Children's Home run by Cillrua Care Ltd in Leicestershire

Inspection report for the children’s home - monitoring visit: 2843441 1 Registered provider: Cillrua Care Ltd

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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 privately owned and registered to provide care for up to 5 children who have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home and one child had moved out since the last inspection. The child living at the home was spoken to as part of the inspection process.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was present during the day of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual who was not present during the inspection. The provider is yet to submit the necessary paperwork to ensure that Ofsted can check that the person has the relevant capacity, skills and experience to fulfil the role.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was undertaken to review the restriction of accommodation which has been in place since 23 January 2026 and to review whether the provider has met the actions within the compliance notices issued under regulation 12, the protection of children standard, and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard, which have been in place since 4 February 2026.

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This monitoring visit

The child said that they felt safer since the last inspection, that they now have staff they can talk to if they feel scared or upset and that in general staff are talking to them more consistently now. They said that they felt more settled since the other child moved out.

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This monitoring visit

Damage to the home has now been repaired. The home is well maintained. Any repairs required are responded to promptly. Inspection report for the children’s home - monitoring visit: 2843441 2 Complaints raised with the registered manager have been investigated thoroughly. This has included speaking to children and staff and then giving a written response to the child. However, there is still some inconsistency in staff’s responses to children following these complaints.

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This monitoring visit

Plans for the children have been updated since the last inspection. The care and risk management plans for the child now cover more comprehensively key aspects of the child’s needs. However, there are areas where the child’s plans lack all historical information which would support staff to better understand the child’s life journey.

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This monitoring visit

There is a consistent response from staff when a child goes missing. Key agencies, such as the police and local authority, are informed. Attempts are made to locate the child and stay in touch. When the child returns, they are offered care and a return home interview.

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This monitoring visit

When staff have needed to hold the child, these incidents are generally well recorded and demonstrate proportionate use of physical intervention. Debriefs are completed with both the child and the staff involved. However, in one record reviewed, the duration of the hold had not been documented, and this omission was not identified through managerial oversight. This gap in monitoring does not support staff to make the necessary improvements to ensure that all holds can be evidenced as proportionate and objectively reviewed.

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This monitoring visit

All staff are now up to date with their mandatory training. Since the last inspection, additional training has been provided, and staff say that this has improved their ability to meet the child’s needs. The child also said that they feel safer and happier as a result. The training offered has been relevant to the child’s identified risks, including substance misuse. However, the manager has not yet completed her refresher training on drug and alcohol misuse. This gap in her training limits her ability to fully support staff practice and maintain robust oversight of this area of risk.

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This monitoring visit

Staff’s written records do not yet demonstrate a clear understanding of the child’s trauma history or emotional needs. Although records are now completed consistently and are generally well written, they remain perfunctory and would not support the child to make sense of their time living in the home in the future. The manager acknowledges that this is an area requiring development and has explored therapeutic training to support staff to strengthen their trauma-informed practice. However, this training has not yet been commissioned, and staff continue to focus primarily on the child’s presenting behaviours rather than the underlying needs driving them. As a result, there have been incidents that could have been de-escalated more effectively had staff been able to connect with the child when they shared significant fears or past experiences. The manager has not provided sufficient challenge to staff in this area to improve practice.

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This monitoring visit

Inspection report for the children’s home - monitoring visit: 2843441 3 The manager has failed to refer a safeguarding matter to the local authority designated officer and Ofsted. She has ensured that the child’s social worker was aware of the concerns and addressed these through the disciplinary process, which resulted in the member of staff being dismissed. The requirement under regulation 40 is restated.

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This monitoring visit

Supervision of staff is now taking place regularly. However, the content of these supervision sessions lacks sufficient focus on the safeguarding needs and vulnerabilities of each child. In addition, although the manager says she has received supervision from the interim responsible individual, she was unable to provide any evidence of this during the inspection. As a result, it is unclear what formal support and guidance are in place to help the manager develop her confidence and competence, particularly given that the home has recently been subject to serious and widespread concerns. A requirement has been restated to address this shortfall.

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This monitoring visit

No children have moved in since the restriction of accommodation notice was issued. The provider has adhered to the restriction. Management oversight in the home has improved since the last visit. Staff feel supported by the manager, and she has begun to implement processes to gain a clearer understanding of practice in the home and support staff to develop. As a result, the restriction of accommodation was lifted following this inspection.

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This monitoring visit

The requirement around regulation 6 raised at the previous visit was not reviewed at this visit and has been restated, along with the other previous requirements and 2 further recommendations. Inspection report for the children’s home - monitoring visit: 2843441 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/01/2026 Full Inadequate Inspection report for the children’s home - monitoring visit: 2843441 5

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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 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 manager 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;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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; 30 April 2026 Inspection report for the children’s home - monitoring visit: 2843441 6 that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(iv)(vi)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to ensuring that plans for children’s care are clear and personalised, with management oversight which supports and develops staff’s understanding of children’s needs and vulnerabilities and reduces the need for police being called out or restraint being used to de-escalate children’s behaviour. It also relates to where there is damage to the home, it is repaired in a timely manner and that children are supported by staff to keep their bedrooms clean and safe.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered manager 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 manager to—

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Requirement Due date

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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— 30 April 2026 Inspection report for the children’s home - monitoring visit: 2843441 7 feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received;

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the registered person ensuring that systems and processes to develop the oversight of the registered manager continue to be embedded and developed consistently to ensure that they can continue to evaluate the quality of care in the home. The registered person must ensure that all staff, including the registered manager, receive relevant training to meet children’s needs and continue to receive supervision in line with the home’s statement of purpose which ensures that they have protected time to reflect on children’s vulnerabilities, risks and needs and that this is completed by a suitably qualified person.

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 6 (1)(a) (2)(iii)(vi)(ix)) 30 April 2026 Inspection report for the children’s home - monitoring visit: 2843441 8 In particular, the registered person must ensure that a reasoned and detailed account of children’s independence plans is noted in documents, and for children to be informed of these plans.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there is management oversight of staff interactions with children to ensure opportunities for positive relationships to form.

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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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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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

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that notifications are made by the registered manager under these circumstances. 30 April 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are kept which enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the Inspection report for the children’s home - monitoring visit: 2843441 9 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’ supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. Staff should be supported to understand the key role they play in recording in a sensitive manner which will allow children to understand their life living in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 59, 11.19)

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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 the children’s home - monitoring visit: 2843441 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Knox Cropper Chartered Accountants, 153–155 London Road, Hemel Hempstead HP3 9SQ

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Inspectors

John McDonnell, Social Care Inspector Majella Russell, Social Care Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for the children’s home - monitoring visit: 2843441 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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