Children's home run by Cynhenid Care Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2667401 1 Registered provider: Cynhenid Care Ltd

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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 and provides care for up to 4 children who may be experiencing social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living in the home. All 3 children spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children's home

The registered manager's post is currently vacant; however, an interim manager has been in post since October 2025 and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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 outstanding

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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: 12 November 2024

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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: 2667401 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/11/2024 Full Good 11/09/2023 Full Good 16/08/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2667401 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in a home that is large and well maintained. Children's bedrooms are highly personalised, reflecting their individual tastes and interests. Games are accessible, and photographs on walls celebrate children's experiences and achievements. This contributes to a homely environment in which children can relax and enjoy themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's moves into the home are well planned. Prior to moving, children have opportunities to learn about the home, meet with staff and visit. This helps to reduce anxiety during a significant change in a child's life. These carefully considered moves have helped children to settle quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive individualised care. Staff benefit from clear plans, which are informed by the home's therapist and regularly reviewed and updated to reflect children's changing needs. Staff regularly have important conversations with children in order to help them be safer and healthier and to promote their education. As a result, children continue to make good progress from their starting points. They are learning to manage their emotions, re-engaging in education, reconnecting with family members and becoming more confident.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children like living in the home. They enjoy positive relationships with staff, who they describe as funny, helpful and caring. Children feel that staff listen to them and help them. They can see the progress they are making. One child said, 'I came here due to my anger, and I can say this home has brought my anger completely down. They've given me an understanding of how to control yourself and prepare for the real world.'

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's health needs are well met. Staff work well with children's health professionals to ensure that children's physical and emotional health needs are met. Children benefit from weekly sessions with the home's therapist, who works closely with staff to embed a therapeutic approach to caring for children. As a result, children are cared for by staff who are knowledgeable and understand them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's education is treated as a priority. The manager and staff work in close partnership with children's schools to identify and overcome barriers to learning. The manager is proactive in identifying and advocating for alternative sources of education for children who require it. Because of this, one child has returned to school after a significant absence, and another child has had a significant reduction in suspensions.

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

Children feel safe living in the home, and safeguarding incidents are rare. Risks to children are carefully assessed; staff support children to understand risks and how to be safe. Inspection report for children's home: 2667401 4 Because children like living in the home and feel well supported, they rarely go missing. Since the last inspection, there has been one incident of a child going missing from the home. On that occasion, staff followed the child's plan, working with the relevant safeguarding professionals to ensure that the child was returned to the home safely.

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

Staff are skilled in de-escalation strategies. As a result, children are rarely restrained. Since the last inspection, there have been two incidents of children being held by staff to keep them or others safe. Management oversight of incidents is robust, ensuring the use is necessary and proportionate. There is a focus on repairing relationships between children and staff following such incidents. This reassures children that they are cared for and safe.

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

Consequences, when used, are proportionate, arising naturally from the behaviours exhibited. Their use focuses on supporting children to learn from their mistakes rather than punish them. Children's achievements and progress are celebrated and supported using incentives and rewards.

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

One area of restrictive practice, the use of door alarms, is not clearly justified. Despite regular reviews, it is unclear why bedroom door alarms are always required to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers have high aspirations for children in their care and advocate for them in the way a good parent would. They use a range of mechanisms to oversee every aspect of the care children receive. They continually seek to improve children's experiences and have embedded a strong learning culture within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is focused on improving outcomes for children. Children speak very highly of the home's dedicated manager. One child said, 'I love [name of manager]. I do not see how anyone could have a problem with her, she gets stuff done.' Another said, 'She is amazing, I am grateful to have her, she gives you an element of safety in the things she does to show she cares.' The manager's approach creates an environment where children feel safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers take the wellbeing of their staff seriously. They ensure that staff are well supported through regular supervision, team meetings, reflections with the home's therapist and training that is relevant to children's needs. Staff have access to a range of resources that are focused on supporting their wellbeing. Because of this, staff feel incredibly well supported and describe the home as feeling like a family. One staff member said, 'The support from leaders and managers is phenomenal; it is the best I have seen from any care home I've worked in.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff enjoy their work and are highly motivated to provide children with excellent care. Because staff are well supported, turnover is minimal. This stability means that children are cared for by experienced staff, who are well qualified and know them well. Inspection report for children's home: 2667401 5 Managers have developed strong relationships with families and other agencies. They work hard to promote a collaborative approach to meeting children's needs. Such an approach ensures that children's needs are met promptly and that children have strong, well-informed networks of support helping them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Feedback from external professionals has been exclusively positive, highlighting excellent communication, partnership working and a focus on children as being key strengths. One professional said, 'I have worked with a lot of care homes and they are by far the best we have worked with.' While another said, 'It is just a really good placement, I hope that other children go there, as their support for education is second to none.' Inspection report for children's home: 2667401 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 privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child's privacy or access to any area of the home's premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the use of bedroom door alarms is justified for the purposes of safeguarding each child and is kept under review. 30 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2667401 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: 2667401 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 12 English Walls, Oswestry, Shropshire SY11 2PA

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Inspector

John Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2667401 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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