Children's Home run by Inspirations Leicestershire Limited in North Northamptonshire

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2713886 1 Registered provider: Inspirations Leicestershire Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care for up to 4 children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living at the home. One child had recently moved out.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2023.

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Inspection date: 8 January 2026

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2713886 2

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Findings from the inspection

We identified the following serious and widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection:

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Findings from the inspection

 There are shortfalls in how staff meet the care and safety needs of children who go missing from the home.  The management oversight of incidents is insufficient.  The out-of-hours, on-call system is not effective.  Children’s bedrooms are not all hygienic or free from hazards.

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Findings from the inspection

Children and staff have experienced a period of instability. Children have been involved in concerning behavioural incidents. This has led on 2 occasions to staff being seriously hurt.

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Findings from the inspection

The children have had several episodes of going missing from the home. Staff, on most occasions, have followed the children or alerted the police. However, on 2 occasions children were able to leave the home for several hours without staff noticing. Although the alarm system may have been tampered with, the alarm sounded for the external door, but staff did not wake. Staff were on sleep-in duties on both these occasions and failed to wake and act. Leaders and managers have now implemented, for a short period, waking night staff. Ofsted was not made aware of one serious incident when children went missing.

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Findings from the inspection

On one occasion, 4 children were missing and both staff followed them. However, this left no staff at the home to wait for children if they returned home.

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Findings from the inspection

On another occasion, a child complained of an injured elbow and hand following a physical intervention. The restraint was deemed proportionate. However, the child was not spoken to about their injuries, with a delay of up to 7 days. This is a shortfall, as no assessment of the injury was undertaken.

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Findings from the inspection

There have been 2 occasions when the children have been able to access staff keys. On one of these occasions, a child was able to enter the combination code for the safe. Staff were unable to intervene effectively.

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Findings from the inspection

Senior leaders do not dynamically assess risks to children and staff following incidents that take place overnight. For example, there was one occasion when 2 staff members were injured while caring for the children. These staff members worked for 2 days, including sleep-in shifts, without being relieved. This situation was not assessed appropriately by leaders on call. Furthermore, senior leaders have not risk assessed how no lone work agreements can be safely implemented in practice. The manager has not ensured that staff use the out-of-hours cover appropriately. There was one incident when there was a delay in reporting a serious incident. On Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2713886 3 another occasion, staff were told to manage the situation without any additional support provided and this left staff and children vulnerable.

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Findings from the inspection

Children’s bedrooms are not always welcoming environments that are hygienic and free from hazards. For some children, who struggle to maintain their bedroom to a clean and hygienic standard, the staff have not been modelling for those children what appropriate standards should be. One child’s bedroom had an unhygienic smell, and another child had a binbag full of rubbish in their bedroom, which does not make for a clean and pleasant space to sleep or spend time in.

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Findings from the inspection

Children’s attendance and engagement with education are of concern. The manager attends multi-agency meetings to find educational placements. However, staff cannot motivate the children to attend and maintain a good routine that supports educational attendance and achievement. One child has done well and has made progress in their education. Overall, this progress is not indicative of all the children’s educational experiences.

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Findings from the inspection

Since the full inspection on 30 July 2025, the manager and responsible individual have remained consistent in their leadership of the home. The staff have valued their support and expertise. However, the capacity of the manager has been stretched due to the number of incidents involving the children that have occurred. Furthermore, the manager has covered shifts on the rota, which has limited her ability to complete managerial tasks.

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Findings from the inspection

Overall, senior leaders recognise that there has been a period of instability for children. In response, they acknowledge that they need to review staffing arrangements and the on-call system and that management oversight needs to improve. They have also funded additional staffing to ensure that a waking night staff is employed.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff say that they feel supported by the manager, that they receive regular supervision and that team meetings take place which are beneficial to their wellbeing and development. A social worker spoken to provided positive feedback about how well one child was being cared for by staff. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2713886 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/07/2025 Full Good 04/06/2024 Full Outstanding 23/05/2023 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2713886 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 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

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

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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

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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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iv)(vi)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must dynamically assess the risks that relationships between children may pose, especially in relation to episodes of going missing. The registered manager must review incidents of going missing and the use of door alarms.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children’s bedrooms should be hygienic and free from hazards. 28 February 2026 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2713886 6 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 has sufficient staff to provide care for 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

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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure they have the capacity to oversee incidents sufficiently, to understand what learning may be drawn from incidents mitigate future risk.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must review lone working risk assessments to ensure that they are fit for purpose and that they meet the care and safety needs of children. 28 February 2026 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2713886 7 In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff use the on-call system and that advice provided is proportionate and keeps children safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must review when staff should be relieved from work if they have not had sufficient sleep or when they have been injured.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate;

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 28 February 2026

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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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

is instigated; or 28 February 2026 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2713886 8 concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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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 other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(iii)(iv)(v)(ix)) 28 February 2026 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2713886 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inspirations Leicestershire Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 131a London Road, Oadby, Leicester LE2 5DP

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Inspector

Caroline Hose, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2713886 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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