Children's Home run by TS Children Services Ltd in Dudley

Inspection report for children’s home: 2726003 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.1

Registered provider: TS Children Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in November 2023 and is privately owned. It provides care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties, as well as special educational needs and/or disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Three children lived at the home at the time of this inspection. All children contributed to the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since June 2025. A new manager has been in post for 5 weeks, and they have submitted their application to register with Ofsted.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

p.1

inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

p.1

inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected and their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor, and they are not making progress.

p.1

inadequate

Date of last inspection: 2 September 2025

p.1

inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2726003 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/09/2025 Full Good 09/06/2025 Full Inadequate 04/09/2024 Full Good 14/03/2024 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2726003 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.2

Summary of findings

Serious failings in how children are helped and protected, alongside significant weaknesses in leadership and management, have a significant impact on children’s safety and quality of care. These failings have a profound impact on children, resulting in poor experiences that hinder their progress. Leaders are unable to sustain improvements to ensure positive outcomes for children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Poor care planning and ineffective processes for moving children into the home place children at increased risk of harm. Staff are not sufficiently informed to meet children’s needs or manage risks safely. A child moved into the home in an emergency with only 15 minutes notice, leaving staff unprepared to support them. The impact of this move or the views of the children already living in the home were not fully considered. This lack of planning and support compromises children’s safety and feeling of security.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s family time is not well supported. Poor planning by staff led to a child missing out on opportunities to spend time with people who are important to them. Furthermore, the child’s family members were worried. This does not demonstrate that children’s relationships with loved ones are valued and promoted effectively.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children do not experience healthy daily routines. Staff do not put in place clear boundaries or promote positive routines. One child frequently stays awake until the early hours of the morning and then remains in bed until late. This lack of routine does not promote healthy sleep patterns and negatively affects children’s emotional wellbeing and their ability to engage positively in daily activities.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are not supported to make academic progress. Two children do not currently have a school place, and staff do not support children to engage with home learning effectively. Prolonged absence from education increases the risk of educational underachievement, widens gaps in learning and limits children’s future opportunities.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Some children’s health needs are not met. When specialist health support is required, referrals are not routinely followed up, resulting in delays for children. Staff do not ensure that children attend routine health appointments. It is unclear if one child’s glasses have been collected several months after their optician appointment, and staff do not know if a child attended their last dental appointment. These shortfalls demonstrate that children’s health needs are not sufficiently prioritised.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home is clean and supports children’s comfort. Children say they like their bedrooms. Recent redecoration of communal areas and children’s bedrooms has enhanced the living environment and demonstrates that children’s feedback is listened to and acted on. Inspection report for children’s home: 2726003 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.3

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

While children say they feel safe, staff practice does not safeguard them. On one occasion, staff failed to follow plans and a child had the opportunity to take a significant amount of money from the home. The child went missing and used some of the money to purchase illegal substances and a vape, leaving then vulnerable and exposed to significant harm.

p.4

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

Incidents between children are not always managed effectively. Leaders do not ensure that the therapeutic model of care is embedded into staff practice. Staff do not manage significant conflict between children effectively, and on occasions, staff have informed the children that the police would be called. This approach was not supportive and could have led to unnecessary criminalisation of the children rather than promoting the children’s wellbeing and emotional safety at that time.

p.4

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

Children have been left feeling unsafe and exposed to unnecessary risk. Two children raised concerns about a staff member’s unsafe driving when travelling in the car on the motorway. In addition, the staff member failed to follow the children’s plans as it was deemed unsafe for both children to travel in a car together. These shortfalls compromise children’s safety and wellbeing.

p.4

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

When children go missing from home, staff make efforts to locate them and bring them home safely. However, there is a lack of professional curiosity to reduce the likelihood of repeat incidents. On one occasion, a child went missing twice on the same day and remained missing for several days. However, staff did not show any curiosity or take action, which may have prevented a further incident. A lack of professional curiosity and action taken by staff has the potential to leave children vulnerable and at risk of harm.

p.4

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

Purposeful support is starting to help the children to gain an understanding of expectations. Children are supported to reflect and take responsibility for their actions, which is supporting them to make some safer decisions.

