Children's Home run by Bayleaf Care Limited in Derby

Inspection report for children’s home: 2814713 1 Registered provider: Bayleaf Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned. It provides care for 4 children who may have emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

There were 4 children living at the home at the time of the inspection. Their views were sought during 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 requires improvement to be 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: 20 January 2026

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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: 2814713 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/01/2026 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2814713 3

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Summary of findings

Children are currently settled and have positive relationships with the manager and some of the staff. Serious incidents have reduced in recent months. However, shortfalls were identified in the management and oversight of the home. There are inconsistencies in the skills and experience of the staff team, which have impacted on children. The manager is not always providing clear direction for staff when areas for improvement are identified.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers have created a comfortable home for children. Two children have been there for several months. They have formed positive relationships with some of the staff and are taking part in education at home. One child is preparing for their GCSE examinations. Two children have recently moved in quite close together. They say they are happy and had a good experience when moving into the home. They were able to visit prior to moving in and have personalised their bedrooms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have poor routines. They have been out of education for a considerable time prior to moving into the home. Staff are yet to find effective ways of helping these children to get up earlier and create a structure to their day. The children are not responding to current strategies outlined in their daily planners. This means they are unoccupied until the afternoon and stay up late at nighttime. This hinders them from developing a healthy lifestyle and can disturb other children’s sleep. More positively, 2 other children have hobbies and interests, including gardening, baking bread and creating animations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff support children to see their families, which is important for their sense of stability. Overall, parents have good relationships with the manager and some staff. One parent said that the team has taken the time to get to know their child, which has helped the child to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s medical needs are met. They ensure children attend routine appointments and have medication to help with ongoing health needs. One child has made progress with their emotional wellbeing following close review of their medication. Children also can speak to an in-house therapist, which helps them to manage their feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s relationships with one another are mixed. Some children spend time together in the home and do activities with staff. However, one child is spending time in their room and is at risk of becoming isolated. One child has moved out since the last inspection due to problems in their relationship with another child. Addressing difficulties Inspection report for children’s home: 2814713 4 between children in a timely and effective way is essential to prevent them from feeling unhappy and excluded.

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

Children are currently settled. They say they feel safe and have trusted adults to talk to about their worries and anxieties. Risks have reduced considerably for one child. For example, serious incidents are now infrequent, and restrictions to their life are gradually decreasing.

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

The manager has created risk management plans that outline children’s risks and vulnerabilities. These do not always contain sufficient detail to help staff manage their responses to children’s behaviours. For example, one child requires specific approaches when they are feeling anxious. These are not well documented in their behaviour support plan. This has the potential for situations to escalate and place children at increased risk of harm.

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

Staff have been required to hold children to keep them safe. Two serious incidents occurred 3 weeks apart where staff used similar unapproved techniques. The child made subsequent complaints about their experiences. At that time, staff did not have the necessary skills and experience to undertake the holds. The details relating to these incidents are inconsistent in the records. Training has now been provided, which is gradually improving practice in this area.

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

Children rarely go missing from home. When this has happened, staff are proactive in looking for the children. They work with professionals and families to ensure children are returned safely. On one occasion, the time a child left the home was not recorded consistently on the records pertaining to the event. This had not been identified by the manager prior to the inspection.

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

The manager fulfils her safeguarding responsibilities with transparency. She investigates all complaints and allegations made by children. Concerns are shared with relevant professionals so they can implement their safeguarding procedures. The manager ensures that actions are taken in a timely way to keep children safe. Outcomes of allegations and complaints are shared with children. Staff are safely recruited through the required vetting procedures. This ensures that children are cared for by suitable adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is busy managing the competing demands of establishing a new home. She is balancing the importance of spending regular time with children and undertaking her other management roles and responsibilities. The manager has dealt with some serious incidents involving children and investigating concerns about staff. This has taken up a considerable amount of time. Alongside this, she has welcomed 2 children to the home in recent weeks. The manager recognises that she needs to upskill the team so Inspection report for children’s home: 2814713 5 that she can delegate tasks with confidence. This will allow her to organise her time more effectively and have more detailed oversight of the home, for example scrutinising records to ensure they accurately reflect children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is not always providing clear direction to staff to enable them to practise safely. For example, she did not fully address areas for improvement following a serious incident, and a similar incident occurred soon after. The manager has not fully explored an aspect of the history of a child who has recently moved into the home. Strategies about how this risk will be managed are not clear. This has the potential to increase risk of harm if not fully risk assessed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The staff team is mixed in terms of experience and skills. Some staff are confident in their work; however, others are less so. This means that children seek out particular staff and do not connect with others. The manager is aware of this and has plans in place to improve practice so it becomes more consistent. The impact of these plans is yet to be embedded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager ensures that staff receive regular supervision, which enables them to reflect on their relationships with children, professional and personal development. Regular training is provided, which is helping staff to understand children’s needs from a trauma-informed perspective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Professionals have confidence in the manager and her team. They value the work that is undertaken to help children settle quickly when they move in. The manager has frequent communication with external agencies. She advocates for children when services are not meeting their needs. This shows children that she cares about them and wants them to achieve their potential. Inspection report for children’s home: 2814713 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 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s risk management plans contain helpful guidance and direction to help staff keep children safe.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that staff use physical interventions safely and effectively when they are at increased risk of harm.

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Requirement Due date

This also related to ensuring that staff keep accurate records of serious incidents involving children. 8 July 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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 8 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2814713 7 ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all staff have the skills and knowledge to work together to enable children to meet their potential.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that staff are provided with focused learning and direction following incidents with children where areas for improvement are identified.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all children have healthy daily routines, regular meals and take part in the daily life of the home. 8 July 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children who have experienced severe trauma, have mental health difficulties or have been excluded or out of education for significant periods are supported to work through their past experiences and present needs so they can positively participate in learning activities and formal education. Staff in children’s homes will play a key role in supporting these children in line with their personal education plan or education, health and care plan and recommendations from education and health professionals. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 26, paragraph 5.3).  The registered person should ensure that staff help children develop skills to have positive relationships with others. ‘Others’ includes individuals both inside and outside the home, such as other children in the home, staff, family members, siblings, previous carers and friends (in accordance with their relevant plans). This includes

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Recommendations

acting on feedback and observations when children are together to ensure that children do not become isolated in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.6). Inspection report for children’s home: 2814713 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: 2814713 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bayleaf Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 7 Bankside, The Watermark, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear NE11 9SY

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Georgina Kowalkowski

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Inspector

Laura Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2814713 10 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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