Children's home run by Nest Children’s Homes Limited

Inspection report children's home: 2826269 1 Registered provider: Nest Children’s Home’s 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 owned and managed by a private provider and is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional needs. At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home and both children were spoken to by the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager in post.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2826269 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in this home and are valued by the adults who look after them. Staff talk enthusiastically about their roles and take time to understand the unique needs of each child. Staff are clear on the importance of building long lasting and meaningful relationships with the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s successes are celebrated in a number of creative ways and staff tailor their responses to meet each child’s need. Rewards are meaningful to each child and they are given the opportunity to work towards activities or chosen items helping to build confidence and achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to speak about a range of sensitive issues. In addition to ad hoc conversations, leaders and managers carefully consider the needs of the children and ensure that there is a focus on targeted and meaningful topics for each child. Secure relationships with staff help the children to explore their feelings which helps them to better understand their emotions and behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the children’s health needs are met and are proactive in seeking medical advice. Leaders and managers arrange bespoke training to enhance staff’s knowledge of children’s individual health needs. They support children to take age- appropriate level of responsibility in managing their own health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take time to listen to how the children wish to see and spend time with their relatives and friends. Staff work with the children’s family members to ensure that they maintain regular, meaningful, and safe contact with their loved ones.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming with shared spaces for eating together and relaxing. The children’s bedrooms are personalised to their individual tastes, and the children are supported to look after their own pet kittens. However, there is some inconsistency in expectations around bedroom cleanliness which is confusing for the children to understand.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the children to engage in age-appropriate independence activities such as cooking, shopping and laundry. The children help with shopping lists and are supported with cooking their own meals if they wish to. Some of these activities lack structure and more needs to be done to ensure that there is a meaningful and individualised plan for each child to prepare them for adult life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The education plans for the children are not meeting their individual needs and more needs to be done by leaders and managers to challenge the wider network. Staff are not consistent in their expectations for children’s routines, including sleep patterns and this effects the children’s engagement with education. Inspection report children's home: 2826269 3

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

There are very few incidents in this home and those that do occur are well managed by skilled and attentive staff. Children are supported to express their emotions with trusted staff and this means that incidents do not escalate.

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

Overall, safeguarding concerns are well managed with robust and timely action taken to address immediate issues. Incident reports are clearly recorded with management oversight and learning is identified to inform practice. However, on one occasion, leaders and managers did not take all the necessary actions following an allegation against a member of staff. While the child was kept safe by the immediate response, not enough was done to notify the relevant agencies. Leaders and managers have since taken steps to appropriately address this shortfall.

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

Plans to support staff to minimise risk are up to date, clear and concise. Children are involved in writing their own plans to help staff to keep them safe. Staff support children to take age-appropriate risks as part of their development and learn skills to help keep themselves safe. Children enjoy spending meaningful time with their friends in the community without any unnecessary restrictions.

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

Incidents which involve children being missing from the home are well managed. On each occasion, staff have followed protocol, notified all relevant people and searched for the children at known locations. Staff ensure that the child’s return home is warm and welcoming, without judgement and encourage the children to share any experiences while away from the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a dedicated and committed manager who has a good understanding of the children’s needs. The manager role models good practice and has nurturing and trusting relationships with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about their roles and say they feel supported by approachable leaders and managers. Leaders and managers ensure that staff are up to date with mandatory training and organise bespoke training to support staff to respond to the individual needs of the children. New members of staff receive comprehensive training over a six-month probationary period.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers respond to children’s views in a number of ways and children are involved in decision making in the home. Children know who to speak to if they are unhappy or wish to make a complaint but no complaints have been received.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers ensure that they work closely with the family and multi-agency network around each child. Professional feedback is incredibly positive about the staff, the care of the children and the progress they are making. Professionals say, ‘[the child’s] progress has been exceptional’ and ‘the home always feels safe, well managed Inspection report children's home: 2826269 4 and homely’. A family member also commented, ‘staff are great, cannot fault them. [The child] is much more confident, [the child] weren’t like that before’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions and team meetings take place regularly and staff are able to reflect on their practice and make improvements to the care children receive. Leaders and managers openly discuss practice issues and staff are supported with individual sessions if requested.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Changes at senior leadership level have caused some instability in the management practices. Leaders and managers have plans to address this instability so that it does not have impact on the staff team or children. Inspection report children's home: 2826269 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and 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 need;

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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)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered persons must ensure that there is effective challenge to placing authorities when there are gaps in services or care plans are not in place. 31 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children's home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose; 31 March 2026 Inspection report children's home: 2826269 6 protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child's background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice; (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iv)(v)(vi)(ix)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered persons must ensure that staff take time to understand the children’s specific needs and follow the care outlined in the home’s statement and purpose. In particular, the registered persons must ensure that children are provided with structured and healthy routines and staff encourage age-appropriate independence skills. 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;

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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;

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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)(v)(vi)(vii) (e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that appropriate action is taken following safeguarding concerns to notify the relevant bodies. 31 March 2026 Inspection report children's home: 2826269 7

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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: 2826269 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nest Children’s Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite K Market House Business Centre, 2 Marlborough Road, Swindon, United Kingdom SN3 1QY

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Inspector

Stacey Pellow, Social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 2826269 9 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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