Children's home run by Nottingham City Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 1 Registered provider: Nottingham City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a local authority. 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 this inspection, 2 children were living at the home. Their views were sought during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2025.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/03/2025 Full Good 05/03/2024 Full Good 01/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience ongoing stability and security, which gives them a strong sense of belonging. They have well-established relationships with the manager and staff. One child said they love living at the home and described how staff treat them like ‘one of their own’. They are moving out soon into a more independent provision. The child plans to stay in touch with the staff, which demonstrates how important those relationships are. The other child has lived at the home for several years. They are very settled and making good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is being prepared well for moving out; however, there is a lack of flexibility in some areas of their independence plan, such as the way that mealtimes and food shopping are arranged. This has caused the child to feel excluded at times. They said they would not want other children to experience this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff ensure that children have good routines. One child has been supported in returning to full-time education. Both children attend school or college, and their attendance is excellent. Outside of school, children’s interests are encouraged. They play sports and participate in a good range of activities. Both children have travelled abroad in the last year. They regularly visit football stadiums, which they enjoy. Activities are thoughtfully planned to align with children’s interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met effectively through attendance at regular appointments and specialist help where needed. They enjoy a varied diet and try different foods. One child has received direct work regarding their life history. This has helped them learn about their heritage and understand their lived experiences in more depth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The managers have not ensured that care planning documents contain detailed guidance about how to deliver children’s day-to day-care. For example, the learning from one child’s life-story work is not reflected in their care plan. Another child, who requires a sensitive approach to communication, does not have a plan explaining this. The limited information can hinder consistency in approaches used by the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff carry out regular direct work with children. Some sessions are sensitively delivered and positively recorded. Other sessions read as judgemental in the language and tone used. Records portray what adults are feeling rather than the child. Children could experience this as shaming, reducing opportunities for them to build self-esteem and confidence.

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

The manager and staff keep children safe through a focus on emotional stability. Children are never missing from home. They enjoy independent time with friends and family. When children are out, the staff keep in touch with them to ensure that they are Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 4 safe and well. Children have not made any allegations of harm about staff since the last inspection. This evidences the trusted relationships that have been built over time.

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

Children are encouraged to reflect on their behaviour. They learn how to communicate in healthy ways and consider how their behaviour impacts others. Children’s behaviour does not escalate. As a result, staff are not required to use restraints to keep children safe from harm.

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

Staff failed to promptly respond to one incident involving a child. The child was assaulted in the community. The staff did not obtain enough detail from the child about the incident when they returned home. This contributed to a delay in the child receiving medical attention for an injury. On this occasion, the impact on the child was minimal; however, there was potential for this to have affected the child’s health and wellbeing.

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

The manager has created individual risk management plans, which contain some relevant information. However, some risks and corresponding strategies are not fully explained. For example, it is not clear how staff manage online and gaming safety. Staff say they carry out checks of children’s devices; however, this is not translated well into their individual plans. One child has specific safety plans that are not cross-referenced with their main plan.

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

One child experienced a traumatic event at school. Staff provided effective emotional support following the incident; however, conversations are not documented. As a result, the child does not have records reflecting a significant time in their life. It is a missed opportunity to demonstrate to the child that they are valued by the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced, despite being relatively new to his role. He has a calm and gentle manner, which has a stabilising effect on the children and staff. The manager is learning about how the home is functioning and is beginning to influence the way it operates. He plans to make changes to some of the ways in which care is delivered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the importance of having oversight of direct work carried out with children and the information included in their care plans. The manager is supported by a very motivated assistant manager who is committed to supporting children in reaching their potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is diverse and experienced. Staff speak warmly about children and enjoy their work. They receive regular supervision and training to help them meet children’s needs. The manager arranges regular development days, which are opportunities to reflect on children’s experiences based on their feedback.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals speak positively about the care offered to children. They say communication is good and children are happy. The managers and staff have worked diligently with external agencies to find the right placement for the child who is moving on. This has been effective, as the child said that it ‘feels right’ for them. Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 5 Leaders and managers respond quickly when concerns arise about practice. There has been a recent concern about a medication error. The concerns were shared with relevant professionals, and new systems have been implemented to prevent repetition. One visit from an external agency was not recorded. This is an important piece of evidence for the investigation that needs to be documented.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff have been safely recruited overall; however, there was a gap in the required information for one member of staff. Following inspection, the manager understands the importance of having final oversight of recruitment checks. Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 6

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that care planning documents contain details of how to provide children’s daily care. It also relates to ensuring that direct work sessions are carried out and recorded in a sensitive manner.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to applying flexible approaches to independence planning for children when they are moving on. 29 April 2026

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)) 29 April 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 7 This specifically relates to ensuring that staff always respond to children in a timely manner when they have been involved in an incident. This includes offering and seeking medical attention if required.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that risk management plans include all relevant information and guidance to keep children safe.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should be able to deliver their leadership and management responsibilities. They should have sufficient capacity to ensure that the Quality Standards are met for each child in the home. This includes ensuring that there are full records kept of important conversations with children and visits from professionals. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.7)  The registered person should ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 1277041 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nottingham City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG2 3NG

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Inspector

Laura Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1277041 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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