Children's Home run by Nottinghamshire County Council in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC036737 1 SC036737 Registered provider: Nottinghamshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is manged by a local authority. It provides residential care and a short break service for up to 16 children with disabilities and complex healthcare needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a suitable qualified manager.

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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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC036737 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/03/2025 Full Outstanding 19/03/2024 Full Outstanding 04/10/2022 Full Outstanding 06/01/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC036737 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Inspectors were aware during this visit of the sad death of a child that had occurred since the last inspection. Ofsted does not investigate this. However, actions taken by the setting in response were considered, with reference to the support offered for other children and the staff team. The child passed away at hospital and had not resided in the home for several weeks prior to their death.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff provided the child with warmth and nurturing care throughout the child’s visits and stay at the hospital and in the last few weeks of their life. The manager and staff spoke about the child with enthusiasm and compassion. Each child is being sensitively supported with empathy through social stories and other communication aids through this period. Staff demonstrated unwavering devotion to the child and other children in their care during this time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were 3 children living at the home and 2 children on short breaks at the time of the inspection. The inspectors spent some time with the children over the 2 days. There was a warm, friendly atmosphere shared between children and the staff team with lots of fun and laughter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are attentive to the unique needs of each child and adapt their care accordingly. By providing tailored support, staff help children develop their skills in a way that suits their personal growth. Over time, this approach has resulted in noticeable progress for the children across various areas of their lives. One family member commented that their child ‘is so incredibly well looked after at Caudwell, and this is something we feel strongly about as a family.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a wide variety of opportunities to share their views, wishes and feelings using different communication methods. These are captured in children’s ‘My Big Dreams and Achievements’ books, ‘Magic Moments’ books and ‘Wow Now’ sessions. There are also regular consultations provided by an independent advocacy service who spends time with the children to gather their feelings and views. Staff have a detailed understanding of each child’s expressions and methods of communication. This approach actively promotes children’s voices being heard and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported to reach their full potential. They are encouraged to explore their individual interests and take part in fun, stimulating and new activities. This includes taking age-appropriate and well-managed risks. Staff are confident in supporting children to access community facilities and have new experiences. For example, one child regularly goes snowboarding and another is going to a theatre in London. Children excel regardless of their disabilities and health conditions. This helps children to grow in confidence and self-belief. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036737 4 Children benefit from a healthy lifestyle. Health needs are well managed, with staff demonstrating a proactive approach to meeting each child’s needs. Children are supported to attend medical, dental and other health appointments unique to them. There is also good liaison with external health professionals. This helps to ensure

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

children’s existing and emerging health needs are identified. This supports the children to be happy and healthy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s contact with their families is planned, encouraged and supported where this is in their best interests. There is excellent communication between the manager, staff, family members and other external professionals. Staff are creative in adapting and ensuring their time with families is positive and children can experience new things together as a family or spend quality time at the home together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides the children with a homely environment. Their bedrooms are personalised and children have their say in many aspects of the running of the home. Staff ensure that children develop a sense of belonging and stability. While the home is furnished well and has a homely feel, the manager is striving to develop the environment further to enhance children’s short breaks, experiences and care.

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

Staff complete the provider’s mandatory training. Safeguarding training is thorough and planned to meet the children’s needs. They also receive bespoke training that is tailored to the needs of the children. Staff have a clear understanding of their safeguarding roles and responsibilities.

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

Children receive thoughtful care from perceptive staff that understand their individual journeys. Children have staff they can trust and spend meaningful time with one another. Staff participate willingly both in fun activities and sensitive discussions with children. This contributes to the sense of security children experience in their relationships with staff.

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

Children’s risk assessments are thorough and updated regularly or when required. They provide clear and concise information about how children need to be supported for staff. While safeguarding concerns within the home remain low, there have been delays and failures in reporting and following required procedures, including notifications to Ofsted. Although no harm occurred, the manager did not adhere to the established policies and procedures, which had the potential to place children at risk.

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

Medication administration processes are safe. However, on occasion, medication errors have occurred and there is not a robust process in place to ensure that staff are given the opportunities for reflective supervision, coaching or reflective learning. This gap means that staff are not consistently given the opportunity to engage in reflective learning to promote safe and consistent administration of medication. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036737 5 Staff prioritise the safety of the children and have a good understanding of individual needs and vulnerabilities. Clear and detailed care plans and routines are in place for each child, with strategies to minimise potential risk. Staff are vigilant and are curious to explore the feelings of the children and, where possible, distract situations before they evolve into incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home had a period of instability following the last inspection. The newly registered manager is dedicated and committed to the children and is clearly child focused. She has a renewed vision for the home and its progression but recognises this is work in progress and changes take time. She is clear about the strengths and areas for improvement required and what is needed to address these.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

While staff receive regular supervision in line with the organisations policy, this has not been consistent. Staff do not routinely reflect on their practice within supervision or discuss safeguarding. This is a missed opportunity to support staff to develop within their roles. Staff could benefit from further discussions in their one-to-one meetings on wider safeguarding issues. They also receive daily support and guidance from the manager and each other.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak with pride about the home and enjoy their work. They express pleasure in spending time with the children and enhancing their experiences. The home has experienced some challenging times with changes in the management structure. However, staff have confidence in the manager and recognise how the home is beginning to progress and change under her leadership. Staff commented on the positive changes from managers and that they feel listened to. This supports children to thrive in a nurturing home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular team meetings and have professionals attend to discuss pertinent topics relevant to the care of children. While safeguarding is a specific agenda item in team meetings, discussions do not always take place. This does not provide opportunities for staff to discuss and reflect more about specific safeguarding issues. Staff could benefit from regular discussions in their team meetings on safeguarding issues and concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff regularly refresh their mandatory training and benefit from training in key areas and in specific health needs, such as epilepsy awareness, gastrostomy awareness and oxygen awareness. This supports staff to have the skills to meet children’s health needs. However, staff do not receive training in the different types of communication for children who are nonverbal. Training in this could strengthen staff skills and support them in responding to children’s changing communication needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective management systems in place to support the monitoring of the quality of care. However, there are gaps in some recordings and monitoring of logs. The manager is aware of the shortfalls and the areas that require improvement. The Inspection report for children’s home: SC036737 6 manager has completed the quality-of-care review and the review of premises, but she has not yet consulted with relevant parties to inform these documents. This could further enhance the quality of care and support ongoing development in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership work and collaboration with external agencies is a strength of this home. This approach promotes the full involvement of families and professional networks around the child. During this inspection, many social workers, health professionals and family members commended the manager and staff on the good communication and the quality of care provided during children’s stays. A common thread in the feedback provided is the positive communication, the progress children make and how the children enjoy spending time at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036737 7

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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 person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to reporting safeguarding concerns and notifications in a timely manner and promoting safe and consistent administration of medication. 11 May 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

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

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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)(h)) 11 May 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the content and/or outcomes of team meetings and one-to-one sessions reflect discussions on safeguarding issues, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs and external wider risks of children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4) Inspection report for children’s home: SC036737 8  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, Page 53, 10.11).  The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the premises. When conducting the review, the registered person must consult and take into account the views of each relevant person. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes

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Recommendations

Regulations, including the quality standards’, Page 64, 15.1).

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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: SC036737 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 7QP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jennifer Whiston

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Inspectors

Thirza Smith, Social Care Inspector Linda Mason, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC036737 10 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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