Children's home run by Anchor Care and Education Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2828303 1 Registered provider: Anchor Care and Education Ltd 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 private provider. It provides care for up to 2 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, there were no children living in the home.

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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: 2828303 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is the first inspection since the home was registered in August 2025. Since opening, one child moved in and has since moved out. The manager planned the child's move into the home well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff enjoy spending time with children and undertake lots of activities with them. Staff collate pictures of these special times, which supports children's identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff place emphasis on the health needs of children and advocate for them to access appropriate health services. When there has been uncertainty about children's health needs, staff have communicated with relevant health professionals to get the child the right treatment. The manager advocates for specialist assessments and services for children. Children benefit from access to regular external private therapy, displaying the provider's commitment to children's therapy needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of education for children and support children to engage in learning. The manager and staff advocate for additional educational support when necessary. Staff provide creative and flexible learning activities in the home to promote children's education. An educational professional said, 'There was great communication from the manager and staff, they would always seek [the child's] voice and reflect that back to us. They would challenge us and offer different perspectives, which helped us to work together.'

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their family, which is important to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are skilled at capturing the voice of the child. Children's meetings take place monthly and give children an opportunity to share their views. Children are encouraged to contribute to the records about their time living at the home. Staff support children to complete wellbeing journals regularly, giving them space to reflect on their experiences and feelings.

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

Children have not gone missing from home. Staff understand the procedures to follow should this occur and know how to respond appropriately in line with plans for children.

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

There have been several significant incidents that resulted in damage to the home. Leaders have taken prompt action to address the damage, and the home is well presented, homely and ready for children to move in. After incidents, when children have wanted to speak to their social worker, this has been quickly facilitated. However, there was an occasion when a child raised concerns about staff practice, and this was not escalated by leaders. Inspection report for children's home: 2828303 3 Leaders have a technology plan that is normally implemented when a child moves into the home. There are shortfalls in staff's recording of consequences and phone checks as part of this technology plan.

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

Staff use physical intervention to keep children and others safe. Managers review each intervention to consider whether the response was appropriate and if anything could have been done differently. As a result, the manager made a change to the location of the staff office to help reduce incidents linked to that area. Children are offered debriefs after being held. However, staff debriefs are not consistently recorded. At times, leadership tasks after a restraint are not completed in a way that supports clear roles and responsibilities of the leadership structure.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a committed manager who has strong aspirations for the home. The manager is supported by an experienced responsible individual and deputy team. Staff are well qualified, and the provider supports staff to undertake their qualifications as necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the leadership team. Staff enjoy working in the home. Staff receive regular supervision in line with the statement of purpose. Staff benefit from regular recorded discussions with managers, which offers them a less formal space to chat and reflect.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Following the child moving out of the home, leaders completed a thorough review to consider if any changes could be made. As a result, leaders have now strengthened the process of children moving into the home. Leaders provided wellbeing support to staff after the child left, recognising the emotional impact of the situation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager holds regular team meetings, which are well planned and consider the needs of children and staff. The manager encourages staff to share ideas, and she values the contributions of staff. The manager invites external professionals to attend team meetings to share their expert knowledge to help staff's care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to a range of training, including training that is specific to the needs of the children they care for. There are some gaps in the manager's oversight of training records, and the manager has plans in place to address these gaps and improve monitoring. Inspection report for children's home: 2828303 4

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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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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

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)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that children's concerns are responded to and escalated as outlined in the home's policies and procedures. 30 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2828303 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure that it meets the needs of each child. In particular, all staff involved in restraints should have debriefs, and, if leaders are involved in the restraint, an appropriate person should be identified to undertake follow-up actions. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 49, paragraph 9.59).  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home's policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising

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Recommendations

way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that is helpful to the child, and records should be clear and up to date about phone checks, consequences and dates on key documents. (Guide to children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2828303 6

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Anchor Care and Education Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Ensors Accountants LLP, Saxon House, Moseley's Farm Business Centre, Fornham All Saints, Bury St. Edmunds IP28 6JY

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Inspector

Lorna Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2828303 7 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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