Children's home run by Outdoor Care Limited Assurance visit report: 2587132 4

Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2587132 1 Registered provider: Outdoor Care Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to 2 children who may have social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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This monitoring visit

An assurance inspection was completed on 13 January 2026. Ofsted identified serious and widespread concerns at this inspection. Significant failures in safeguarding practice and the leadership and management of the home negatively affected the care and experiences of children. Following this inspection Ofsted issued a restriction of accommodation, preventing the provider from admitting children to the home. Two compliance notices under regulation 12 (the protection of children standard) and regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard) were also issued.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was carried out to review the restriction of accommodation notice and the progress made by the provider to meet the steps in the compliance notices.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has complied with the restriction of accommodation and no children have moved into the home since this was issued.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers oversight is not yet effective. Monitoring does not always identify shortfalls in staff practice. Leaders have started to implement weekly audits. However, they are not used effectively and there is limited focus on children’s Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2587132 2 experiences. This prevents the manager from addressing practice issues and is a missed opportunity to improve the care that children receive.

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This monitoring visit

The manager does not escalate concerns to the local authority effectively. For example, not all the children’s essential documents are held on the child’s files. This includes up-to-date care plans from the local authority. Furthermore, when the manager has identified concerns regarding one child’s plan, he has not escalated this in line with the policy of the organisation. This prevents children from getting the right support.

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This monitoring visit

Staff work well to develop positive relationships with professionals and family members involved in the children’s care. However, risk assessments do not hold clear information on what the current arrangements are for children. This means that some risks are not understood fully enough for staff to be confident that the current response is sufficient to safeguard children.

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This monitoring visit

Children are not always supported to understand and manage risks. Staff miss opportunities to have meaningful discussions around the children’s current risks and what support is in place as they prepare to leave the home. This leaves children uncertain about their future and prevents them from learning strategies to keep themselves safe.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not ensure that children’s health needs are met. For example, when one child had an infection staff encouraged them to seek medical treatment, however, did not check whether this was addressed until 7 days later. This means that children are not always having their basic health needs met.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have implemented training for staff to address the shortfalls in practice. Since the last inspection, the manager has completed individual sessions and used team meetings to complete learning from previous incidents and shortfalls in practice, through introducing clearer policies and using scenarios. This has helped staff to improve recording and start developing their skills in how to respond to children.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has implemented a new admissions process to improve information gathering to inform decision making prior to a child moving into the home. There have not been any children admitted to the home since this was implemented so the effectiveness of this is untested.

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This monitoring visit

Staff build positive relationships with children. Staff encourage children to share their views and access advocacy services. One child said, ‘Staff listen to me and are really supportive.’ This helps children to share their views and feel listened to.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has not made sufficient progress to meet all the steps in the compliance notices under regulation 12 (the protection of children standard) and regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard). Both compliance notices Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2587132 3 have been reissued, and the restriction of accommodation notice remains in place. The requirements and recommendation from the last inspection have also been restated. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2587132 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/07/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/09/2024 Full Good 13/06/2023 Full Good 13/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2587132 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 with 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; 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)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and has been restated. 29 March 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— 29 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2587132 6 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

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; 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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and has been restated. The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and has been restated. 30 March 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))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and has been restated. 30 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject of a compliance notice. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2587132 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure the quality-of-care review enables them to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next 6 months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under The Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2587132 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Outdoor Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 Bondgate Without, Alnwick, Northumberland NE66 1PP

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Inspector

Natalie Clark, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2587132 9 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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