Children's Home run by VCare24 Limited in East Riding of Yorkshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2561726 1 Registered provider: Vcare - 24 Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a private provider. The home can care for one child who may experience emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2025 and is currently absent from work.

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Information about this children’s home

One child has left and one child has moved in during this inspection period. The child living at the home spoke to the inspectors.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 10 September 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2561726 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/09/2024 Full Good 30/08/2023 Full Good 02/08/2022 Full Good 13/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2561726 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team has stayed consistent, which has helped staff to build positive and trusting relationships with the child. Staff spend time with the child in the home and community, engaging in activities that the child chooses. The child can identify staff whom they feel comfortable to seek out for support. This means that the child has developed relationships with staff who understand their day-to-day care needs well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff advocate for children’s education. One child who lived in the home previously had good school attendance and was engaged in learning. The child currently living in the home is not in education. They have completed work with online tutors. Staff helped the child to enrol at college, which they attended for a brief period. The home has escalated concerns about delays in accessing education to the local authority.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s health. The child has accessed both routine and emergency health care and is registered with a dentist. There are regular conversations taking place that help to promote healthy lifestyle choices for the child. The local authority health care plan is not on file; there have been attempts made by the home to receive this documentation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are not fully prepared for semi-independence. One child’s move from the home was quicker than anticipated, meaning that work to prepare for the move and independence was incomplete. The child currently living in the home has a high level of staff supervision in line with their care plan. There are no plans in place for the child’s independence or next steps. The child is engaging in basic independence skills in the home. The lack of planning means it is unclear how the child will move from the home with the knowledge or skills to manage semi-independence and with reduced staff support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s records do not fully reflect their needs. Plans do not accurately reflect recent changes to their education. Key documents are missing from the child’s file. The child’s day-to-day records are detailed and written in a meaningful way for the child.

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

Behaviour is managed positively, and physical interventions are rarely used. There have been occasions when the police have been called to support with behaviour management. However, this is a last resort to ensure the child’s safety. The child receives regular praise, rewards and encouragement for their behaviour. Staff have worked to help the child recognise their feelings and develop helpful coping strategies. This means that incidents in the home have reduced.

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

Staff understand the risks for the child. There are detailed risk assessments in place that help inform staff how to manage risks. Risk assessments and safety plans are updated Inspection report for children’s home: 2561726 4 following incidents. Where appropriate, when new behaviours have been identified, there have been changes to the environment to help reduce the risk for the child.

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

Staff talk to the child regularly about risky behaviour, revisiting topics to help develop the child’s understanding. Through this work, staff help the child to make safer choices. The child has engaged in planned and ad hoc key-work sessions to enhance and support this.

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

The child is supervised in line with their care plans. This means that the child does not currently go missing from the home, although there are detailed plans in place should this occur. Staff are aware of their responsibilities if children go missing and have demonstrated a proactive response with a child who previously lived in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Concerns about staff and managers are taken seriously. When concerns have been raised in relation to management and staff practice, there have been thorough investigations. Senior leaders have acted on the concerns and have used agreed internal action to ensure that children are safeguarded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have shared that they have not always felt supported by management. They highlighted inconsistencies in supervision and a lack of follow-up support after incidents. Some staff noted that the registered manager can, at times, seem less approachable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has had a period of absence from the home. The deputy manager, responsible individual and the quality manager have offered oversight and support to staff during this time. Support from a psychologist has been introduced, providing all staff with a reflective space to consider the care they deliver. Team meetings take place regularly and have been revised to empower staff. Staff morale has improved recently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff and management communicate regularly with professionals and adults who support the child. The management team have raised concerns with stakeholders when important documents or decisions required to care effectively for the child have not been received. The escalation process has been unsuccessful and requires strengthening to ensure that they have all the documentation required to care for the child and so that there is no unnecessary delay to plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are recruited using a robust safer recruitment process. Staff receive training and an induction into the home. Staff training and development are continuous. Staff have attended training to increase their understanding of the systems surrounding children in care. There has been bespoke training delivered around the child’s communication needs, which staff have found helpful. Staff have not achieved the relevant qualification within the given timescales. Inspection report for children’s home: 2561726 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, 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

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. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)) 17 April 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—

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Requirement Due date

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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)) 17 April 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2561726 6 This particularly refers to staff achieving the relevant qualification within the given timescales, receiving regular supervision and ensuring that plans are in place that help children to make progress.

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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. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the changes in plans not being reflected promptly in records. 17 April 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home fulfils its important role by supporting each child in the period immediately before they leave the home.The registered person should work with the placing authority to ensure that each child’s transition is planned and help each child to prepare for leaving, both practically and emotionally. (‘The Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.9).

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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: 2561726 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 10, Halifax Way, Pocklington Industrial Estate, Pocklington, York YO42 1NP

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Inspectors

Ali Owens, Social Care Inspector (lead) Amy Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2561726 8 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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