Children's Home run by YMCA Robin Hood Group in Nottinghamshire

Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2670263 1 Registered provider: YMCA Robin Hood Group

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. The home is owned and operated by a charity.

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Information about this children's home

There has been no registered manager since January 2025. When the manager left in June 2025, the deputy manager took on oversight of the home. The manager who had oversight of the home for this inspection started in role in September 2025 and has since left. Since the last inspection, additional management support has been implemented; however, this has not been effective.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home. One child was spoken with. Another child was not present during inspection.

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Information about this children's home

Date of last inspection: 21 October 2025

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Information about this children's home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children's home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At these inspections, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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'. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2670263 2

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Findings from the inspection

We identified the following serious and widespread concerns in relation to the care and protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Since the last inspection, children have been placed at risk of harm.

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Findings from the inspection

When a child moved into the home, the manager did not complete a robust assessment to identify how this child's needs could be met by staff or what the impact may be on the child who was already being cared for. As a result, important information about the child's mental health and potential behaviours requiring specific staff support were not adequately considered. Leaders did not adequately seek the views of staff before the child moved in.

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Findings from the inspection

There has been an increase in incidents and allegations made between children, which caused significant impact to both children. Leaders responded swiftly to an allegation, ensuring the safety of children. Recently, notice has been served for both children, creating further disruption and instability in their care.

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Findings from the inspection

On more than one occasion, a child raised concerns about staff practice. Although the manager contacted an external safeguarding agency, the professional advice given was not followed up. The manager has not consistently informed Ofsted of allegations made against staff in line with regulatory expectations, despite receiving support from the responsible individual on these requirements previously. These continued shortfalls raise concerns about the manager's understanding of regulatory responsibilities.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff have not provided effective support to children who struggle with substance misuse. Staff have not taken effective action to prevent one child from smoking in their bedroom, which is a fire risk. Staff do not consistently support children to reduce their risks of substance misuse.

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Findings from the inspection

The home environment falls below expected standards. Staff have not supported one child to keep their bedroom tidy, hygienic and free from hazards. One child's room had old food, e-cigarettes, numerous cigarette ends and burn marks on the windowsill. Staff had recorded to say the room was clean and free of risks, which was approved by the manager. This demonstrates a lack of effective oversight and quality assurance.

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Findings from the inspection

The home is sparsely decorated and there was no dining table for children to sit and eat at. A child raised concerns about the home environment and their bedroom not being personalised. The lack of care given to the home's environment contributes to children feeling undervalued. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2670263 3 Staff update relevant agencies when children go missing. During an independent return home interview, one child said they went missing from the home because they were bored.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers have not provided staff with specific training related to the needs of children. This was raised at the last inspection and there has been a lack of progress in this area, despite risks increasing. The manager does not have a system in place to have oversight of the training needs of staff. This raises concerns about the manager's oversight and ability to plan the care of children effectively.

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Findings from the inspection

Agency staff have not always read children's care documents before caring for them, which limits their ability to keep children safe. Children and staff raise concerns about staffing levels, including the number of agency staff used.

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Findings from the inspection

There are several staff working in the home who have not completed their expected qualification within regulatory time frames. Leaders have not had oversight of this and, although there have been issues with training providers, leaders have not implemented assessments to identify a plan to support staff to progress with their qualifications.

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Findings from the inspection

There have been significant shortfalls in leadership at all levels and action has not been taken since the last inspection to address the shortfalls identified. This lack of action has had a significant impact on children. The responsible individual has undertaken audits and identified some practice issues. However, they have not had robust oversight of the significance of shortfalls within the home.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff have supported children to attend education, and one child was due to start in full-time education having been out of education for some time. Key professionals give positive feedback about communication from the manager and staff.

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Findings from the inspection

As a result of this inspection, 2 compliance notices have been issued under regulation 12, the protection of children standard and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2670263 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/10/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/05/2024 Full Good 06/11/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/07/2022 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2670263 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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

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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home's workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h)) 12 April 2026 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2670263 6 In particular, the registered person must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

Systems are in place to ensure oversight of staff training.

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Requirement Due date

There is sufficient staff to provide consistent care for children.

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Requirement Due date

Agency staff have read children's plans to ensure that they can provide meaningful, safe care.

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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

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

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 premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iv)(v)(vii)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

Action is taken to reduce the risk of fire due to children smoking in their bedrooms. Staff should support children to reduce the risks associated with substance misuse. 12 April 2026 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2670263 7 Staff support children to live in a home free from hazards and maintained to a good standard.

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Requirement Due date

Children's concerns are responded to and escalated appropriately. Advice from external agencies regarding the safeguarding of children should be followed.

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Requirement Due date

Care plans and risk assessments clearly set out how children's needs will be managed, and are followed consistently by staff.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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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)(a)(b)(i)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when children move into the home, all known information about their behaviours, individual needs and associated risks is fully assessed. The needs of residing children should be duly considered. 12 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. 12 April 2026 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2670263 8 (Regulation 26 (7)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to ensuring that the responsible individual has good oversight of children's care and safety needs.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children's home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person so appointed; and

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Requirement Due date

the date on which the appointment takes effect. ((Regulation 27 (1)(a) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders must ensure that the home has a suitably experienced and consistent manager in place. 12 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, notifications that relate to safeguarding investigations should be made, and necessary notifications should be made in a timely manner. 12 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

The relevant date is— 12 April 2026 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2670263 9 in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b)) Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2670263 10

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Malt Cross, 16 St. James's Street, Nottingham NG1 6FG

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Inspector

Lorna Walker, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2670263 11 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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