Children's home run by Homes2Inspire Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2534696 1 Registered provider: Homes2Inspire Limited

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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 run by a private company that is owned and operated by a private charity. It provides care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living at the home and contributed to the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

This home is led by a manager who is dual registered. She manages 2 children’s homes and shares her time between them.

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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

Date of last inspection: 14 January 2025

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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: 2534696 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2025 Full Good 06/03/2024 Full Good 03/08/2022 Full Good 28/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2534696 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff show a strong commitment to children, who have settled well into the home and are starting to make good progress. Staff offer children stability and work hard to develop relationships with and between children. One child gave very positive feedback about the care they receive, as did a key professional for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff support family time for children with parents, siblings and connected people. Staff encourage and support children to have shared hobbies with their family, which helps children maintain and develop relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in education. The manager and staff have worked closely with professionals to support children to access education in line with their needs. Staff are ambitious for children and support children to attend and do well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have regular and open conversations with children about their health needs and the importance of children seeking medical support when necessary. Staff offer emotional support to children during difficult conversations, which children appreciate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s meetings are held regularly. Staff listen to what children want and act on their feedback. This has led to children being able to have pets, which they enjoy caring for. and children take part in extra-curricular activities and plan holidays together with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise how important identity is for children. They support this through regular conversations about children’s history and sharing meals that reflect their cultural identity. Staff are also respectful when children choose not to talk about their history.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is mostly well maintained and homely. However, a bathroom was below expected standards, and some health and safety certificates were recently out of date. The manager took immediate action to address these shortfalls.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When a child moved into the home, there was limited planning due to how quickly the child moved in. Staff prepared the child already living in the home. However, leaders did not fully record how they assessed both children’s needs and how these would be met by staff, in line with the home’s policies and procedures.

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

There has been a recent reduction in the number of incidents. Staff know children’s needs and triggers for behaviours. The manager encourages children to have a voice in their care planning, and this supports children to feel listened to. Staff have spent time talking with children about specific risks. Staff support children to manage risks in a dynamic way, including those related to children’s relationships outside of the home and Inspection report for children’s home: 2534696 4 where there have been instances of substance use. The manager and staff benefit from monthly consultations with an external therapeutic provider to support their care of children.

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

Staff follow missing-from-home procedures consistently. Staff show care and empathy for children who have gone missing, which helps children to know staff worry about them. Staff talk to children about where they have been and consider any risks of exploitation. Staff then incorporate this learning into plans for children. The manager has worked closely with key professionals to consider reasons children go missing, and there has been a recent reduction in children going missing, showing children are settled.

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

Staff have built good relationships with children. There have been a few times when children have had to be held by staff. When this has happened, children and staff are spoken with afterwards to help them reflect. The manager has good oversight of physical interventions, which is further supported by oversight from an independent quality assessor.

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

The manager responds well to complaints made by people outside the home. Staff have supported children to integrate positively into their community and build positive relationships.

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

Children know how to make a complaint. One child said that when they have raised complaints, the manager listens, which helps them to feel supported. When allegations have been made, the manager has made referrals to external professionals and investigations have been undertaken as necessary.

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

The manager has not consistently reported allegations to Ofsted in line with regulation. Further, the manager has not consistently notified the regulator in a timely way when there have been serious incidents and police have been involved. The manager has taken action to address these shortfalls and has created new reporting systems which are in the process of being embedded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a committed manager who manages the home well, with the support of deputy managers. The manager has systems in place to ensure good oversight, including tracking the progress children are making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by leaders and enjoy working in the home. They have access to a variety of support systems, including regular one-to-one and group supervisions and team meetings. One staff member said, ‘I truly love spending time here. I love making a difference to the lives of children that need us.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well trained, including in relation to the specific needs of children. The manager regularly reviews the training needs of staff in line with known and emerging risks for children. The manager is keen to support the development of staff, which helps staff feel Inspection report for children’s home: 2534696 5 valued. One member of staff is outside timescales to achieve the required qualification, however, there is support in place to ensure this is completed in a timely way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders support children to be involved in the recruitment of staff, which helps children to develop relationships with new staff when they start working in the home. Children and staff vote each month for which staff member will be ‘Star of the month’. These strategies further build positive relationships between children and staff, as children feel involved in the care they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There was a missed opportunity as part of recruitment checks to obtain further information regarding a member of staff who had previously worked in a care setting. Leaders have plans to improve oversight in this area. Inspection report for children’s home: 2534696 6

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

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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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)(b)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, timely notifications should be made where there are any allegations against staff and when serious incidents occur, including when police are involved. 11 May 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should maintain good employment practice by ensuring that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should, when accepting placements for children, evidence how they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. Further, the registered person should evidence transition planning for children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4) Inspection report for children’s home: 2534696 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: 2534696 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes2Inspire Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Black Country House, Rounds Green Road, Oldbury B69 2DG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Cherelle Robinson

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Inspector

Lorna Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2534696 9 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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