Children's Home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited in Somerset

Inspection report for children’s home: 2728917 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is part of a partnership with a placing authority to provide care for up to 3 children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living in the home. The inspector saw and spoke with one of these children. One child has recently left the home. They were spoken with in a phone call.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of the home is registered with Ofsted and was present throughout 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 requires improvement to be 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 for children’s home: 2728917 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/05/2025 Full Good 11/09/2024 Full Good 19/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2728917 3

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Summary of findings

Children who live in this home feel safe and supported by staff. Staff’s deep understanding of children’s trauma and how this has impacted on children has contributed to the progress that children have made. Staff support children during incidents and do their utmost to keep all children safe when incidents take place. They work alongside other professionals to share information about risks and talk to children to educate them. Despite this, the reduction in risks is minimal. Leaders and managers are present and build positive relationships with staff and children. They have good oversight of the home but do not fully consider how practice impacts on outcomes for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who live in this home make progress. Three external professionals attributed this to the care and stability that staff provide. Children have shown an increased ability to reflect on their actions, understand the consequences and impact of them and take responsibility for them. One child’s risk-taking behaviour has reduced, and another child is showing more empathy and understanding towards others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to engage in education. Staff understand that the idea of education and attending an existing or new school or college can be anxiety provoking and stressful for children. They work alongside education professionals to support children to overcome these challenges. Two children now regularly attend an education provision after extended periods of non-attendance. This has resulted in children forming relationships with their peers and being able to consider future education or employment opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The health needs of children are understood by staff. They encourage and support children to attend appointments and assessments. Staff have an acute awareness of how trauma and poor mental health can impact on children. They gain knowledge and understanding of children’s individual coping mechanisms and implement strategies that aim to support them. Staff encourage children to reach out to specialised services. This has provided children with the individualised and targeted care and support that they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child experienced a positive move out of the home. Staff listened to their wishes and feelings and worked closely with external professionals throughout the process. Focused work was completed with the child to reinforce the need for them to keep safe and maintain their tenancy. The child spoke positively about the support that they received while living in the home and since they have moved out. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728917 4 Staff help children to develop basic independence skills. Children are encouraged to complete tasks such as cooking and cleaning. They have open conversations about what life might be like when they are living independently. However, action has not been taken to ensure that this work is well planned, timely and monitored. Staff do not ensure that children’s bedrooms are kept clean and tidy. This raises concern that children may not have the skills that will be essential when they move out of the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff work with external professionals to gain a deeper understanding of risk and how to support children to change their behaviours. They regularly have conversations with children to enhance their knowledge of the impact and potential consequences of their behaviours. Despite staff putting in place measures to reduce one child’s use of alcohol, cannabis and vapes within the home and in the community, these have not yet had the desired impact. This leaves one child at risk of experiencing health issues, being harmed or being criminalised and exploited.

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improvement to be good

Planning for the occurrence of a child going missing from the home is not robust. Staff do not have clear instructions on the actions they must take if the child goes missing. This has meant that there has been a delay in taking essential action to ensure the child’s safety. Reports that document an episode of children going missing contain limited information. This places children at increased risk and limits the learning that can be taken to prevent future episodes.

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improvement to be good

Overall, managers take appropriate action to address children’s allegations or concerns about staff. However, there have been 3 occasions where leaders and managers have been aware of the concerns that were raised and shared these with the child’s social worker, but where no investigation has been completed. This does not provide reassurance that leaders and managers ensure that all staff provide children with the care and safety that they need.

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improvement to be good

Staff follow comprehensive planning and use different techniques with the aim of ending incidents in the home. Staff have appropriately used physical restraint to prevent injury to children and themselves. Through reflective conversations with all children who live in the home, they have gained an awareness of how incidents can impact negatively on everyone, and have implemented measures to reduce this. This has led to children feeling safer within the home environment.

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improvement to be good

Staff have an acute awareness of the risk of misadventure due to self-harming behaviours. This has resulted in timely and strong responses to promote the safety of the child. Staff have worked with the child’s school to share essential information and to ensure that the child experiences consistent responses and support.

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improvement to be good

Concerns that a child was being exploited were met with a strong response. Staff were central to gaining and sharing information about the risks. One professional said that Inspection report for children’s home: 2728917 5 the strength of the relationships between staff and the child contributed to a reduction in risk and to the overall safety of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home benefits from a settled and consistent leadership and management team, whose members spend time with the children, which has allowed them to form trusting relationships. Two children said that they like living in the home and feel heard by managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about the guidance and support that they receive from managers, who are present and approachable. However, staff, including those who are new to the home, do not always receive regular formal supervision sessions. When supervision sessions do take place, they are reflective and focus on the care of children and staff’s experiences and wellbeing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers place value on the learning and development of staff. During regular, reflective and child-focused team meetings, staff share their experiences of caring for the children and consider what support they, or children, may need. There is a clear focus on ensuring that staff receive training that will evolve their practice and benefit children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of management oversight of staff practice and children’s behaviours is mixed. Managers regularly review and evaluate changes and patterns in the key behaviours that children exhibit. This has led to a better understanding of children’s behaviours and their triggers, which informs care planning. However, following some incidents, including when children go missing from the home, management oversight is brief and provides no analysis or evaluation of the child’s behaviours or staff practice. Managers review children’s progress, but they do not consider how staff practice has impacted on outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All necessary recruitment checks are completed to ensure that staff are safe to work with children. This includes checks on agency staff. When agency staff have been used, leaders and managers have ensured that the same staff work in the home. This provides more consistency for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728917 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move to adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children are provided with guidance and support to learn all skills necessary for independence and moving out of the home. 11 July 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe; 11 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2728917 7 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have clear guidance to follow in the event that a child goes missing from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person should ensure that documents that detail staff’s and children’s actions in relation to an incident of children going missing contain information necessary to evaluate staff’s action and consider steps required to keep children safe in the future.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that when risks for children are not reducing, action is taken to revise risk management strategies and promote positive outcomes.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that investigations are completed on the practice of staff following any allegation or concern raised by a child.

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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 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

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) (2)(a)(f)(h)) 11 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2728917 8 In particular, the registered person must ensure that they monitor and review documents about children and staff’s practice.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that they evaluate how staff practice impacts on the progress that children make.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all staff receive regular, reflective practice- based and child-focused supervision sessions. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2728917 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Black Country House, Rounds Green Road, Oldbury B69 2DG

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Inspector

Carla Simkiss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2728917 10 to 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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