Children's home run by Nottinghamshire County Council

Inspection report for children’s home: SC044291 1 SC044291 Registered provider: Nottinghamshire County Council

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is run by Nottinghamshire County Council. It offers care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is a permanent registered manager in place, who was present during both days of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living in the home, and all were spoken to.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC044291 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/03/2025 Full Good 12/03/2024 Full Good 22/11/2022 Full Good 04/08/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC044291 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have built trusting and supportive relationships with the children, enabling them to feel safe, understood and valued. Care plans and behaviour support plans are used effectively and provide staff with a clear understanding of each child’s individual needs. Staff demonstrate detailed knowledge of the children and speak confidently about their progress, routines and experiences. They actively support children to maintain relationships with family and friends who are important to them, which contributes to the children’s sense of stability, identity and emotional wellbeing.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves into and out of the home are child focused and planned. The registered manager visits the children before they move in and encourages them to plan their move into the home together. When a child moves to a different home, staff offer care and extensive support. This includes advocating for and visiting the children for months after they leave the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children living in the home are supported to attend an appropriate education setting. The registered manager and staff consistently advocate for the children’s educational needs and work closely with schools and professionals to promote positive engagement. Staff provide practical and emotional support to help children attend school regularly. For one child, the registered manager and staff have advocated robustly through attending meetings, sharing relevant information and visiting the school. Their persistence and coordinated approach have enabled the child to feel safe enough to attend school full time.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend time with children on a regular basis. They plan regular one-to-one sessions, which ensure that children have consistent opportunities to discuss what matters to them. These sessions sensitively explore a range of important topics, including the children’s emotional wellbeing, developing independence skills and aspects of their physical health.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff use a variety of approaches to ensure children’s views are captured effectively. Daily conversations and monthly catch ups give children space to express their wishes, feelings and any concerns. Staff encourage children to talk about what they would like to do or what they would change within the home. In addition, children have access to independent advocacy, further strengthening their ability to have a meaningful voice in decisions that affect them.

p.3

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

Staff have a good understanding of each child’s risks, vulnerabilities and needs. They are supported by a specialist social worker, who offers focused guidance on promoting Inspection report for children’s home: SC044291 4 children’s emotional wellbeing. This helps staff to develop a deeper understanding of the impact of trauma on the children they care for and informs their practice. As a result, staff have not had to hold children during the inspection period and incidents are well managed and de-escalated well.

p.3

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

Staff speak about the children with warmth and respect and demonstrate an empathetic, trauma-informed approach to safeguarding. Children’s plans are detailed, accessible and clearly set out the support they require. Children said that they feel safe in the home and can identify staff members they would approach if they were worried or felt unsafe.

p.4

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

There is a swift response when children go missing from the home. Staff respond effectively by alerting professionals and searching for the child. Staff contact family, friends and key contacts. When a child returns, they are welcomed home and staff ensure that they have time for a debrief and return home interview. Staff respond in a caring manner to understand the situation and not react punitively.

p.4

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

The registered manager and staff have a good understanding of online risks. Staff respond proactively, when there is a concern. This includes alerting the necessary agencies and seeking specialist advice if required. Staff work with children in an open way to discuss their online lives, phone use and devices. Phone and device checks are completed proportionately with the children in mind.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and assistant manager know the children well and consistently advocate for their needs. Staff said they feel happy working in the home and described receiving good levels of support from the management team. One staff member said the current management is the best it has been. The leadership approach has created a positive, child-focused culture within the home, which was evident in the calm and relaxed way staff interacted with the children. The registered manager also said they feel well supported by senior managers.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has clear quality assurance processes in place, providing effective oversight of practice and ensuring work is reviewed consistently. Regular team meetings contribute to this quality assurance activity, offering staff opportunities to develop their practice and share feedback with managers. This approach enables managers to identify both strengths and areas for development within the service.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When staff join the home, they complete a thorough induction period that equips them with the essential knowledge and skills required for their role. Following this, they have access to a comprehensive and well-developed training programme that is responsive to the children’s emerging needs. This includes specialised training on topics, such as artificial intelligence and online safety, ensuring staff are well prepared to support and safeguard children in an evolving digital landscape. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044291 5 Leaders have identified that the quality of staff recording and the use of language is not consistently good enough. They have identified this as a key area for future practice development. However, the impact of this is yet to be evaluated.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, ongoing supervision that provides space to reflect on their practice and discuss key areas of their work. While supervision is well established, the recording of agreed actions could be clearer. Strengthening this aspect would better evidence how staff practice is developing over time and how supervision contributes to continuous improvement within the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The Regulation 45 report failed to include feedback from children, family members or professionals, which is an essential element of the monitoring and review process. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044291 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months. In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it;

p.6

Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, this refers to gathering the views of the children, family members and professionals and including them in the Regulation 45 reports. 01/05/2026

p.6

Recommendations

 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. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. In particular, this is in reference to the recording of debriefs after Inspection report for children’s home: SC044291 7 incidents and ensuring there is a clear rationale for having or not having a debrief with the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)

p.6

Recommendations

 It is good practice for a note of the outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. In particular, this is in reference to recording actions from supervisions and reviewing them (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.4)

p.7

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: SC044291 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: West Bridgford House, Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG2 7UN

p.8

Inspector

John McDonnell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC044291 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9