Children's Home run by Staffordshire County Council in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC028905 1 SC028905 Registered provider: Staffordshire County Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by a local authority and provides care for up to four children who have experienced childhood instability, resulting in trauma and associated complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home. They were not present during the inspection or spoken with by the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s manager resigned from their role in November 2025. They have not worked at the home since the assurance inspection on 22 October 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

The responsible individual was appointed in September 2025. Their suitability is yet to be assessed by Ofsted. The responsible individual was present during this inspection.

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This monitoring visit

On 22 October 2025, Ofsted carried out an assurance inspection. This inspection identified serious and widespread failures. Two compliance notices were issued under regulation 12 (the protection of children standard) and regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard).

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This monitoring visit

The purpose of this visit was to assess the action taken by leaders to meet the steps set out in the compliance notices and to review the progress made in relation to the shortfalls identified at the last inspection.

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This monitoring visit

Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have worked hard to make improvements. However, weaknesses remain in safeguarding practice, leadership and management oversight, and in the child’s care planning. These shortfalls continue to potentially compromise the child’s safety and well-being. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC028905 2 Instability in the leadership and management arrangements has continued to affect consistency and the child’s experiences. The home has had no registered manager since January 2025. The home’s manager did not register with Ofsted and has resigned since the last inspection. The responsible individual, who is in a temporary role, is currently overseeing the day-to-day management of the home. While this has provided some oversight of the child’s care and safety, the absence of a permanent management team has contributed to inconsistency in care and instability in the

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This monitoring visit

Agency staff provide a high proportion of the child’s care. Frequent changes in staffing are affecting the child’s experiences, the quality of their relationships, and staff’s ability to meet the child’s complex needs and keep them safe.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders have not ensured that staff, including agency staff, have the knowledge and skills to identify and respond to the child’s emerging risks. This includes understanding thresholds for referral and acting on signs of harm. For example, staff did not seek prompt guidance from health professionals when there were concerns that the child was restricting their diet and fluid intake. Although no harm occurred on this occasion, these delays could have had a negative impact on the child’s health. Leaders have reflected and put in place clearer guidance to ensure that this does not reoccur.

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This monitoring visit

There is a large team of professionals involved in the child’s care planning. Despite weekly multidisciplinary meetings, roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding are not always clearly defined. This lack of clarity has led to inconsistent decision-making and gaps in care planning. For example, teaching staff brought items into the home without appropriate checks in place. This may have contributed to the child accessing items and led to incidents that could have been avoided. Leaders have now implemented checks to reduce this risk. Inconsistent care planning limits staff’s ability to meet the child’s safeguarding needs effectively.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders’ and managers’ monitoring systems continue to require improvement. Leaders have not carried out a six-monthly review of the quality of care or kept the home’s statement of purpose under review. This limits staff’s ability to deliver care as intended and compromises safeguarding oversight.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders recognise the need for agency staff to be fully integrated into the staff team. Agency staff are now receiving in-house training, regular supervision and weekly clinical reflection. As a result, all staff are being supported in developing their practice.

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This monitoring visit

Some safeguarding processes have been reviewed and strengthened. A health and safety professional is helping leaders and staff to understand how to reduce risk and make the home environment safer. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC028905 3 As a result of this visit, the compliance notice raised under regulation 13 has been restated. The compliance notice raised under regulation 12 is met. Two additional requirements have been raised. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC028905 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/05/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/04/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC028905 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, 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 with 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

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

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

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 1 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC028905 6 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)(c)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must: ensure that there is a stable, suitably experienced and qualified leadership and management team in place. A registered manager must be in post to oversee the day-to-day management of the home;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that there is effective, timely monitoring and oversight of the quality of care the child receives and that more long-term, sustained progress is made on repeated compliance and requirements raised;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that both the manager and all staff working at the home possess the necessary knowledge and skills to consistently deliver effective and safe care, as well as to implement the model of care outlined in the statement of purpose; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that permanent and agency staff work collaboratively to meet the child’s care and protect them from harm.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and has been restated.

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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.

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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

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that a multidisciplinary team provides children with well-coordinated care that is planned effectively. Pertinent information should be shared with all professionals involved to safeguard the child. In addition, the team should provide support to staff to enable them to provide effective, safe care. 1 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC028905 7 This requirement was raised at the last inspection and has been restated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that the home’s statement of purpose reflects the care they intend to provide and that it is updated following changes in staffing. 1 February 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— 1 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC028905 8 supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

*This requirement is subject to a compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC028905 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Staffordshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Staffordshire Place, Stafford, Staffordshire ST16 2DH

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Inspector

Sonia Sullivan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC028905 10 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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