Children's home run by Homes2Inspire Limited

Inspection report children's home: 2678551 1 Registered provider: Homes2Inspire 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 run by a provider owned by a national charity. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2024.

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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: 4 February 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2678551 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/02/2025 Full Good 25/09/2023 Full Good 18/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2678551 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were 2 children living at the home at the time of inspection. Both children were spoken to. The children raised some concerns which were explored during inspection. The children interact positively with staff and seem comfortable at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children are in education and staff support children’s attendance well. Managers attended regular meetings for one child when they were struggling with education. The child moved to another education provision and this improved their attendance. The school said that there is good communication between staff and the school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves in and out of the home are managed well. One child has moved from the home in a planned move to independent living. This child was spoken to during the inspection and spoke positively about the support they were offered when living at the home. They said that the support they had with their move made this successful and they has remained in contact with staff since moving. One child has moved to the home, this was a planned move with a plan in place. Following the child moving to the home, the managers have raised concerns to the placing authority about some of the risks not being fully detailed in the child’s referral.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has had a reduction in self-harm incidents. They have been referred to mental health services for additional support. The child has made progress in being able to talk about their feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s interests. The children often choose to spend a lot of time in their bedrooms as per their wishes. The children are offered a range of activities. One child has started singing lessons and the other goes horse-riding. This shows their individual interests are promoted.

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

The staff rarely use restraints, these are proportionate when used. There have been some serious incidents when staff have been assaulted. De-escalation skills are used to support children during incidents.

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

Staff understand the protocol to follow when children go missing from the home. One child has had a number of missing episodes. However, this is a reduction compared to the frequency they were going missing before moving to the home. Staff work closely with the child’s family during missing episodes to ensure information is shared. The missing episodes have never been overnight, and the child will call staff to be collected. Staff seek advice from medical professionals when there are concerns about alcohol or substance misuse during missing episodes. Inspection report children's home: 2678551 4 Room searches are undertaken when necessary and when a child is reported missing. Any items of concern are removed from the bedroom. When the child is at the home, they are informed of the search. However, when the child is missing from the home, they are not informed that their bedroom has been searched. This could affect children’s

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

feeling that their bedroom is a safe, private space for them.

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

Children’s plans are detailed and contain strategies for staff to follow. However, the plans do not always align with the placing authority plans. Also, the placing authority plans contradict each other. The manager has requested for updates to be made but this has not been actioned by the placing authority. This means there is a lack of clarity about arrangements such as free time, safe areas and phone arrangements.

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

There has been one concern which was not reported to the local authority designated Officer (LADO) as required. The concern was a car accident when a child was in the car. The child was offered medical attention and the accident was reported to the police. However, a LADO referral was not submitted until during this inspection. The manager has reflected and identified that this should have been referred at the time. A risk assessment was put in place for the staff member involved and further training will be provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and qualified. He is aspirational for the children and staff. He knows the children well and is proud of their successes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions take place in line with the home’s policy. The staff discuss the children and use scenarios to support staff development. Staff talk positively about the support that they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly. These include discussions about the children and topics of relevance. These support staff to reflect as a group about the children to support consistency in how they work with them. Before a child moves to the home, a specific team meeting about their individual needs and history takes place. This means the team have relevant information to support the child when they move to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer staff recruitment is undertaken. This ensures that the staff working at the home are safe to do so. There is a clear induction plan to help new staff to learn their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been difficulties in the working relationship with a placing authority. Leaders and managers have raised concerns to the placing authority. However, no improvements have been made, and this is impacting on the child. For example, during inspection a situation the manager tried to enforce a boundary with the child which the social worker promptly reversed. This impacts on the manager’s ability to enforce boundaries at the home and impacts on the relationship with the child. While there has been some challenge, there has not been any formal escalation to try and improve this situation. This is unhelpful for children and staff. Inspection report children's home: 2678551 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, 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

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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure concerns about staff practice are reported to the LADO when required and staff understand their responsibility to inform managers of incidents of concern. 20 March 2026

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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

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. (Regulation 5(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, escalate concerns about the placing authority when challenge is not effective and ensure children's plans are in line with the placing authorities plans. 20 March 2026 Inspection report children's home: 2678551 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children's rooms are only searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission, unless there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child's or another person's safety or well-being. If they are not informed beforehand, children should be informed following the search, so they are aware. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 16, paragraph 3.20)

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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 children's home: 2678551 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Homes2Inspire Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Black Country House, Rounds Green Road, Oldbury B69 2DG

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Inspector

Leanne Lyon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2678551 8 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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