Children's Home run by Juventas Services in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2668575 1 Registered provider: Juventas Services Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered in December 2021 and provides care for up to 3 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since July 2025.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2668575 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/06/2025 Full Good 04/03/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/11/2023 Full Good 05/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2668575 3

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Summary of findings

Since the last inspection, children have made measured progress from their starting points. Children benefit from positive, trusting relationships with staff who know them well. The children enjoy a wide range of activities outside the home. Staff encourage structure and daily routines. Most children have been well supported to meet milestones in their education, health and personal development. Most of the records and care plans are effective. There are some aspects of management oversight and recording that are inconsistent. These shortfalls do not place the children at risk but limit the ability to demonstrate sustained good practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home and 4 children have moved out. There were no children living at the home. The home is currently undergoing refurbishment works. It has been redecorated throughout, with warm colours and modern furniture. Children can personalise their bedrooms in line with their preferences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made progress from their starting points. Staff help children to improve their health and prepare for independence. A child has completely changed their eating habits and is enjoying a balanced and varied diet. The same child was supported to attend medical appointments, which had previously not been possible. Another child was supported to get their driving license and buy a car.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s educational progress through effective partnership with schools, colleges and the headteacher of the virtual school. One child benefited from support from a mentor who visits the home regularly, while another attended college. Staff provide consistent support and encouragement. As a result, children engage positively with education, and make progress towards their learning goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of activities based on their hobbies and interests. One child went on a holiday abroad with a member of staff. Children’s pictures and certificates of achievement are added to a tapestry and then sent to them when they move on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals noted that, even after moving on, children continued to reflect on their experiences at the home and showed a connection to the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to visit their families in line with their individual plans. Staff recognise the importance of maintaining children’s family connections.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s guide includes a variety of information about how the home runs; however, it does not include details of the management of the home or the house rules. Inspection report for children’s home: 2668575 4 Instead, it asks children to discuss this with staff. This means children do not have clear, accessible information about the day-to-day running of the home.

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

Staff know the children well and have built trusting, positive relationships with them. The children feel able to share worries and talk openly about their experiences.

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

When children make a complaint, staff respond quickly, ensuring that the child feels listened to. Complaints are well recorded, actions are clear and children receive feedback so they know their concerns have been addressed. This provides a culture where children feel safe to open up.

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

Since the last inspection, there have been a high number of missing-from-care incidents. Clear protocols have been followed and implemented promptly and appropriately, with staff notifying the police in line with expectations. Staff have worked collaboratively with police and social workers to reduce the risks and to prevent further episodes of children going missing from the home. On their return to the home, children are offered the time and space to talk about their experiences. However, managers do not routinely challenge local authorities in securing return home interviews.

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

Safety plans are up to date, regularly reviewed and identify emerging risks. However, inconsistencies in risk management vary between plans. It is not evident that all staff have read and understood the most recent changes. While this has not affected overall care, if left unchecked it has the potential to do so.

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

Records are not consistently child focused or led by the child’s views, and some contain child-blaming language. This limits a child-centred understanding and trauma-informed approach.

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

When restraint or consequences are used, records are poor and lack the detail needed for effective scrutiny. This reduces leaders’ and managers’ ability to evaluate the practice.

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

There has been no registered manager at the home for 11 months. The responsible individual has made sound interim arrangements. The inspection was led by the acting manager, supported by the deputy manager and the responsible individual. The acting manager holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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

The responsible individual has plans to recruit a new manager to bring stability and consistency to the management team and the home. The management oversight and monitoring systems are not consistently strong enough to identify areas in practice which need further strengthening and development. Restraint records are not detailed, Inspection report for children’s home: 2668575 5 accurate or reflective, which makes it difficult to understand whether the restraint has been fair and proportionate. Leaders and managers have started to deliver targeted training to focus on areas of required development. There are other training sessions planned, which have not been fully implemented.

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

Children’s moves in and out of the home are varied. Matching has not always been good enough to ensure that the staff have the right skill set to match the needs of the new children. As a result, children have had to move on in an unplanned way, which could have been preventable.

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

Leaders and managers do not always ensure the manager’s quality of care report has been sent to Ofsted. This limits Ofsted’s ability to monitor and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the care provided.

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

The home’s statement of purpose has not been updated to reflect the staffing structure and the experience and qualifications of the staff.

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

Staff said that leaders and managers are supportive, approachable and knowledgeable, and that the manager is very ‘hands on’. Staff benefit from regular reflective supervision sessions. Staff meetings are used as a learning opportunity and a space for development and training.

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

Professionals are regularly updated and informed of areas of concern. Communication between managers and professionals is good. Children benefit from the manager’s approach to close, multi-agency working.

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

Overall, leaders and managers are committed to their roles and know the children well. Inspection report for children’s home: 2668575 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and proportionate. The behaviour management policy should set out how staff are trained and supported to meet the child’s needs. 31 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;

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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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 31 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2668575 7 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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met;

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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)(c)(f)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a) (4)(a)(b)) 29 May 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person so appointed; and

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Requirement Due date

the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (2)(a)(b)) 30 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2668575 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staffing structure and the experience and qualifications of staff are included in the statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide should help children to understand what the day-to-day routines of the home are (‘what happens in the home’). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 25, paragraph 4.22)  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph

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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: 2668575 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Haines Watts Chartered Accountants Ltd, Yare House, 62-64 Thorpe Road, Norwich NR1 1RY

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Inspectors

Sallie Bloomfield, Social Care Inspector Andreia Alves da Silva, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2668575 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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