Children's home run by YCPG Services Ltd in Walsall

Inspection report for children’s home: SC392492 1 SC392492 Registered provider: YCPG Services 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

A private company owns this home. It is registered to provide care for four children, who have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home, and one child spoke with the inspectors.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

Ofsted last visited this home on 21 May 2025 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 18 March 2025, Ofsted completed an assurance inspection at the home. Serious and widespread concerns were identified in relation to the home environment, care planning Inspection report for children’s home: SC392492 2 and the leadership and management of the home. Following this inspection, Ofsted issued compliance notices under regulation 6, The quality and purpose of care standard, regulation 13, The leadership and management standard and regulation 14, The care planning standard. A notice of restriction of accommodation was also issued.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 21 May 2025, Ofsted completed a monitoring visit to assess the progress made in relation to addressing the shortfalls identified at the last inspection. As a result of the inspection, Ofsted deemed that the compliance notices issued under regulations 6, 13 and 14 were met. The restriction of accommodation was lifted. Inspection report for children’s home: SC392492 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/05/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/01/2023 Full Good 08/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC392492 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s experiences and progress have been affected by some serious safeguarding failings and shortfalls in the care provided by staff and managers. In addition, leadership and management systems in the home are not effective.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There is a disorganised approach to children’s care planning. Managers have not ensured that they fully understand the risks for children moving into the home or how these risks may affect those children already living there. Managers have also failed to ensure that staff complete the specialist training identified to meet children’s needs and keep them safe. Significant shortfalls in care planning mean that children move into and leave the home quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s views about the care that they receive are mixed. Some children report that they enjoy positive relationships with some staff and have been happy with aspects of their experience. However, other children say they want to leave the home because of inconsistent staffing and not feeling cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

When children make complaints, they are not always responded to effectively. The manager does not use thorough or consistent approaches to managing complaints. Complaints are not recorded accurately or followed up in line with regulatory requirements. As a result, children do not feel listened to or valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff support both children to attend education provisions that meet their needs. This is particularly significant for one child, who had been out of education for a period of time. Managers have worked with professionals and education providers to ensure that children attend school in line with their needs, so that they receive appropriate support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have made some improvements to the home environment. One child has shared with professionals that these improvements have made a difference and that the home now feels more homely. However, during the inspection, areas of damage were identified that the manager was not fully aware of. When these were brought to their attention, action was taken to ensure children’s safety within the home.

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

The manager and staff do not consistently demonstrate that they have the skills or experience to keep children safe. There have been safeguarding incidents, when children have been left at risk and have experienced harm.

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

Children’s incidents are not consistently reported, recorded, or responded to appropriately by staff and managers. For example, on several occasions, a child shared information with staff and family members which raised concerns about the child’s safety Inspection report for children’s home: SC392492 5 when missing from the home. However, staff did not demonstrate a good knowledge or understanding of this, and managers were unaware. The support provided to the child following these disclosures was poor. A lack of professional curiosity, ineffective recording and insufficient learning left the child vulnerable. Furthermore, these concerns were not shared with the child’s placing authority. Consequently, they were unaware of the child’s emerging risks and unable to take action to reduce these.

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

The management oversight of serious incidents involving children is poor. They fail to recognise situations in which children are or may be at risk of harm. In addition, they do not take appropriate action to safeguard children during these times. These shortfalls place children at risk of harm and do not promote their well-being.

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

Staff and managers do not assess risks effectively. Children’s risks are not well known, recorded or understood. Strategies for staff to follow to keep children safe are not identified. Significant risks relating to children going missing from the home and at risk of child exploitation are not fully explored or assessed. As a result, staff do not have up- to-date guidance of known risks and how to manage these. Managers are not easily available or accessible to support staff in these situations.

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

When children share concerns about staff practice, these are not always listened to or acted upon. For example, one child raised concerns about staff practice during a physical restraint. When this was brought to the attention of leaders and managers, they were unaware, and no safeguarding measures were implemented. As a result, the child’s views were not responded to, which has compromised their safety.

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

On other occasions, leaders and managers have responded to children’s concerns. They have informed the relevant agencies and shared appropriate information. However, during the inspection, leaders and managers were unable to demonstrate that they consistently follow their safeguarding policies or that internal investigations recommended by the local authority designated officer had been completed. This lack of action does not promote children’s safety and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Poor leadership and management, and the failure to take effective action to improve the quality of care in the home, have compromised children’s safety, experiences and progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has remained in post. However, the company has recently been taken over, resulting in changes to the structure and senior leadership team. Senior leaders have failed to maintain effective oversight of the home or provide sufficient support to the manager during this period of change. As a result, children have received poor care and have not consistently been safeguarded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Significant gaps in the leaders and managers knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the home impact poorly on children. Managers do not have effective Inspection report for children’s home: SC392492 6 systems to review the quality of care or fully understand children’s experiences. They do not review or evaluate significant incidents effectively. As a result, they do not understand the potential risks to children or take steps to challenge poor practice and keep children safe. Furthermore, they do not recognise the impact of shortfalls in care on children’s experiences and progress, and they fail to set out clear plans to bring about improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers do not always notify Ofsted of significant incidents involving children. For example, serious incidents that have included children being missing from the home and that have led to police involvement. Consequently, Ofsted is unable to carry out its monitoring function to ensure that action is taken to safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There have been several changes within the core staff team, which has affected children’s ability to form positive and trusting relationships and to feel cared for. The home is reliant on bank staff, who have limited experience of working with children. Staff do not understand or apply the home’s therapeutic model of care and the behaviour management approach used with children in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Partner agencies have mixed views about the care provided to children. Some professionals said that they are pleased with aspects of the care provided to children. However, professionals shared concerns about significant shortfalls in communication, particularly regarding emerging risks for children. Professionals recognise that the manager and staff have failed to consistently safeguard children effectively and that serious incidents have occurred as a result of these failings. Inspection report for children’s home: SC392492 7

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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—

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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

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

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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

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

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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)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that effective action is taken in response to all safeguarding concerns, and that staff are provided with direction and guidance to support children’s risks and vulnerabilities effectively. Also, the registered person must ensure that any allegations and concerns raised by children 25 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC392492 8 against staff are fully investigated to ensure the safety of children. They must ensure that staff have a clear understanding of the risks associated with children and have the correct training to meet children’s needs and keep them safe.

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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 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

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)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they have effective oversight of all incidents and take action to address any concerns. They must also ensure that there is a consistent staff team in place to provide care to children who they can form positive relationships with. Additionally, they must ensure the staff have the relevant skills and abilities to meet the needs of the children living in the home. 12 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— 12 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC392492 9 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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there is an effective process in place to ensure that children’s needs are suitably assessed to live in the home alongside other children and their identified risk.

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated (Regulation 26 (7)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that the responsible individual has effective and consistent supervision of the quality of care provided in the home. 12 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; and

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the matter; 12 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC392492 10 the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all serious incidents are reported to Ofsted without delay.

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: SC392492 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: YCPG Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: YCPG Services Limited, Unit 1, Fairground Way, Walsall, West Midlands WS1 4NU

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Inspectors

Hayley Booth, Social Care Inspector Becky Rutter, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC392492 12 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 children looked after, 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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