Children's Home run by Idem Living Limited in Devon

Inspection report for children’s home: 2572552 1 Registered provider: Idem Living Ltd Full inspection 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. It provides care for one child who may have needs associated with social and emotional difficulties, or have learning difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2572552 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/07/2025 Full Good 15/07/2024 Full Good 25/04/2023 Full Good 20/07/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2572552 3

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Summary of findings

Serious and widespread shortfalls in the care and protection provided to the child living at the home were identified at this inspection. Failures in leadership, staffing stability, safeguarding practice and the overall environment have resulted in poor experiences and limited progress for the child. Leaders and managers have not ensured that staff have sufficient training to provide consistent nurturing and therapeutic care to children. The physical condition of the home is poor and does not provide the child with a safe, welcoming or homely environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home. The child spent time with the inspector and shared mixed views about their experience of living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child is not provided with consistent care, consistent routines or structure. Staff do not support the child effectively to engage in education, resulting in the child spending extended periods isolated in their bedroom. On occasion, the child chooses to eat meals in their room rather than engage socially with staff. Staff have been unable to motivate or support the child with accessing regular activities in the community or in the home. This means that the child is not engaging with regular opportunities to further their social, emotional or educational development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

On two occasions, items have been taken from the child due to safeguarding concerns. There are no clear plans or restorative strategies in place to support the return of these items. In addition, the child does not have a clear understanding of why these items were removed. This lack of clarity will contribute to the child feeling frustrated and distrusting of staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child does not have the opportunity to develop trusting relationships with all staff. This is due to significant changes in the leadership and staff team. The lack of consistency has undermined the child’s ability to develop enduring relationships and has contributed to instability for the child. Although the child has formed positive relationships with some individual staff members, the overall instability in the home has contributed to the child feeling anxious, worried and unsafe. As a result, the child has made little measurable progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The physical condition of the home is poor. Significant damage throughout the home has not been repaired promptly. Damage includes holes in walls, deep scratches to the banister and doors, and graffiti on the child’s bedroom door. The child’s bedroom was found to be in particularly poor condition, indicating that staff have not provided effective support to maintain acceptable standards of hygiene and cleanliness. The Inspection report for children’s home: 2572552 4 inspector noted a strong odour in the home, indicating a very poor standard of hygiene that presents a hazard to the child’s health.

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

Staff responses to significant incidents are inconsistent, meaning that the child is not always protected from harm. Several incidents have taken place where physical interventions have been used to manage the child’s behaviours. Recording lacks sufficient detail to demonstrate that interventions were consistently appropriate, proportionate and necessary.

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

Staff are not consistently using therapeutic approaches to de-escalate situations before behaviours escalate, as stated in their statement of purpose. Opportunities to help the child understand and process incidents are regularly missed. Following incidents, staff too readily accept the child’s reluctance to engage rather than exploring alternative ways to support meaningful restorative conversations. Consequently, relationships are not repaired effectively.

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

When children raise concerns or allegations they are not managed well. Several concerns regarding staff practice have been raised since the last inspection. Responses to these concerns have been inconsistent and, at times, delayed. Although investigations have taken place, there is little evidence of restorative work, feedback or emotional support provided to the child following these incidents, despite recommendations from the local authority designated officer. Other concerns raised are not addressed quickly, for example, following concerns about the condition of the home environment, it took leaders and managers almost a week to undertake a visit and assess the concerns. As a result, opportunities to safeguard children and ensure their well-being are missed.

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

Staff hold some meaningful conversations with the child around important issues affecting their life and experiences. However, this work is inconsistent in quality and frequency. Some records of these conversations are extremely brief, lack depth and do not demonstrate meaningful reflection or learning. On one occasion, records indicated that a member of staff sought emotional reassurance from the child. This presents poor professional boundaries and inappropriate expectations being placed on the child.

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

When the child has been missing from home, staff responses have generally been appropriate and in line with agreed safety plans. Staff have taken reasonable action to locate the child and ensure their safe return. However, leaders and staff have not developed effective strategies to understand and reduce the underlying triggers to these incidents. As a result, opportunities to work with the child to reduce risks have been missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers fail to support staff to provide the child with consistent, stable and effective care. Since the previous inspection, there have been significant changes to Inspection report for children’s home: 2572552 5 management and staffing arrangements. Three permanent staff members have joined the home within the previous five months and are, therefore, all within their probation period. These staff are regularly working alongside agency and pool staff. Leaders and managers have been too slow to recognise the cumulative impact that these changes have had on the child’s emotional wellbeing and sense of security.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff working in the home are not provided with the training, support and professional development necessary to meet the child’s complex needs. One member of staff, who remains within their probationary period, has received only one formal supervision. In addition, two staff members who have worked in the home since January have not completed the training necessary to support the child safely and effectively. Leaders and managers rely heavily on agency staff, many of whom have also not received the specialist training required to provide consistent and therapeutic care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

One professional from education has raised concerns that the care provided in the home has not met the child’s needs. This professional reported that staff have been unable to provide the nurture, stability and consistency necessary to support the child to make progress. As a result, the child has made minimal progress, despite living in the home for almost a year.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

A new manager has recently been appointed; they have begun to implement some positive changes. This includes improving communication and working relationships with education professionals and reviewing areas of practice that have contributed to the child’s limited progress. Leaders and managers have demonstrated some challenge to partner agencies when care planning for the child has not progressed effectively. However, this is at an early stage and has not yet resulted in any meaningful improvements for the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2572552 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the home environment is maintained to a good standard, and must ensure that the child’s bedroom is clean and sanitary. Leaders and managers must also ensure that action is taken to support children with complex health and behavioural needs with seeking specialist support. 31 May 2026

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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 31 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2572552 7 promotes their welfare.

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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

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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered persons must ensure that there are sufficient qualified and experienced staff to meet the needs of the children in their care as detailed in the statement of purpose. Additionally, the registered person must ensure that staffing stability is sufficient to allow staff to develop relationships with children that are enduring.

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

develop the child’s interests and hobbies.

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and

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Requirement Due date

make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 30 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2572552 8 In particular, the registered person must ensure that children engage with positive routines, and that they are helped effectively to regularly engage with meaningful activities in the wider community and in the home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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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;

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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)(v)(viii)(x))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children are helped to attend school regularly. Where there are periods of non-attendance, staff must engage children with activities that have an educational theme in order to promote their educational development. 30 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(ii)(v)) 30 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2572552 9 In particular, the registered person must ensure that when significant incidents take place, there are meaningful follow-up conversations with children that help them reflect and that repair relationships. In addition, the registered person must ensure that staff are holding significant conversations with children to help them reflect on the risks that they face, and help them to learn strategies to keep themselves safe.

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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

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;

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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)(f)(g))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they have effective oversight of the service and that there is robust critical analysis of staff actions during significant incidents. Additionally, the registered person must consider learning from incidents and use this learning to inform future practice with children. 30 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are regularly seeking the wishes and feelings of children. If a decision is made that a child should not have an item as it presents a risk, this should be clearly communicated to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.9) Inspection report for children’s home: 2572552 10  The registered person should ensure that there is effective challenge to the placing authority when they are not providing the input and services needed to move care planning forward in a meaningful way. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8)

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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: 2572552 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Idem Living Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 6 Stable Court Business Centre, Water Lane, Tarbock Green, Prescot L35 1RD

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Inspector

Minnette Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2572552 12 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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