Children's home run by South West Intervention Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2828948 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: South West Intervention Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a small, private provider. It offers care for up to 4 children who may experience social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home, and they were involved in the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted when the home opened in August 2025.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2828948 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is the first inspection of a new home. The focus has been on the team building relationships with the child living at the home. As a result, the child has developed close relationships with some of the team and is beginning to trust staff more. This is helping the child to understand and express their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child rated their home as ‘7 out of 10’. They said they like some of the team and enjoy some of the food. The child spends time with the team, and the staff consistently encourage the child. They routinely knock on the child’s bedroom door to support them with getting up and ready in the mornings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is making good progress from their starting point. They have recently restarted in education after a long gap. The home has advocated for the child’s education placement. When they were not in school, staff encouraged the child to undertake vocational courses at home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have encouraged the child to try different foods. Theme nights have enticed the child to try foods from other cultures, and small improvements have been made to the child’s diet. The team aims to have family-style meals and involve the child in the cooking. On occasions, this has worked well and is helping the child to develop important independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s health needs are supported well. Staff have encouraged the child to attend health appointments and take medication when needed. The child has refused to take one regular medication, and staff have arranged a medication review for this. Referrals for other health services have been made to continue this support. Staff try to model healthy behaviours, such as having an evening routine that includes showering and toothbrushing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This child has fun. Staff have worked hard to encourage the child to socialise. Youth clubs and activities have been tried. The team spends time playing games at home and going fishing with the child. Memories are captured well in a photo book.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Time with family is supported well. The team understands the importance to the child of repairing family relationships and quickly arranged a family meeting when there was a difficulty. One parent spoke about the good working relationship they have with the staff and how well they feel supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well presented with good-quality furniture and some personal touches that show that this child lives here. However, there are several issues that detract from a homely feel. There are a number of locked, empty bedrooms and offices, without an assessed need. Staff are often carrying bunches of keys. Signs for emergency exits and fire extinguishers are obviously on display, and window restrictors are in place without Inspection report for children’s home: 2828948 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

an assessed need. Sharp items are locked away, which does not help the child to learn how to use them safely. Some of these concerns were raised with managers by the independent person and have not yet resulted in action being taken.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the risks to children. The team’s focus has been on building relationships with the child to learn more about their wider relationships and the risks presented. The team has had to approach this cautiously and balance the risks to the child.

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

The team is aware of the risks with online safety and mobile phone use. Staff show curiosity about who the child speaks to or ‘games’ with but have concentrated on building relationships with the child rather than restricting devices. This has meant that the child has been involved in safety measures, such as monitoring apps, and they know why these measures are in place.

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

When incidents take place, they are recorded in detail. Chronologies are used to understand what has happened. Strategies are in place to calm situations, change staff members or distract the child. No physical interventions have been used. The child’s plans are updated following serious incidents. Written guidance to the team is not always explicit. For example, one situation identified the need for visual checks to take place. However, the frequency of the checks is not made clear.

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

There has been one occasion when the child has been missing from the home. This is a significant reduction for the child. The team knew the actions to take and followed the child’s plan. A return home discussion and a review of why the child went missing took place the following day.

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

When concerns have been raised about staff practice, they have been acted on quickly. Effective action is taken quickly to safeguard children while investigations take place. Investigations are thorough, and the relevant professionals are informed promptly.

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

Children know how to raise complaints, and complaints are taken seriously. Action was taken to repair the relationships between the child and the member of staff when concerns were raised. The child was made aware of the outcome of their complaint.

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

The team responds sensitively to self-harm. Wider resources and supports are signposted, and nurturing conversations take place. Leaders and managers are monitoring the frequency of these and consistently exploring how to improve support to children.

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

Safer recruitment processes are in place regarding employed staff. It is less clear how leaders and managers assure themselves about the safety of recruiting agency staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report for children’s home: 2828948 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run by a qualified and dedicated manager. They know the child well and have provided stability for them. There have been some staffing difficulties, and managers have covered gaps themselves to ensure a consistent staff team. When bank or agency workers have been used, they have been working alongside core staff, ensuring that the child has people they know in their home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers monitor and review care well. When incidents occur, manager reviews them. The reviews detail facts and focus on what has happened. However, they lack attention to what staff could have done differently, such as if an intervention could have been made at an earlier point or whether a different action was required. This means that learning from incidents is not as effective as it could be.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When concerns about practice are identified, actions to improve practice are shared with the whole team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training to meet the child’s needs was identified and undertaken. This has helped staff to feel more confident with caring for the child. Language used in the home and in records is not always child focused or meaningful to children. Leaders and managers recognise the need for improvements in this area, and resources have been shared with the team with a view to improving this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they feel supported by both their team and managers. Feedback from professionals and a parent is incredibly positive in respect of the care provided. Inspection report for children’s home: 2828948 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all areas of the home are welcoming and accessible for children. There must be consideration as to why any rooms or items are locked away and why restrictions or locks are in place, with strategies to remove these restrictions when safe to do so. The environment should be in keeping with a family home, and any signs or equipment should be as discreet or minimal as possible. 2 March 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should maintain good employment practice. Recruitment of staff should safeguard children and minimise risks to them. The registered person should ensure that agencies carry out all aspects of safer recruitment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should lead a team that provides high-quality care for all children living in the home. Specific guidance on the care a child needs should be Inspection report for children’s home: 2828948 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Recommendations

made clear to all staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)  The registered person should oversee children’s welfare through observation and engagement with each child, staff, families/carers where appropriate, and professionals involved in the care or protection of each child. Management oversight should consider staff practice and actions taken and whether there are opportunities for learning. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23)

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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: 2828948 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: South West Intervention Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5 Brooklands Place, Brooklands Road, Sale M33 3SD

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Inspector

Nickie Doney, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2828948 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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