Children's Home run by Cornerstone Children’s Homes Limited in Wokingham

Inspection report for children’s home: 2871705 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: Cornerstone Children’s Homes Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private organisation that has 2 other homes in north-west England. The home provides a bespoke living environment tailored to the needs of the one child who lives there.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager were registered with Ofsted in March 2026, and this was the first inspection since registration. The child has been living in the home since April 2025 prior to registration.

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2871705 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Summary of findings

The child who lives in this home enjoys a tailored care experience to meet their needs. The managers and staff team have built positive relationships with the child and always take their thoughts and needs into consideration. Joint working with specialist partner agencies means there is a genuinely collaborative approach to ensure consistent care is provided and that the child has the help and experiences that they need.

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Summary of findings

The 2 recommendations made link to areas for improvement, rather than specific shortfalls that would have a negative impact on the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is making good progress from their starting point, due to living in a warm and caring environment. Staff hold the child central to how the home is run and organised. The social work team leader in the placing authority is highly positive about the staff and the support and understanding they show the child and said this is the longest the child has lived anywhere. The child’s mother also echoes this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s voice is evident throughout all their plans and risk assessments produced by the staff. The child is actively involved in how they are cared for and looked after by the staff, who are incredibly sensitive to the child’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has made great progress in education and enjoys attending their sessions with tutors. While sometimes they may arrive a little late, the number of sessions has now been increased and the length of sessions extended.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child joins in community activities, including a recent Easter re-enactment and Easter egg hunt. The child showed interest in the younger children, helping them find eggs as well as exploring their thoughts and ideas regarding the Easter story. In addition, the child learns about other religions and cultures in interactive ways and staff are thoughtful about how the child learns best.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s cultural identity is central to how the home runs, with staff constantly seeking their views and helping them with the questions and queries they may have about their history, culture and identity. This includes exploring clothing and pronouns and engaging in a wide range of activities. The child will be attending upcoming events including a comic book convention and the local Pride march and celebrations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is making progress in understanding the need for self-care and cleanliness and hygiene in their living space. They have made great strides in accepting support from staff to help them keep their bedroom clean and more organised. Joint working with child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), the organisation’s clinical Inspection report for children’s home: 2871705 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

psychologist, the local authority and other health professionals means that there is a consistent approach to supporting the child’s emotional wellbeing needs.

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

The staff have an exceptional understanding of the child’s risks and vulnerabilities, and their role in keeping the child safe. The child’s actions show they feel comfortable in their environment and confident in telling staff when they may need help and when they do not want any support.

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

Staff know how to respond when they are worried for the child’s safety or welfare and take their role in safeguarding and protecting the child seriously. Staff know the organisation’s processes to follow if they are worried for the child, and how to escalate externally should this be needed.

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

When the child has raised concerns or made disclosures or allegations, these have been taken seriously and responded to immediately. Joint working with safeguarding partner agencies is strong. All issues have been responded to appropriately.

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

Joint working with CAMHS and other emotional wellbeing professionals enables staff to feel confident in helping the child when they self-harm. Staff are consistent in how they respond, their understanding of why the child may be harming themselves and of the support they have from the organisation’s clinical psychologist to understand the child’s needs. Records of when the child has injured themselves are detailed, but the body maps are small and do not provide space for the specific detail required.

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

Staff are skilled in recognising when the child is becoming distressed or upset. They use a range of techniques to defuse the situation, calm the child and listen to them to help them process how they are feeling and provide the support that they need. Physical intervention is rarely used. There is a robust approach to reviewing any incidents and use of physical intervention, including reflection with the child and staff. Plans are immediately updated after any incidents to ensure staff continue to act in the child’s best interests and implement any learning in how they could do things differently.

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

The child has access to the internet and can follow their interests online, such as art and listening to podcasts. They have been helped in the past to understand some online risks and have a fixed understanding about this at this time. This is an area that requires further and continued exploration with the child, at their pace and in line with what they are seeing online.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers have an excellent understanding of what is happening in the home and the progress and needs of the child. They lead by example, ensuring that the child is central to any decisions and approaches used. Their child-focused approach is followed by staff, who feel particularly well supported by the manager and her approach. Inspection report for children’s home: 2871705 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff know they can approach the manager and responsible individual at any time and say they feel listened to. They benefit from reflective time with the organisation’s clinical psychologist, which they say is particularly helpful. Staff have the required training to meet the needs of the child and understand how the child processes and shows their experiences and trauma through their actions. Staff understand the organisation’s ethos and they put this into practice to help and support the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and responsible individual remain in consistent contact with the child’s mother, placing authority and other relevant agencies through regular meetings. This leads to all those involved knowing the progress the child is making and coordinating any additional help they will need. The child’s mother feels listened to and although she feels there are areas that require further work and development, she says the staff in the home keep her up to date and value her opinions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

In the short time the home has been registered with Ofsted, the manager has continued to reflect on the home and how they will continue to develop staff practice and skills, as well as improve experiences and outcomes for the child. They make good use of the reports completed by the independent visitor. At the time of inspection, Ofsted had not received the first report. Inspection report for children’s home: 2871705 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continue to explore the child’s understanding of what they view online and the real-life risks that may link to this. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 29, paragraph 5.19)  The registered person should ensure that records of children’s injuries contain sufficient detail to fully describe the injury. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3)

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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: 2871705 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cornerstone Children’s Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Centenary House, Centenary Way, Salford M50 1RF

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Inspector

Jennie Christopher, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2871705 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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