Children's Home run by AMMA Childcare Services in Solihull

Inspection report for children’s home: 2739801 1 Registered provider: AMMA Childcare Services

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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 was registered with Ofsted on 23 August 2023 to provide care for up to 3 children who may experience emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably qualified and has been in post since November 2025. They have submitted their application to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living in the home. All of the children were spoken to during the inspection.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 18 February 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: 2739801 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/02/2025 Full Good 21/02/2024 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2739801 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the children living in the home are supported to develop positive daily routines to maintain their physical and mental health. The children are encouraged to attend their health appointments; staff are confident in talking to children as to why this is important. Staff adapt their communication style to meet the individual needs of children. Since coming to live at the home, one child’s ability to use speech to communicate has significantly improved, from having limited communication previously. Staff have created various tools to facilitate the development of language and speech, including transition and communication boards.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff value the importance of education in creating opportunity for children, and the children all attend an education provision regularly. Where one child is struggling with maintaining their education attendance, staff are supportive and creative as to how they can encourage them to attend. Staff use regular affirmation as to the progress they are making as well as appropriate use of consequences and rewards agreed with the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff celebrate success for children and acknowledge and value their achievements inside and outside the home. One child has recently performed in a dance show. Managers, all the staff team and the 2 other children all went to support them. Similarly, when one child had their leavers’ prom, managers and the staff team ensured that it was a special day of celebration. Both children said that this support made them feel valued and that these significant events were recognised as great achievements for them both.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain relationships with the people who are important to them. This ensures that children retain a sense of their identity and heritage. Some staff who have worked with the children for some time know them well and understand how best to support them. People who are important to the children say that staff communicate effectively and in a timely manner with them and that they feel valued in the children’s lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop independent living skills. The children are all encouraged to take some responsibility for daily living tasks, dependent on their age and understanding. Staff work hard to create an atmosphere where children can develop positive relationships with one another. The children often enjoy house activities together, despite their age differences. The children all say that they enjoy living at the home and that they like living with the other children.

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

Staff are confident in talking to children about risks and how they can keep themselves safe. This helps children to build trusting relationships with the established staff who Inspection report for children’s home: 2739801 4 care for them, meaning that they feel able to confide in them when they have things that they are worried about. This supports children to feel safe living in the home and cared for by the staff who look after them. Two of the children previously self-harmed when they first came to live in the home. Through developing trusting relationships with long-serving staff members and the children feeling safe, there have been no incidents of self-harm for either child during this inspection period.

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

Staff are trained to manage physical interventions safely, although there have been no incidents during this inspection period. Staff understand how to keep children safe online. There are appropriate systems and processes in place to monitor the safe use of the internet and social media. Children are fully included in this decision-making and understand why these systems need to be in place.

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

Managers ensure that restorative practices are in place so that staff and children can improve relationships and develop children’s sense of responsibility. Rewards and consequences are reviewed regularly with children so that they can take ownership and contribute to these outcomes.

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

Allegations, complaints and incidents are responded to appropriately and the manager ensures that children are made aware of the outcome of any concerns that they raise. The manager took decisive, prompt action to review the circumstances of staff not immediately going to collect a child from the community when they became unwell. The manager has ensured that further appropriate training has quickly been arranged to develop staff members’ understanding of what they should do in such circumstances to ensure that children are kept safe.

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

Staff are trained to administer and store medication safely, including controlled medication. Staff talk to children as to why they need to take medication. Records are maintained to ensure that all staff understand children’s medication needs. However, there is not consistent oversight by the manager of these records, meaning the manager cannot be assured that staff are administering medication for children as prescribed.

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

Children live in a home that is warm, welcoming and decorated to a good standard. There is plenty of indoor and outdoor social space and children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms to reflect their own tastes and interests. The fire door on the ground floor cannot be easily opened and presents as a fire evacuation hazard. The manager acknowledged this shortfall and has taken action to address this as a priority. The replacement parts were ordered while the inspection was ongoing.

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good

The manager is appropriately qualified and has submitted their application for registration. Staff say that they feel well supported by managers. Staff receive regular supervision that is reflective and offers pastoral support. Staff are offered a varied and Inspection report for children’s home: 2739801 5 relevant induction and training programme which provides them with the knowledge and skills to be able to care for the children living in the home. Staff place great value on the reflective practice sessions offered each month by the in-house clinical psychotherapist. They say that this supports them to be reflective in their practice and helps them to develop strategies to better meet the children’s needs.

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good

Although home has previously experienced a period of high staff turnover, the home is now fully staffed. However, there are 5 members of staff, comprising half of the full staff team, who are still in their probation period. Some of these newer staff members are only just beginning to form relationships with the children and some do not have any prior experience of working in residential children’s homes. This means that children are not always cared for by adults who know them well or who have the appropriate skills and knowledge to keep them safe and help them to make progress. The manager is prioritising the training and upskilling of new staff members to ensure that children always receive consistent, personalised care. One member of staff has not completed the required qualification within timescale. The manager acknowledged this shortfall and will take action to address this. During inspection, a training plan was put

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good

in place to ensure that the member of staff will complete their qualification within the next 3 months.

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good

Professionals working with staff comment positively on the open communication with the home and the excellent support that staff afford to children.

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good

Staff ensure that there are plans and risk assessments in place for children. However, these are not always kept under review in a timely manner or with managerial oversight being evident. Children’s plans and assessments are not always signed nor dated to determine the author or the context of the review, meaning staff are not always aware of the most up-to-date risks for children when they return to work. This may mean that children do not always get the support they need at the right time.

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good

Safer recruitment processes are in place but are not robust enough. Managers do not take all reasonable steps to verify why a member of staff left their previous employment when they have previously worked in a role with children or vulnerable adults. Leaders and managers acknowledged this shortfall and said that they will review the current process to ensure that children are only cared for by suitable adults. Inspection report for children’s home: 2739801 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 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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must enable staff to complete their required qualification in a timely manner. Managers should have a system in place to monitor whether staff are enrolled and must take necessary and timely action when they are not. 1 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b)) 11 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or 27 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2739801 7 if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that each child’s day-to-day health and wellbeing needs are met and that staff understand the health and education plans in place for each child living in the home. In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff keep the details of health and education plans for children up to date and that these are acted upon in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 33, paragraph 7.3)

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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: 2739801 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: AMMA Childcare Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 507B, JQ Modern, 120 Vyse Street, Hockley, Birmingham B18 6NF

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Inspector

Helen Dickens, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2739801 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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Inspector

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