Children's home run by Axios Care Homes Limited

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2814837 1 Registered provider: Axios Care Homes Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is privately owned. It provides care for up to 2 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post for 2 months; they are in the process of submitting their application to register with Ofsted. At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home. They chose not to contribute to the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

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: 2814837 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Further leadership changes have occurred. The previous manager left the home in October, and the new manager has been in post for 2 months.

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Findings from the inspection

The admissions process for children has been strengthened, and care planning is now more robust. The child has lived at the home for 3 months, and they have settled in well. They are making progress from their starting point, and they have developed positive, trusting relationships with the staff. Leaders ensured that staff’s skills and knowledge were considered during care planning, and additional training was provided to equip the team to meet the child’s specific needs.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff report feeling well supported by their managers and say that team morale has improved. They describe the home as ‘more settled’ and say that confidence within the team has grown. This creates a calm and positive environment for children, which helps them to feel secure and promotes their wellbeing.

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Findings from the inspection

Safeguarding practice is improved, and children have not been restrained by staff since the last inspection. Staff know the child well and respond appropriately during incidents, ensuring that situations are safely managed. The manager reviews all incidents to identify any gaps in staff practice or highlight effective approaches. In addition, staff have ample opportunities to reflect individually, and as a team, following incidents. This promotes learning and continuous improvement to benefit children.

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Findings from the inspection

Aspects of risk management remain an area for development. The quality of the child’s safety plans varies, and some guidance for staff is not sufficiently detailed. For example, the child’s missing-from-home protocol contains outdated information and has not been reviewed in line with the provider’s expectations. There is also limited guidance to help staff manage risks associated with the child vaping. These gaps may reduce the reliability of protective measures and affect the child’s safety. The manager acknowledged these shortfalls and gave assurance that prompt action will be taken to address them.

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Findings from the inspection

Management monitoring tools and reviewing systems are enhanced, supporting oversight of children’s experiences and the daily running of the home. However, managers are still learning to navigate the new electronic reporting and recording system, and some information was not easily accessible. This caused delays in locating children’s records. While this has not affected the child’s care, further work is needed to ensure that information can be accessed promptly. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2814837 3 Leaders created an improvement action plan following the last inspection, which has helped them to drive and track improvements within the home. However, the home’s quality of care report has not been completed or shared with Ofsted as required by the regulations. This limits the regulator’s ability to fully understand children’s experiences and have effective oversight of the children’s care.

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Findings from the inspection

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2814837 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/07/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2814837 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—

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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

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

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)(iii)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s safety plans contain accurate information to help staff provide safe care to reduce the risk of harm.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 27 March 2026 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2814837 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s records that are kept electronically are easily accessible and can be accessed by anyone who has a legitimate need to review them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2)  The registered person should ensure that an effective process is in place to ensure a review of the quality of care in the home is completed at least every 6 months. The completed report should be sent to Ofsted and to the placing authority for each child accommodated in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.3) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2814837 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Axios Care Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 12 Caroline Street, Birmingham B3 1TR

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Inspector

Amy Richards, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2814837 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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