a diagnosed condition that staff had received no training on. Another child has a history of mental health difficulties, and despite this risk being known prior to their admission, training for staff around this has only recently been requested.

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

Overall, staff feel supported, but the systems in place for supervision and opportunities for reflection and learning to improve practice are not sufficient. Staff do not receive supervision in line with the provider’s expectations. This is particularly important as some staff feel tired and have struggled to manage children’s complex behaviours.

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

The manager works hard to maintain relationships with external professionals to support children’s progress. Two professionals told the inspector that communication is a strength of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2832297 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, 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—

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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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manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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

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are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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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that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health; and

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that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. 28 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2832297 6 (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff are competent to manage significant incidents and children’s plans must be understood and followed by staff to promote the safety and well-being of children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that fire doors are not wedged open, and the manager has sufficient oversight of all incidents to ensure restraint practice is necessary and proportionate.

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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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helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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

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

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use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Specifically, monitoring and review systems must be robust to drive continual improvements in the home. Staff must receive the training that they need to meet children’s needs and keep them safe. 28 February 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; and

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Requirement Due date

(regulation 33 (4)(b)) 28 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2832297 7 Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff receive supervision to help them to reflect on their work, promote staff well-being and the welfare of children.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2832297 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: AMMA Childcare Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 507b Jq Modern, 120 Vyse Street, Hockley, Birmingham B18 6NF

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Kamilah Mullings

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Paris Osborne Douglas

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Inspectors

Sophie Coogan, Social Care Inspector Amy Richards, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2832297 9 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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Inspectors

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