p.4

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

Children’s complaints are taken seriously and are acted on appropriately. Children report feeling listened to and are satisfied with the outcome of the complaints that they make.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Poor leadership and management and failure to take effective action to improve the quality of children’s care have compromised children’s safety, experiences and progress. A lack of stability within the leadership team remains a significant concern. Frequent management changes undermine children’s sense of security, and this has a negative impact on the consistency of their care. There has been no registered manager in post since July 2025. The previous manager and the responsible individual resigned from their roles with immediate effect in February 2026. This creates inconsistency in practice and limits leaders’ ability to provide clear direction and respond effectively to children’s risks. Inspection report for children’s home: 2726003 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders do not ensure that the staff have the skills and experience required to meet children’s needs and keep them safe. Staff do not receive regular supervision or have their practice appraised, meaning shortfalls are not identified, reflected on or addressed. This has led to notice being served on 2 children. These shortfalls do not promote stability, and as a result, children are unable to develop a sense of permanence and belonging within the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Recording systems are poor. Important information, including children’s plans, is dispersed across multiple documents. This prevents leaders from gaining a clear and holistic understanding of children’s needs, challenges and progress. This weakens leadership oversight of children’s experiences. Leaders also fail to ensure that quality of care reviews meet regulatory requirements or are used effectively to identify shortfalls and drive forward improvement.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders fail to ensure that staff are supported to complete the required childcare qualifications within appropriate timescales. In addition, repeated failures in safer recruitment place children at ongoing risk of being cared for by adults who may not be suitable. Together, these widespread failings reflect weak leadership and ineffective oversight, leaving children insufficiently safeguarded and poorly supported.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The newly appointed leadership team has been in post for a few weeks. Leaders demonstrate good insight into the serious failings that compromise children’s safety and limit their progress. Their plans for improvement are at an early stage, and there is minimal evidence of improved outcomes for children due to the short passage of time. An in-depth audit completed by the responsible individual identified several action points for improvement and concluded that children’s care is poor due to failures in how they are helped and protected. Inspection report for children’s home: 2726003 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.5

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.

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

p.6

Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

p.6

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)(a)(b)(c)(f)(g)(h)) 5 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2726003 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.6

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s care is provided in line with the home’s statement of purpose. All staff must have the skills and experience that they need to meet the children’s needs. Monitoring and recording systems must be effective and prompt action must be taken to make improvements when shortfalls are identified to keep children safe and promote their welfare.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

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;

p.7

Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

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; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection polices is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

p.7

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff understand and follow children’s plans to manage risks. In addition, make sure that staff demonstrate professional curiosity to prevent incidents recurring. Staff must also work in line with 5 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2726003 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.7

Requirement Due date

the home’s therapeutic model of care that is detailed in the home’s statement of purpose to keep children safe and promote their welfare.

p.8

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.8

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

p.8

Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

p.8

Requirement Due date

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

p.8

Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.8

Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

p.8

Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed;

p.8

Requirement Due date

that, subject to regulation 22 (contact and access to communications), contact between each child and the child’s parents, relatives and friends, is promoted in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(c)(d))

p.8

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that care planning for children is robust and that the appropriate leaders make decisions about new children moving into the home. Risks that new children face must be assessed effectively. In addition, the impact on and the views of any children already living in the home must be considered. In addition, the registered person must ensure that children are supported to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. 5 June 2026

p.8

Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

p.8

Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

p.8

Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and 5 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2726003 9 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.8

Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

p.9

Requirement Due date

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

p.9

Requirement Due date

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

p.9

Requirement Due date

take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs; and

p.9

Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being;

p.9

Requirement Due date

that each child is registered as a patient with a general medical practitioner and a registered dental practitioner; and

p.9

Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(b)(c))

p.9

Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

p.9

Requirement Due date

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

p.9

Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

p.9

Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

p.9

Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

p.9

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment; 5 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2726003 10 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.9

Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

p.10

Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

p.10

Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

p.10

Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii)(viii)(x))

p.10

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must support children to make academic progress. Additionally, when children do not have a school place, staff must support them to overcome barriers to learning and engage with support to aid their learning.

p.10

Requirement Due date

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

p.10

Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

p.10

Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

p.10

Requirement Due date

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

p.10

Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

p.10

Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

p.10

Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or 5 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2726003 11 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.10

Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

p.11

Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

p.11

Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(b)(d) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

p.11

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that full and satisfactory Schedule 2 information is obtained for every individual working in the home. In addition, they must ensure that all staff have the skills, knowledge and experience required to meet children’s needs, and that all staff achieve the appropriate qualification within the required timescales.

p.11

Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

p.11

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.11

Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

p.11

Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 5 June 2026

p.11

Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

p.11

Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

p.11

Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

p.11

Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and 5 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2726003 12 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.11

Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

p.12

Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

p.12

Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (4)(a) (5))

p.12

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: 2726003 13 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.12

Children’s home details

Registered provider: TS Children Services Ltd

p.13

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite F3, Deansgate Offices, 62 to 70 Tettenhall Road, Wolverhampton WV1 4TH

p.13

Inspector

Amy Richards, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2726003 14 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.13

Inspector

regulates and inspects 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.

p.14

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.14

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.14

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.14