Children's Home run by CareTech Community Services Limited in Dudley

Inspection report for children’s home: SC483662 1 SC483662 Registered provider: CareTech Community Services Limited

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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 privately owned and forms part of a larger social care organisation. It provides care for up to 6 children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2020. She is suitably experienced and holds a leadership and management qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 6 children were living in the home and spent time with the inspector.

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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: 16 September 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: SC483662 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/09/2025 Full Good 11/02/2025 Full Outstanding 13/12/2023 Full Good 11/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC483662 3

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Summary of findings

The home provides children with a stable home where their needs are fully met. Children benefit from positive relationships with staff that help them to feel happy where they live. All children were seen during the inspection, and although most children do not communicate verbally, they were seen to be very happy and relaxed with the staff who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress because of the warm, nurturing care they receive. Staff care deeply about the children, and they are at the centre of their practice. Staff are attentive to children’s individual needs. They provide care in a very sensitive and dignified manner that helps children to feel safe and well cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves into the home are well planned. Managers ensure that children’s complex needs are fully understood by staff, and that they have all the required equipment and training to care for children safely. Children settle quickly into the home as a result of the thorough planning. Most children have lived in the home for several years, demonstrating staff’s ability to provide stable care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Permanent staff understand children’s nonverbal communication. They use a range of methods to ascertain children’s views and choices, and respond accordingly. For example, one child was seen leading staff to what they wanted, and another was able to use actions to tell staff what they wanted to watch on the television.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly and are making good progress. Staff have excellent relationships with children’s schools and there is good collaborative working to manage children’s needs and pass on important information.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s complex health needs are consistently met. Staff are trained and competent to manage all the children’s needs, and there is good partnership working with school nurses and a range of other medical professionals. Staff are proactive and seek specialist advice whenever there are any concerns about a child’s health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming and is equipped to meet the needs of the children living there. For example, the newly fitted kitchen includes a rise and fall sink and a fridge-freezer on 2 levels so that children can easily access what they want. The garden has a range of specialist play equipment and wheelchair accessible seating so that children can enjoy all areas of the home, regardless of their needs. Pictures of the children are displayed around the home and all children’s bedrooms are personalised. Inspection report for children’s home: SC483662 4

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

Children are kept safe through good-quality staff training and competent staff. High staffing ratios help to ensure that children with complex needs are fully supervised, in line with their plans. Monitoring of health needs is robust and helps to identify any concerns as early as possible. For example, body maps are completed twice a day, and this has helped to identify when further action is needed.

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

Children’s plans are clear and comprehensive. Detailed information about children’s specific needs helps staff to understand how to care for the children in a safe way. For example, staff provide care as outlined in epilepsy plans, manual handling plans and feeding plans. Staff demonstrate excellent understanding of the plans and are confident in carrying out medical tasks.

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

Medication is managed effectively. Due to the children’s complex needs, staff manage an extensive range of medication that is given using various different methods. All staff who administer medication are trained and there are robust procedures to ensure that children are given the correct medication. Children are treated sensitively during medication routines, for example, staff explain what they are doing and give reassurance throughout.

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

Behaviour is well managed in the home and behavioural incidents are rare. Staff’s understanding of children’s needs, body language and preferences helps them to support children effectively when they are anxious or upset. There have been no physical interventions or behavioural incidents since the last inspection.

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

Very good partnership working helps to keep children safe. Due to the complex needs of the children, they have multiple professionals overseeing their care. Managers and staff value the support of other professionals and are open to feedback. This helps to ensure that any issues are addressed quickly.

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

Complaints are rare but when they are made, they are well managed. Managers take complaints seriously and work with other professionals so that appropriate investigations can be completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an established and very experienced manager who knows the children well. The manager is passionate about providing a high level of care to children and leads a staff team who share her vision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have good oversight of the home through a range of regular checks, staff supervisions and observations of staff practice. The manager understands the strengths of the home as well as areas for development and is keen to continually improve the experiences of children living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC483662 5 Staff are well trained, with a comprehensive range of face-to-face and online training to equip them to meet the children’s complex needs. Some staff are trained to be able to train other staff, which reduces the reliance on external specialist trainers. Staff demonstrate their learning from training and are competent and confident in their roles, for example, when giving medication through a gastrostomy tube.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback about the home is excellent. Professionals involved in the children’s care are very complimentary about the care children receive and the way that staff communicate with them. Similarly, parents are very pleased with the way their children are cared for, and they always feel welcomed when they visit the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home does not have sufficient permanent staff to meet the children’s needs and there is a high use of agency staff. While this is not ideal, managers have a clear plan to manage agency staff to try to minimise the impact on children. They are also working in creative ways to find suitable people to work in the home. For example, the manager has made links with a local college to identify and train people who demonstrate the skills and attributes needed to work in a home caring for disabled children. The manager is clear that she will not lower her standards to recruit staff, because only the right people are good enough for the children in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC483662 6

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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.

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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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d) 1 July 2026

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report for children’s home: SC483662 7 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: SC483662 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: CareTech Community Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4th Floor, Parkview, 82 Oxford Road, Uxbridge UB8 1UX

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Inspector

Vicky Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC483662 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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