SC 2514259

Inspection report children's home: 2514259 1 Registered provider: Solent Child Care 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

This privately run home provides care for up to 2 children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, there were 2 children living in the home.

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Information about this children's home

The manager, who also manages another setting, registered with Ofsted in December 2025.

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Information about this children's home

Staff are referred to as ‘adults’ in the home and this is reflected in this report.

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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: 22 January 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2514259 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/01/2025 Full Outstanding 20/03/2024 Full Good 27/02/2023 Full Outstanding 01/03/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report children's home: 2514259 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy warm and supportive relationships with adults who know them well. Children have a sense of belonging in the home and their identities, achievements and progress are celebrated. Both children have made good progress since the last inspection, for example in relation to emotional regulation and social confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Adults value and promote children's important relationships. They work closely with placing authorities, children and family members to make sure that children's wishes are known and that family time is positive for children. Support in this area has helped one child to make contact with family members whom they have not seen for a long time, and another to see their family more often, in line with their care plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children are attending full-time school and have excellent attendance. Adults maintain effective communication with education professionals, which helps to negotiate any challenges. Adults supported both children to make successful transitions from primary to secondary provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Adults encourage children to engage in a range of activities and experiences, such as guides, swimming, bushcraft and an art group. Children enjoyed a summer activity holiday together. Adults carefully consider children’s needs and wishes when planning activities. This helps the children to build confidence, broaden their horizons and make memories at a pace that they can manage.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Adults actively seek children’s views and help them to express them. Children are supported to have an advocate if they wish. Regular one-to-one time, day-to-day discussions and family meetings provide spaces for children to share their wishes and feelings and take part in decisions about things that matter to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home that is comfortable, in good repair and furnished in a child friendly manner. Photographs of children and their achievements are displayed throughout the home, and bedrooms are highly personalised with children's input. This supports the children's sense of belonging and ownership.

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

There is a strong safeguarding culture in the home. Adults have a good understanding of children's vulnerabilities and of what is expected of them to keep children safe. Systems for communicating new issues or changes to plans are effective. As a result, adults provide safe care and respond effectively if there are safeguarding concerns.

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

Both children are at an age where they are increasingly accessing the internet. There is appropriate risk assessment and safety planning around this, in partnership with the Inspection report children's home: 2514259 4 placing authority. Adults provide educative input to children to help them to understand risks and to build their skills in safely navigating the online world.

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

If children are upset or showing behaviours of distress, adults seek to help them to express feelings safely and de-escalate situations. Physical interventions are rarely used and are subject to close monitoring. Timely follow up with children and adults after incidents of concern helps to review practice, support learning and co-construct plans with children. For one child, who had a history of many incidents involving physical interventions before the last inspection, this approach has supported a sustained reduction.

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

Adults work hard to promote positive interactions between children and to minimise the risks between them. They are proactive in creating opportunities for children to enjoy activities together and follow clear protocols in relation to supervision and the management of conflict, should it arise. This helps the children’s relationship with each other to be as safe and positive as possible.

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

Allegations and concerns about staff practice are generally well managed, with consultation with others such as the local authority designated officer when required. Where appropriate, managers support staff to learn and to improve practice. An allegation management protocol is in place for one child in agreement with the placing authority. However, on two occasions this was not followed robustly enough.

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

Before new adults start working in the home, managers conduct safer recruitment checks which satisfy most areas of the regulations. Improvements have been made since the last inspection so that records now show clearly when, and by whom, the original Disclosure and Barring Service certificate was seen. However, records do not currently demonstrate that every effort is made to verify adults’ reasons for leaving previous caring roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is very experienced and knows the home and the children well, having worked in the organisation for many years. Adults say that the manager is supportive and available. The manager has a thoroughly child-centred approach and is aspirational for children. This underpins a positive culture of care for all.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been significant changes in staffing since the last inspection, including the departure of two managers and some long-serving team members. Although this inevitably led to some disruption for children, leaders worked effectively to minimise the impact on them, for example by increasing the use of familiar adults employed as bank staff, maintaining connections with former team members and planning careful introductions of new adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers actively recruit to vacancies and have taken steps to improve the retention of adults. There is a positive team dynamic, with new adults feeling welcomed Inspection report children's home: 2514259 5 and supported by colleagues. The manager’s knowledge of children and the home has helped to provide stability for the adults, and the new team is forming well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Adults understand the importance of effective working relationships with children's personal and professional networks. Social care professionals and family members provided consistently positive feedback about care, communication and children’s progress. This helps children to receive co-ordinated care and benefit from positive relationships between the adults in their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Adults receive regular supervision and appraisal of their practice to support them in their roles. Regular team meetings, with input from the therapeutic lead, support team building and help the adults to reflect and to implement care consistent with the ethos in the statement of purpose. This is reflected in the day-to-day approach of the adults, who express and demonstrate an empathic, strengths-based approach to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Adults are required to complete a suitable variety of training relevant to their roles. Full time adult workers are up to date with this and there is effective tracking and monitoring of their progress in relation to training and qualifications. However, some sessional staff are behind with mandatory training and two are beyond the statutory timescale for completing the required qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An independent person completes monthly reports and managers always respond constructively to their recommendations. The independent person normally talks to children when they visit, but there have been two months when their report was not based on a visit to the home. Additionally, they do not seek the views of family members to inform their reports. These factors undermine the level of scrutiny provided to support the manager’s oversight. Inspection report children's home: 2514259 6

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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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that any agreed allegation management protocol in use is fully implemented and subject to effective management oversight. 25 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development; (Regulation 33 (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all adults employed as sessional workers are up to date with mandatory training and have clear plans in place in relation to completing their level 3 qualification or equivalent. 25 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only— 25 March 2026 Inspection report children's home: 2514259 7 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. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the reasons for adults leaving previous roles with children or vulnerable adults are verified in line with Schedule 2 and a clear record is kept of this.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the independent person makes a rigorous assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children. This should include visiting the home each month and obtaining the views of the relatives of children, where appropriate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 65, paragraph 15.5).

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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: 2514259 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Solent Child Care Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 9 St Georges Yard, Castle Street, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7LW

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Inspector

Jacob Robson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2514259 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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