Children's Home run by Flourish (Gloucestershire) Limited in Worcestershire

Inspection report for children's home: 2742383 1 Registered provider: Flourish (Gloucestershire) 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 by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to 3 children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the full inspection, three children were living in the home and all spoken to.

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Information about this children’s home

An inspector returned on 2 December 2025 to gather additional evidence in line with ‘ Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence ‘ policy. At the time of this visit, one child had moved out and there were two children living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor, and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 4 February 2025

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2742383 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/02/2025 Full Good 13/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2742383 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Significant weaknesses in safeguarding practice and ineffective management oversight have compromised children’s safety and hindered their progress and experiences. As a result of these failings, children have been placed at risk of harm and on occasion, have suffered harm.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

For some children, delays in decision making about their living arrangements means they continued to live in circumstances which did not meet their needs. When children are moving out of the home, staff are considerate of their wellbeing and help to settle children in their new home. However, information about changes in children’s living arrangements is not always communicated in a timely manner to ensure they are prepared and understand what is happening and why.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children have opportunities to personalise their bedrooms. However, the bedrooms and bathrooms are not consistently maintained and cleaned. In some places the home needs refurbishment and the registered manager is taking steps to improve the décor of the home, so children live in a comfortable environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children attend school regularly and are making good progress. There are strong and effective links between education professionals and staff, ensuring consistent support for children. One child has been successfully supported to enrol on an internship, gaining valuable experience in the hospitality sector. Staff are dedicated and creative in the ways they support children’s learning. This is evident through meaningful conversations that help children understand topics that matter to them. Staff also undertake research into effective strategies to meet children’s individual needs, demonstrating a commitment to helping children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff support children to spend time with people who are important to them. They encourage them to maintain friendships by arranging play dates in the home and encouraging opportunities for time away from staff This approach promotes positive social experiences and independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are supported to maintain good health. One child has made significant progress in managing their weight and developing an understanding of healthy lifestyle choices, which has positively improved their self ‑ esteem. Children are also encouraged and supported to develop skills that promote independence, helping them to prepare effectively for adult life.

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

Leaders and managers have failed to take effective action to safeguard children. Existing known risks required managers and staff to be vigilant, provide proactive engagement and oversight to meet children’s needs and understand how and where children are Inspection report for children's home: 2742383 4 spending time. Risk assessments and safety planning have been ineffective in mitigating the likelihood of further significant harm. The lack of management oversight of staff and the ineffective supervision of the children has led to a deterioration in their lived experiences and this has led to poor outcomes. This means that, for children, their living environment has not afforded them safety and security.

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

Allegations made against staff have mostly been responded to effectively and reported to relevant professionals, including the local authority designated officer. However, Ofsted is not always notified when children make an allegation against staff, as regulations require. Management oversights and debriefs with staff and children were not always recorded. This is a missed opportunity to understand the detail of incidents, staff involvement and effectiveness of safety planning.

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

On occasions, children have been held by staff. These interventions have been appropriate, proportionate and used only as a last resort. Staff respond effectively when children harm themselves. Staff and managers reflect on incidents to identify learning that informs future practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered person is dedicated to caring for the children living in the home. They are supported by a committed responsible individual. Staff say they feel supported in their roles. Despite this, monitoring and oversight of the home are poor. There are serious weaknesses in the leadership and management of the home, which means that children have been left in situations of significant risk and harm. A failure to take effective action to improve the quality of care in the home has compromised children’s safety, experiences and progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home is not delivering care specific to safeguarding, as set out in its statement of purpose. A delay in implementing safety measures to protect children has placed children at risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have completed suitable training that supports them to understand children’s needs. However, this has not gone far enough to ensure children are kept safe. For example, all staff have completed online safety training; however, this has not provided a robust understanding of how children can access the internet. As a result, children have been exposed to inappropriate material online.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Team meetings are well attended. Staff practice is supported by a clinical lead who provides guidance and oversight in managing challenges and delivering effective care. The clinical lead spoke highly of the nurturing environment that the staff team has created for children. Furthermore, professionals have provided positive feedback, highlighting the effective communication from the manager and staff. Inspection report for children's home: 2742383 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

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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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; and

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)) 6 February 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2742383 6 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; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(h)) 6 February 2026

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii)) 6 February 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2742383 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 for children's home: 2742383 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Flourish (Gloucestershire) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 20 Westend Office Suites, Westend, Stonehouse GL10 3FA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Samantha Summers

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Inspector

Joanne Humphreys, Social Care Inspector Becky Rutter, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2742383 9 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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