Children's Home run by Watermead Care Ltd in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children's home: 2583468 1 Registered provider: Watermead Care Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider. It can provide care for up to 4 children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living in the home. Both children were spoken to as part of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2025. They were present for both days of 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 outstanding

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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: 12 November 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: 2583468 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/11/2025 Full Good 18/03/2025 Full Good 19/02/2024 Full Outstanding 07/03/2023 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: 2583468 3

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Summary of findings

Children have made good progress in relation to their emotional wellbeing. Staff have provided a consistently strong and attentive response to safeguarding incidents in a period where there have been several significant incidents and challenges for the children. The management of the home continues to promote an ethos of compassionate care and advocacy for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a loving and warm environment. Children feel comfortable in their surroundings and have made progress with handling big emotions and developing their self-esteem. Changes have been made to the appearance and layout of the home, making it a more relaxed and homely setting. There is now a games room where the staff office used to be, which has encouraged the children to spend more time out of their bedrooms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans are child centred and thoroughly thought through. Children know what their plans are, and staff work closely with other agencies to ensure that plans are followed. Children are spoken to on their own level, and staff use caring language, which has helped to develop trusting relationships between children and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel a sense of belonging. Regular family days take place, where staff bring their own children to take part in activities. The children feel valued and respected as a result of this. Children stay in touch with staff, even when they have moved out of the home a long time ago.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make extensive efforts to make sure that children are in the right educational setting. Support for children who are choosing not to attend school could be more structured, however. A new study area is currently being set up for children and staff, meaning that this is something that the home can start to embed in the near future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children are well prepared when they move out of the home. The home’s staff have held meetings with staff from new homes and support agencies and have considered the impact of change on the child. The decision has been made for 2 children to move on during this period. These decisions have been made based on the home not being the right place to keep the children safe at this time.

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

Staff demonstrate a strong commitment to listening to and valuing children’s views, responding appropriately when concerns are raised and ensuring that children feel they Inspection report for children's home: 2583468 4 are taken seriously. Interactions reflect a caring culture, and children appear comfortable confiding in staff. There is evidence that staff are willing to engage in difficult conversations in a reflective and supportive manner, helping to build trusting relationships.

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

Staff act quickly when children go missing from home and follow procedures closely. Risk assessments are comprehensive, with clear action plans for staff to follow. They are updated in a timely manner after incidents have taken place.

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

Children and staff have faced complex challenges in this period. Staff have used physical interventions with children as a last resort. Children have been taken away for breaks at a country lodge following difficult periods. This has helped children to repair and reinforce relationships with staff.

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

The staff try to avoid using consequences in order to reassure children that they can be trusted. There is evidence that there are many areas where this has worked positively following a consistent approach. Missing-from-home and self-harm incidents have reduced over time.

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

There is a fire exit on the third floor of the building with a coded lock. Children do not have access to this code. There has been one incident of fire setting in this period. Therefore, the use and purpose of this fire exit require further assessment to ensure that children are safe in the event of a fire.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager creates an environment where love, personal development and stability are prioritised for children. The staff team members know the children exceptionally well and are passionate about their care. Leaders highlight the journey of the child and reflect on children’s previous trauma and experiences to inform important decision-making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has high aspirations for children and is prepared to make difficult decisions when needed, which are based on what is best for the child. The manager ensures that children are well supported to build their emotional resilience and self-esteem. Children are offered emotional and practical life support at their own pace.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children are supported to understand and celebrate their own identities in a meaningful way. One child has received support in overcoming barriers to connect with their faith. The leadership team has arranged for this child to link with a member of the local community to facilitate this. Staff are supported to take positive risks when supporting children’s development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel well supported, listened to and valued by the management team. Staff feel that team morale has remained strong throughout a very challenging period for the home. Leaders have stepped in and worked overnight shifts where needed, and the Inspection report for children's home: 2583468 5 manager places an emphasis on individual staff wellbeing to ensure that staff are retained and children experience continuity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager carries out detailed reflection of practice and incidents. Changes are made to practice where needed, and this is clearly shared with staff. Staff are offered both clinical and general supervision each month, and there is a focus on professional development. Staff have access to emotional support and guidance about responses to children’s behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is robust managerial oversight of staff recording and incidents. Staff undertake detailed reflection and learning following serious incidents. This reflection takes place quickly, and children are asked for their thoughts and feelings, which the manager incorporates into children’s care plans. Inspection report for children's home: 2583468 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home, and any modifications to the environment of the home, are only made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review, including decisions related to fire doors (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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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: 2583468 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Watermead Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 135, 1 Hanley Street, Nottingham NG1 5BL

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Anne-Marie O’Reilly

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Inspector

Patrick Rowell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2583468 8 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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