Children's Home run by Spring Valley Children’s Care Home in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report for children's home: 2837095 1 Registered provider: Spring Valley Children's Care Home Ltd 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 run by a private company. The home provides care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home and spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children's home

The manager and the home have been registered with Ofsted since August 2025.

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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 inadequate

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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: 2837095 2

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improvement to be good

Since the home registered, 2 children have moved in, and one child has moved out. Children's experiences and progress in the home are variable. While some children have positive experiences, this is not consistent for all.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not consistently consider the full range of children's needs when making decisions about new children moving into the home. Information provided in referral paperwork is often accepted at face value, and managers do not demonstrate sufficient curiosity or challenge. They are not proactive in seeking additional details from those who know the children well. As a result, decisions do not always take account of the compatibility of children's needs, the location of the home, or the skills and experience of staff to meet those needs. Consequently, staff have not always been able to provide effective support, which has had a negative impact on children's experiences. One child did not make progress and left the home after a short stay.

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improvement to be good

Children have developed trusting relationships with staff. One child shared that they feel confident they will not be judged or rejected when speaking with staff and managers. This helps children to express themselves more freely and supports their sense of belonging and self-worth.

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improvement to be good

Education is promoted in the home. Staff have supported one child to re-engage with learning. When children experience barriers to attending school, managers and staff work with education professionals to ensure that children continue to have access to learning opportunities. This has helped one child to make some educational progress.

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improvement to be good

Children's views are gathered in a variety of ways, including group discussions, planned sessions, informal conversations and passing comments. This helps to promote children's inclusion in decisions about their care and supports staff to understand children better so they can provide appropriate support.

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improvement to be good

Staff engage children in a range of activities that reflect their interests, and these often include educational elements. These activities provide children with enjoyable experiences and opportunities to learn, which support their development.

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improvement to be good

While staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities, there are shortfalls in how children are helped and protected. Children's plans are not consistently updated to reflect current risks and needs, and systems intended to support staff practice are not effective. Guidance for staff is weak, which is particularly concerning given the limited Inspection report for children's home: 2837095 3 experience in the team. These weaknesses have the potential to cause confusion, lead to inconsistent practice and increase the risk of harm to children.

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improvement to be good

When children experience a crisis, staff do not always respond appropriately. On some occasions, staff have called the police to manage behaviour when alternative strategies could have been used. This approach does not align with the home's therapeutic model and risks criminalising children who are looked after. The manager has addressed this with staff and provided additional training to help prevent further occurrences.

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improvement to be good

Staff know what actions to take when children go missing from the home and use their best efforts to ensure that children are safe. Welfare checks are completed when children return, and staff make attempts to understand the reasons for the episodes of going missing. However, children do not always receive a return home interview with an independent person, which is a missed opportunity to explore the reasons for going missing and to inform future safeguarding practice.

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improvement to be good

Allegations made by children are taken seriously. Managers share concerns with relevant professionals, and investigations are carried out. Lessons learned are identified, and action plans are implemented. However, the manager has failed to notify Ofsted of some significant incidents. This limits the regulator's oversight and ability to ensure that children are safe.

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improvement to be good

Physical interventions have been frequent. When used, they have been necessary and proportionate to ensure the safety of children and staff. However, staff have not always been spoken to following these incidents. This limits the manager's understanding of events, the proportionality of restraints and reduces opportunities for learning to prevent reoccurrence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers' monitoring and review systems are ineffective. Leaders and managers demonstrate a lack of professional curiosity and fail to provide sufficient oversight. As a result, significant shortfalls in staff practice are not identified or addressed, and appropriate action is not taken to ensure that children are safe and well cared for. These failings have led to poor-quality care and have compromised the protection and welfare of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is an over-reliance on external agency staff, despite the home having a full permanent team. Managers do not ensure that agency staff have access to, or understand, essential information about children. As a result, children are cared for by staff who are unfamiliar with them and the home. This took place during a time of elevated levels of disruption. This lack of continuity is unsettling for children and places them at risk of receiving poor-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not consistently receive supervision, and probation reviews are not completed. Some staff have not received any supervision at all. The lack of managerial oversight Inspection report for children's home: 2837095 4 significantly compromises staff development, accountability and the manager's ability to monitor performance and address concerns. This increases the risk of poor practice going unchallenged and undermines the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff team lacks experience. Despite this, children are cared for by a dedicated team that shows resilience during times of crisis. However, the lack of experience in the team has a significant impact on the quality of care and the ability to respond effectively to children's complex needs. Although the team is stable and staff report they are happy to work in the home, this does not compensate for the serious gaps in knowledge and skills required to provide safe and effective care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

A visitor has been employed to carry out mandatory independent monthly inspection visits and provide monthly reports. They were also involved in investigating allegations made by a child and have highlighted several systemic shortfalls in the management of the home. However, the visitor is not independent; they are employed by the responsible individual in another company. This compromises impartiality and creates a clear conflict of interest, undermining the effectiveness of external monitoring and reducing the level of scrutiny required to safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Recording and reporting are weak. Incidents are not consistently documented or reviewed by managers. This failure undermines effective oversight and significantly reduces the ability to safeguard children. Inspection report for children's home: 2837095 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff do not utilise police to manage behaviour.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that guidance provided to staff for mitigating risks and safeguarding children is thorough, accurate and regularly reviewed in light of emerging risks and vulnerabilities, and, additionally, that this is understood by staff. 6 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2837095 6 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 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 manager must only accept placements for children when they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child's needs. The manager must ensure that they have used their best endeavours to ascertain and take into account all relevant information about children. 6 March 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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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 work as a team where appropriate;

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

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ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; 6 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2837095 7 ensure that the home's workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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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demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must implement robust quality assurance and monitoring systems and maintain effective oversight of the home to improve the quality of care provided.

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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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there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all serious and significant incidents are notified to Ofsted within the required timescales, in accordance with regulation. 6 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint, at the registered provider's expense, a person ("the independent person") to visit and report on the children's home carried on by the registered provider.

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider carries on more than one home, the registered provider may appoint the same person as the independent person for all or any of those homes.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraphs (4) and (5), the registered provider may not appoint the following as an independent person— 6 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2837095 8 a person who has, or has had, a connection with—

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Requirement Due date

which the registered provider considers to give rise to doubts about that person's impartiality (for the purposes of producing the independent person's report – see regulation 44).

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must declare any actual or potential conflict of interest (whether of the type mentioned in paragraph (3) or otherwise) to the registered provider without delay and, if reasonably practicable, before conducting a visit to the home.

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider becomes aware of a potential conflict of interest in relation to the independent person before or during the independent person visiting the home (see regulation 44), the registered provider must—

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Requirement Due date

make arrangements to cancel the visit without delay; and

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Requirement Due date

appoint a different independent person to visit the home. (Regulation 43 (1) (2) (3)(g)(i)(ii)(iii) (6) (7)(a)(b))

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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: 2837095 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Spring Valley Children's Care Home Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Independence House, Adelaide Street, Me Hub, Heywood OL10 4HF

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Inspector

Tonia Dubidat, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2837095 10 regulates 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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