Children's Home run by Within Reach Services Limited in Gloucestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2722533 1 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: Within Reach Services 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 home is managed by a private provider and provides care for up to 2 children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home, having moved in during November 2025. The child who was living in the home at the time of the last inspection has successfully moved to an independent provision.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2023. A new manager has made an application to register with Ofsted, to take over the management of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2722533 2 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/03/2025 Full Good 31/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2722533 3 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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improvement to be good

Two children have lived in the home since the last inspection. Both children have enjoyed positive experiences and made progress as a result of the care they have received. However, their overall experiences are very different.

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improvement to be good

The child living at the home at the time of the last inspection enjoyed the consistency of living in the home for a substantial period of over 2 years. During this time, they enjoyed positive relationships with staff, were supported to enjoy holidays, and to engage in activities both in the home and in the community. Staff support helped them to develop confidence and enabled them to spend time safely away from the home and sustained the removal of deprivation of liberty safeguards. Their move from the home to a supported living provision was planned and reflected their wishes and needs. The staff are proud of the child’s successes, including the education success of completing final exams and maintaining part-time employment.

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improvement to be good

Despite some initial progress and developing relationships, the child currently living in the home does not receive the consistency of care they need. They are experiencing increasing incidents and self-injurious harm is increasingly prevalent. Staff intervention does not help this to reduce. Leaders and managers recognise the impact on the child and are providing support for a planned move.

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improvement to be good

The home environment does not reflect the cosy and welcoming atmosphere described in the home’s statement of purpose. Actions taken to make the environment safe lacked creativity, and opportunities were missed to replace soft furnishings with suitable alternatives. Staff did not consider how to store the child’s belongings in a way that balances risk with respect, meaning the child did not consistently experience their items being valued.

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improvement to be good

Staff recognise and respond well to children’s routine health needs. When children have more complex needs, the manager leads strong multi-agency work and uses hospital passports to ensure these needs are clearly understood. However, when complex needs were not adequately addressed by partner agencies for one child, the manager did not use formal escalation and complaint processes, despite the serious impact on the child.

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improvement to be good

Managers understand their safeguarding responsibilities and the arrangements required to protect children. They recognise the immediate risks and the complexity of children’s needs, including the impact of their deprivation of liberty safeguards. However, for one child, the high number of incidents and the inconsistent care provided have limited how effectively the child has been helped and protected. Despite wider service managers Inspection report for children’s home: 2722533 4 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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improvement to be good

offering support, the lack of consistent practice from staff has weakened the overall support to the child. The child has experienced changes of staff and staff not following their support plans consistently.

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improvement to be good

The child currently living in the home has experienced a high number of physical restraints. These incidents are overseen robustly, and the measures used are proportionate. Managers identify that earlier intervention could have prevented some escalations. Managers support the child to speak about incidents, although the child’s engagement varies, and staff are also supported to reflect on the impact of these events. Records capture incidents and learning. However, the use of child body maps to record staff injuries had not been identified as an error. The responsible individual has provided reassurance that this will be addressed through the review of current systems.

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improvement to be good

When children have gone missing, staff have followed the relevant missing-from-home protocols, ensuring that they locate the child and understand their reasons for going missing.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote family time and champion the importance of maintaining children’s relationships. However, when risks with arrangements were identified, the manager’s intention to demonstrate a risk-aware rather than risk-avoidant approach resulted in unnecessary delay, as the risks had already been clearly identified in existing analysis.

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improvement to be good

Decisions about children’s moves into the home are well considered, including risk analysis. Managers liaise with previous carers and consider compatibility, staffing and training needs to inform decisions. There is well-documented recording of information that provides context of children’s histories, lived experiences and trauma needs being analysed.

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

Managers promote a therapeutically informed approach to care, and the organisation’s behavioural and therapeutic lead makes a strong contribution in supporting this model. Their analysis, involvement in multi-agency work and input into team meetings strengthens the home’s therapeutic approach. Well-written plans guide staff actions.

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

Managers have clear aspirations for children to achieve their potential. However, despite being aware of many strengths and weaknesses, they do not fully recognise the impact of some key shortfalls. Managers have taken steps to support staff, recognising the potential impact of intensive support for the child. However, this focus has limited the opportunities for proactive care planning.

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

Staff report feeling supported through supervision and training. However, supervision records and team meeting minutes do not always capture reflective discussions or record objectives as specific, measurable, achievable and timely actions. Inspection report for children’s home: 2722533 5 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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

The provider’s organisational structure includes several layers of management, and this is used well at times when leaders and managers work alongside staff, enabling them to understand the challenges in the home and model expected practice. However, there is less clarity about roles, responsibilities and areas of oversight. The proposed change of manager in the home was not communicated effectively to the independent visitor, a family member or to Ofsted. Inspection report for children’s home: 2722533 6 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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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 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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that structures of accountability and oversight within the home support a fair and transparent distribution of tasks, and that the home’s management capacity is used effectively to guide and support staff. This includes ensuring that staff receive consistent and reflective supervision, and that leaders maintain clear responsibility for the overall delivery of care, even when responding to operational pressures or emerging challenges.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated, although the actions have been changed. 22 May 2026

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and 22 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2722533 7 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(x)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff are consistent in their support of the child. They should identify potential barriers to consistency and introduce measures to address these. The home environment must provide the decor, furnishings and homely atmosphere that maximise the child’s likelihood of engagement and support the development of relationships.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated, although the actions have been changed.

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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

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 22 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2722533 8 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that formal escalation processes are used without delay when other agencies do not share information promptly, or when essential services are not in place. This includes escalation where there are delays in securing assessments of need, such as education, health or specialist mental health services, and where these delays have significant implications for the child’s safety and wellbeing.

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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: 2722533 9 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Within Reach Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C/O Hazlewoods LLP, Windsor House, Bayshill Road, Cheltenham GL50 3AT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Trevor Ridgewell

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Inspector

Ashley Arkless, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2722533 10 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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