Children's Home run by Courtyard Care Limited in Walsall

Inspection report children’s home: 2716724 1 Registered provider: Courtyard Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to 6 children with learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 5 children were living in the home. They were all observed as part of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager went on maternity leave in December 2025. An interim manager commenced in the role on 9 February 2026. They are in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Ofsted was made aware that a serious child protection allegation was being investigated by the appropriate authorities. The inspector considered the allegation during this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 10 February 2026

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2716724 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/02/2026 Full Good 11/03/2025 Full Good 21/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 2716724 3

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Summary of findings

Most children have positive experiences and make good progress. However, shortfalls in staffing, children’s personal care and hygiene, and management oversight, means that the home is not yet delivering a consistently good standard of care for all children.

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improvement to be good

There is a high use of agency staff that impacts on the continuity and quality of care for children. For example, shortfalls in the cleanliness of the home and aspects of one child's personal hygiene have been overlooked impacted on one child's experiences. This has resulted in the local authority moving the child out of the home at short notice, because of concerns about the child's safety and quality of care. While this has not impacted on all children in the home, it does have the potential to increase the risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that children are registered with local health services, and specialist services as required. In addition, an inhouse psychologist supports the staff with regular staff consultations. This helps staff to gain a better understanding of children and how to best meet their needs. However, there have been occasions where staff have not ensured that children's care needs have been completed to a high standard. This has potentially impacted on one child’s physical and emotional wellbeing.

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improvement to be good

The home is specially adapted to meet children need, bedrooms are personalised and overall, the home is decorated and suitably furnished. However, some areas of the home require a deep clean. There have been occasions when staff have not ensured that children's bedrooms are cleaned adequately after children undertake personal hygiene care. This does not ensure that the children provided with a safe environment to live in and has potential to put children at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Despite these shortfalls, most children have made progress from their original starting points, in areas such as education, communication, socialisation and independence.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to spend time with their families and friends. They support children to travel home and there are regular house celebrations which family members are invited to. This helps children to feel connected to those that are important to them.

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improvement to be good

Children have lots of opportunities to have fun, try new things and be part of the local community. Staff support children to participant in a range of activities, such as trips to the Safari park, shopping, soft play and Ninja Warrier. In addition, all children recently enjoyed a cottage holiday with staff. These activities encourage children to socialise and builds children's self-esteem. Inspection report children’s home: 2716724 4

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improvement to be good

Shortfalls in the quality and lack of continuity of care by staff, and failure to follow children’s daily hygiene routines, has led to one child not receiving good quality care, potentially putting them at risk of physical and emotional harm. This has adversely affected their experiences and progress.

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improvement to be good

Core staff know children well. They use this knowledge, along with detailed up to date guidance on how to meet children’s individual needs and keep them safe, well. As a result, staff can effectively de-escalate incidents, without the need for significant intervention. Since the last inspection, there have been no incidents of missing from home or physical intervention.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff ensure that there are clear routines and boundaries in place. This means that most children receive predictable care and know what is expected of them. This helps children to feel safe and secure. However, one child received inconsistent care and support which increased their vulnerability.

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improvement to be good

Staff work with children in a meaningful way, using books and games to help them to understand how to keep themselves safe. For example, staff used a book to support one child to understand appropriate touch.

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improvement to be good

Managers follow safer recruitment practices. As a result, they have confidence that the staff working in the home are safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers oversight is not always effective. While there are management monitoring systems in place, they have not identified shortfalls in practice that have impacted on the children’s experiences. There is a new interim manager in post, she is getting to know the strengths and weakness of the home and is developing an understanding of the home. The manager and senior leaders have started to address some of the shortfalls identified in this inspection and have commenced an investigation into why one child did not receive good quality care from staff. This is to prevent a reoccurrence of children not consistently receiving good quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff turnover is high and several vacancies. There is a significant dependence on agency staff to provide care for children with complex and competing needs. This has adversely affected continuity of care for children. Although there is a plan is in place to support ongoing recruitment and retention initiatives, the impact of these measures will take time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Several staff are new to the children and are still completing their induction and training. As a result, not all staff currently have the knowledge and skills required to fully meet children’s needs. Inspection report children’s home: 2716724 5 Staff do say that they feel supported by management. Staff receive regular practice related supervision. This includes agency staff. However, the quality of agency staff supervision is mixed and lacks reflection on practice and does not support staff learning and development around their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers and staff work with partner agencies to ensure that children receive well- coordinated care. When risk increases or issues arise managers and staff are quick to share these with other professionals. Feedback from most professionals and parents is positive. Professionals say that communication is good, most children are safe and have been supported to make progress. Inspection report children’s home: 2716724 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’. The registered persons 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

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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2) (a)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person needs to continue to have a plan in place to reduce the high number of agency workers within the home and focus on the retention of staff.

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Requirement Due date

Part of this requirement has been restated. 3 May 2026 Inspection report children’s home: 2716724 7 In addition, the registered person needs to ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

all staff are equipped with the knowledge and skills to meet children’s needs and keep them safe and there are effective monitoring systems in place, that support managers to quickly identify and rectify shortfalls in practice.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) (c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff provide high quality care in line with the statement of purpose and that the home environment is consistently maintained and cleaned to a high standard. 3 May 2026

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that— 17 April 2026 Inspection report children’s home: 2716724 8 the health and well-being needs of children are met.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(a) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff consistently complete children’s personal care needs to a high standard, that promotes their health, dignity and wellbeing.

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Recommendation

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager and regular agency staff, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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 children’s home: 2716724 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 Siskin Drive, Middlemarch Business Park, Coventry CV3 4FJ

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Inspector

Sonia Sullivan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2716724 10 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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