Children's Home run by 1848 Ltd in Somerset

Inspection report for children’s home: 2592531 1 Registered provider: 1848 Ltd 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 and provides care for up to 3 children with social and emotional difficulties. There are 2 children currently living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2592531 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/08/2025 Full Good 22/10/2024 Full Good 28/02/2024 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2592531 3

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Summary of findings

Inconsistent staff practice and weak management oversight undermine children’s experiences, relationships and opportunities. Leaders and managers do not consistently identify, analyse or respond to risk and shortfalls in staff practice with sufficient pace or effectiveness. Consequently, children continue to experience avoidable incidents, and this impacts their safety and day-to-day experiences.

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improvement to be good

Children have mixed experiences while living in the home due to inconsistent staff practice. One child attends school. Another child has completed their formal education and staff encourage them to engage with structured activities, but this is not consistently embedded in day-to-day practice. This means there are missed opportunities for the child to engage in further education, training and independence skills.

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improvement to be good

Staff have struggled to engage one child in community groups and activities. They have allowed the child’s perceived disinterest to dampen their persistence. However, the manager recognises the importance of social integration and activities that can boost children’s confidence. Consequently, she is taking action to ensure that both children are supported to engage, enjoy and participate in meaningful activities.

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improvement to be good

Staff are able to meet children’s basic care needs. However, when children present with more complex behaviours that potentially indicate underlying developmental needs, staff do not respond in a cohesive or consistent manner. The manager has devised strategies to help staff support children’s complex behaviours. However, staff do not sustain these strategies. This reduces opportunities for children to learn healthier behaviours. The manager does not consistently evaluate staff’s use of strategies, which limits their learning and development.

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improvement to be good

The manager recognises that children’s voices are not consistently captured or understood by the staff team. She has initiated mechanisms to address this, but this work is in its early stages. Consequently, children’s views are not consistently used to inform their care and planning. However, one child does have access to an advocate.

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improvement to be good

One child’s bedroom is reflective of their interests, but it is in a poor condition and has an unpleasant smell. This does not demonstrate to the child that they are valued and respected. Managers are improving the home environment, but the child’s bedroom has not been prioritised. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592531 4

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improvement to be good

There have been avoidable incidents of children going missing from home due to poor decision-making and insufficient supervision in the community. This negatively impacts children’s safety. Staff respond appropriately when children go missing from home by liaising with partner agencies and, when appropriate, challenging them. However, this is reactive practice after avoidable missing-from-home incidents have occurred.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently identify, understand or manage the risks around children. Staff do not consistently follow agreed strategies devised to keep children safe. This negatively impacts the quality of care children receive. There have been avoidable incidents where children continue to access unsafe and inappropriate items, for example drug paraphernalia. Staff do not consistently act on concerns about this or other matters.

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improvement to be good

Managers and leaders take appropriate action in response to serious incidents about staff practice. This includes making relevant referrals and notifying stakeholders. Investigations are supported by the provider’s human resources team, and if necessary, there is independent oversight. Prompt action is taken to protect children. However, the frequency of serious incidents indicates that managers’ and leaders’ use of monitoring and review systems is not sufficiently effective in preventing recurrence. This impacts on children’s sense of safety and stability.

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improvement to be good

Managers do not ensure that learning from complaints is consistently translated into timely or effective improvements. They spend lots of time analysing processes, which draws their attention away from directly addressing the shortfalls. Consequently, poor staff practice persists and weaknesses remain unresolved. This negatively impacts children’s day-to-day experiences and the quality of care they receive.

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

Managers and leaders do not consistently recognise weaknesses in practice until after serious concerns have occurred. Their approach is largely reactive and not effective in securing improved outcomes for children. Due to the poor use of monitoring and review systems, shortfalls in practice are not identified at an earlier stage, which curtails learning and development opportunities in the staff team. Managers and leaders do not always have a clear understanding of the quality of care children receive.

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

There is low morale and fatigue in the staff team. Staff informed the inspector that they feel unheard by leaders and managers and that they are excluded from decision-making. This is negatively impacting staffing stability and the consistency and continuity of care for the children. Leaders and managers are taking steps to address this; however, these actions are in their infancy. Consequently, staff do not always feel supported to deliver consistent and effective care to the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592531 5 The manager offers staff regular supervision, and there are systems in place to monitor their training and performance. The manager explores staff practice and sets expectations in supervision. However, agreed actions are not always sufficiently specific or outcome focused. This limits staff’s ability to improve their practice.

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

Overall, the home is on an improvement journey. At present, the pace of improvement is not sufficient to address the weaknesses identified. There has been a lack of consistency in leadership and management oversight, and to date, this has directly impacted the quality of care being delivered by the staff team. As a result, children do not always receive safe, stable and well-coordinated care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592531 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

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 the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(a)(e)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff are delivering care to children in accordance with the home’s statement of purpose, care plans and agreed strategies.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that their monitoring and review systems are robust enough to identify shortfalls in practice and that timely action is taken to address identified weaknesses. 30 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2592531 7 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;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff have a clear understanding of the risks around children, enabling them to take a proactive stance to reduce the likelihood of incidents that put children at risk of harm.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff have the skills to support children with complex behaviours, helping them to develop safe behaviours and healthy coping strategies. 30 June 2026

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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 receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and 30 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2592531 8 children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs; and

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that they seek medical input when children present with complex health and behavioural needs that are potentially indicative of underlying developmental needs.

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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: 2592531 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Old Bank Building, East Street, Ilminster, England TA19 0AJ

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Inspector:

Ashley Arkless, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2592531 10 and inspects 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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