Children's Home run by Inspiration Care Group Limited in Barnsley

Inspection report for children’s home: 2846291 1 Registered provider: Inspiration Care Group Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private provider. It provides care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The provider and manager registered with Ofsted in September 2025. This was the home’s first inspection. The manager is in the process of voluntarily cancelling their registration.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home. The inspector spoke with the child.

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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: 2846291 2

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improvement to be good

The overall progress and experiences of the child are impacted by the shortfalls in leadership and management of the home. The child is safer since moving into the home, as staff ensure that most elements of a deprivation of liberty order are followed. However, the child’s progress in their learning has stalled, and managers have failed to ensure that staff encourage a regular routine of engaging in learning. Although staff understand the child’s risks and vulnerabilities, access to the child’s information is limited, and records in the home are not easily accessible and are not well prepared.

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improvement to be good

There has been one child living in the home since it was registered. As the child moved into the home in an emergency, this was not well planned. Although managers believe that an assessment was completed to confirm that staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to meet the child’s need, managers were unable to locate this during the inspection. Over time, the child has developed positive and trusting relationships with staff.

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improvement to be good

There is a lack of routine and structure to the child’s day, and the child is not making progress with their learning. The child is waiting for a home tutor to visit and help them with their studies. In the interim, there is a lack of challenge by managers to education and social care professionals to advocate for the child. In addition, the child’s education plans have not been sought by the home to ensure that staff know how to work with the child towards their learning targets.

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improvement to be good

Staff help the child to access health services such as the GP, dentist and some specialist services. Some staff have allowed the child to vape in the home, albeit this is not encouraged or permitted by managers in the home. The staff are inconsistent in how they help the child make healthier choices. A complaint has also been received from the child about a lack of professional boundaries from one staff member towards them, which is being investigated by the director.

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improvement to be good

Staff’s recording of the child’s experiences in the home is poor. Daily records are completed by staff inconsistently, and not all information is detailed. Most records fail to provide information about the child when they have settled to bed or when they have been up at night. The quality of records prevents managers from fully understanding the child’s day-to-day experiences.

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improvement to be good

The child attends activities with staff in the community, such as go-karting, and has tried ice skating. Most activities involve shopping, which the child enjoys, and encourages the child to develop skills in budgeting. A plan to develop the child’s independence skills is a highlighted area for development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2846291 3 Staff build positive working relationships with the child’s family. Staff are proactive in helping the child to spend time with their family, including on Christmas day. This helps the child maintain links with those people who are important to them.

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improvement to be good

The child says that they feel safe living in the home. The child’s placing local authority supports this view, as does the child’s parent. However, staff do not consistently follow the child’s safety plan. The child has restrictions in place due to known risks and vulnerabilities. Not all staff follow the child’s plan to ensure that they hand their mobile phone in at night or when going into the community. In addition, plans to complete safety checks on the child’s phone to ensure the child’s safety are not regularly completed. However, the child’s engagement with staff and relationships formed mitigates some of the risks.

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improvement to be good

The child’s risk assessments and plans have been recently made available to staff and updated. Before this, while aware of the child’s risks and vulnerabilities, staff were unable to access the child’s plans to review and understand if there were any changes. Although plans have been updated, not all information is included, such as strategies for how staff should respond if the child is awake during the night and staff have finished their shift.

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improvement to be good

Safer recruitment practice is not embedded. Gaps in employment histories for 2 staff members were identified. When concerns are highlighted in Disclosure and Barring Service records, managers develop a plan to monitor risks. However, these risk assessments of staff are not followed or reviewed.

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improvement to be good

Since the child has lived in the home, there have been no missing-from-home incidents, which is considerable progress for the child. Although there are restrictions in place for the child, they have not attempted to go missing when in the community with staff or from the home when they had access to a key to the front door. This is an achievement the staff celebrate with the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are significant shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home. At the time of the inspection, the registered manager had resigned from their post. The responsible individual has supported the management of the home since it opened and will continue to do so with an interim manager in post. The interim manager remains part of the shift pattern for staff and is not given time to complete management tasks. Therefore, the oversight of the management of the home remains an ongoing concern.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not have established monitoring systems in place to review the quality of care in the home to identify areas for improvement. Managers are aware of the strengths of the home, including the relationships that staff have established with Inspection report for children’s home: 2846291 4 the child. However, there are no systems in place to ensure that there is advocacy for the child to have improved access to services that they need. The local authority recently intervened to ensure that the child had access to direct therapeutic support commissioned by the provider, as managers had failed to do this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is a lack of professional curiosity by managers in relation to the child’s care and staff practice. Although managers are aware, there are shortfalls and inconsistencies in staff practice, and measures are not put in place to ensure that staff adhere to the child’s plans. Managers do not explore with staff why they are not following the child’s plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The child’s records are not easily accessed, as systems are difficult to navigate. Some information uploaded during the inspection related to another child. The responsible individual had to access the registered manager’s laptop to try to locate information. Therefore, it is not readily accessible for staff or the child. The responsible individual also disposed of one of the child’s records, believing these had been uploaded to the home’s IT system when they had not. Although managers had been aware of the difficulties faced by staff to access information, this has not been rectified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not ensured that the statement of purpose remains under review and is updated regularly. Information about staff and their experience and training is incomplete and has remained incomplete since the home opened.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Not all staff have received regular supervision sessions in line with the home’s statement of purpose. All staff in the home receive fewer supervision sessions than outlined in the statement of purpose. When supervision does take place, this lacks conversations to reflect on practice or safeguarding issues. Inspection report for children’s home: 2846291 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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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; and

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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)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children have up-to-date risk assessments that are regularly reviewed in line with children’s changing needs.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff understand and follow children’s safety plans. 10 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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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— 10 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2846291 6 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

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; and

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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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there are systems in place to have oversight of the care provided to the child in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there are effective systems in place to monitor and review the quality of care in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the interim manager has time available to fulfil their role as a manager.

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. 10 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2846291 7 (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they work with the placing authority to secure children’s plans, including their education plans.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must engage the placing authority to ensure that the child has access to all services to help them meet their potential.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there are professional working relationships developed with the placing local authority.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

if the child dies before attaining the age of 18, for 15 years from the child’s death;

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Requirement Due date

in cases not falling within sub-paragraph (a), for 75 years from the child’s date of birth;

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Requirement Due date

securely in the children’s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there; and

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Requirement Due date

in a secure place after the child has ceased to be accommodated in the home. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s records are retained.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff and children have access to children’s records.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff make an accurate record of the child’s time in the home. 10 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2846291 8 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—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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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

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority; and

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the child has access to learning and advocate for the child when this is not made available.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff actively prepare children and engage children in their learning. 10 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2846291 9 The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3)

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2; and

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Requirement Due date

the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3) (d) (7)(a)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there is scrutiny of staff records when they are employed to work in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that any gaps in employment are recorded.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that risk assessments completed in relation to staff are implemented. 10 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2846291 10

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they keep under review a statement of purpose (Regulation 16 and Schedule 1). The home’s statement of purpose should be child focused, indicating how the home provides individualised care to meet the Quality Standards for the children in their care. In particular, the registered person should ensure the statement of purpose contains information about staff, including their experience and qualifications. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that they have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulation, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2846291 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inspiration Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 123 Wilsden Avenue, Luton LU1 5HW

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Inspector

Joanne Wallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2846291 12 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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