Children's Home run by Imagine Mentoring and Support Limited in Gloucestershire

Inspection report children's home: 2724045 1 Registered provider: Imagine Mentoring and Support 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 and provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home. The child was seen and spoken to.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2023. She is a qualified social worker and undertaking the level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2724045 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/05/2025 Full Good 04/02/2025 Full Inadequate 27/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2724045 3

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Summary of findings

The manager advocates well for children. She is committed to ensuring that children receive high quality care. The manager’s strong leadership contributes to positive outcomes for children.

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Summary of findings

There is a stable and consistent staff team that provides a calm, nurturing and respectful approach to care.

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Summary of findings

Staff place children at the centre of their practice. They ensure children’s views are actively sought, listened to and, wherever possible, inform day-to-day decisions.

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Summary of findings

Staff promote children’s safety through consistent practice, clear expectations and maintaining appropriate boundaries. They act as positive role models, helping children to understand acceptable behaviours and supporting them to make safer choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from care provided by a highly consistent, committed and dedicated staff team. Staff demonstrate resilience and professionalism. They provide calm, nurturing and respectful care, even when children are reluctant or unwilling to engage.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress over time. Staff place a strong emphasis on education. Children are supported to engage in learning activities within the home and to attend education or learning sessions externally. This has supported children who find it difficult to engage with their educational placement to still achieve positive outcomes. Staff have encouraged children to sit exams and achieve, demonstrating the impact of staff’s persistent encouragement and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to pursue their interests and develop their talents. They participate in a wide range of activities, including horse riding, cycling and visits to specialist venues such as a dry ski slope. Children also regularly go shopping and spend time with friends and family. This helps to promote children’s social development and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff place high importance on children maintaining relationships with those who are important to them. Children are supported to spend time with family members, and where appropriate, to have overnight stays with friends or relatives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop a sense of belonging within the local community. They engage in charitable activities and learn to consider the impact of their actions on others. When children’s behaviour has affected neighbours, staff have supported them to repair these relationships. At Christmas, children prepared hampers for neighbours, helping to foster positive relationships and social responsibility. Inspection report children's home: 2724045 4 Children are at the centre of practice in the home. Their voices are actively sought and valued. Children help to develop their plans, contribute to how their care is provided and are asked daily about their views, wishes and feelings. Consequently, children feel listened to and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming, homely and personalised to children’s tastes. Artwork, canvases and personal touches reflect children’s individuality and help to create a warm environment. The outdoor space is inviting and provides opportunities for relaxation and leisure, which children enjoy during the summer months.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves into and out of the home are carefully planned, and children are involved in the decision-making. One child was supported to visit the home in advance with a family member. Other children living at the home were consulted and their views were considered when there were plans for a new child to move into the home. This approach has led to positive moves into the home. One child described staff as being ‘like a second family’ and reported feeling happy living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff do not give up on children. They work persistently to meet children’s needs. Decisions to end children’s time living at the home are only made once staff have exhausted all attempts to re-engaged children in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between staff and children remain strong even after children leave the home. Most children stay in touch and keep staff updated about their progress. Staff continue to act in children’s best interests. For example, when a child went missing from their new home, staff took proactive steps to help locate the child and shared relevant information promptly with professionals. This demonstrates staff’s ongoing commitment to children’s safety and welfare.

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

Children are kept safe. Staff are vigilant and proactive in reducing risk through close monitoring, consistent engagement and clear boundaries. They provide children with learning to help them to understand risks and to seek advice and support from external professionals, when needed. As a result, risks are managed effectively and children’s welfare remains the priority.

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

When there are concerns that children may be using substances, staff act promptly and appropriately. They have provided children with education and guidance about the negative impact of using substances could have on their health. Staff have sought medical advice, completed room searches in line with policy and shared relevant information with placing authorities.

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

Staff respond appropriately when children go missing from the home or fail to return as expected. They try to locate children, including searching for them and maintaining regular contact to check on their welfare. When children cannot be located, staff follow the home’s procedures and inform all relevant agencies. When children return, staff seek Inspection report children's home: 2724045 5 to understand the reasons why the child went missing. In addition, they ensure welfare checks are completed and, where appropriate, involved the police or placing authority.

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

Staff rarely need to use physical intervention to keep children safe. It is only used when necessary to protect children from harm.

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

Children’s concerns are taken seriously by leaders. Allegations or safeguarding worries are reported promptly to the appropriate authorities. When responses from external agencies have been delayed, leaders have followed these up to ensure that children are not left at risk. This includes chasing outcomes where children have made disclosures about family members.

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

Staff recruitment follows safer recruitment principles. However, leaders have not consistently ensured that all gaps or inconsistencies in employment histories are fully explored. For example, discrepancies between application forms and references for one staff member were not explored.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a highly committed and effective manager who demonstrates a strong dedication to both the home and the care of the children who live there. The manager has high expectations of herself and the staff team, which underpins a culture of accountability, reflection and continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Over the past year, the manager has successfully supported staff to grow in confidence. Staff are increasingly more confident in their decision making and less reliant on the manager making all the decisions. Staff are more reflective in their practice. This has strengthened the consistency and quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager reflects following children’s time at the home ending. They identify what has worked well and what could be improved. As a result, improvements have been made to how information is gathered and assessed prior to accepting new children into the home. Consequently, the most recent child has settled well, demonstrating the positive impact of these changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A notable strength of leadership is the manager’s strong advocacy for children. She is persistent and tenacious in challenging placing authorities when they do not fulfil their responsibilities. The manager escalates concerns appropriately, follows up actions robustly and, where necessary, makes formal complaints to ensure children receive the services and protection they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported and well prepared for their roles. They speak positively about the leadership within the home and value the training, guidance and care provided to them. Leaders place strong emphasis on staff understanding the rationale behind their work, enabling them to reflect on how learning is applied in practice. This strengthens staff confidence in their skills and knowledge to care for the children. Inspection report children's home: 2724045 6 Leaders have effective monitoring systems in place. They regularly review how children’s needs are being met, analyse incidents and identify patterns and trends. This enables leaders to reflect on practice and make informed decisions to improve care and safeguarding arrangements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from external professionals and family members is consistently positive. They describe the leadership team as going ‘above and beyond’ to ensure children receive the best possible care. One family member described staff as ‘amazing and professional’. Inspection report children's home: 2724045 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should maintain good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. Specifically, that dates of employment on the application form matches that of references and any discrepancies are explored. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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 children's home: 2724045 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Imagine Mentoring and Support Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Unit 1, City Works, Alfred Street, Gloucester, Gloucestershire GL1 4DF

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Inspector

Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2724045 9 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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