Children's Home run by Strive and Succeed Ltd in Luton

Inspection report for children’s home: 2777558 1 Registered provider: Strive and Succeed Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to 4 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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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 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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2777558 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/01/2026 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/02/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2777558 3

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Summary of findings

Staff provide children with a child-centred and stable home. Children are happy and settled. Staff know the children well and respond to their needs. They build positive relationships with children and reinforce positive behaviour. Staff support the children to maintain relationships with family and friends. Educational progress is evident for children since moving into the home. Incidents are generally well managed. Risk assessments are well written and clear. For one child, all the risks were not fully identified and assessed. Staff are well supported by the manager. Staff supervision and team meetings support reflection and consistent practice. Feedback has generally been positive, with good communication and effective working relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 2 children have moved in. At the time of the inspection, 4 children were living at the home. Three of the children were spoken to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children appear happy, relaxed and settled. They spend time together in communal areas and out in the community. The children have developed positive relationships with staff. Children have open conversations with staff and feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and experiences. Children spoke positively about staff and said that they have formed good relationships with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide a welcoming and child-friendly home. Children have access to a range of activities, resources, gym equipment and outdoor spaces. This encourages their interests and encourages healthy lifestyles. This helps the children build confidence and develop positive relationships with others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s meetings take place regularly. It is clear that actions will be taken so that children feel heard. Staff ensure that all children are included and have opportunities to express their views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively support children to maintain and develop important relationships with family and friends. They advocate for children and ensure that their wishes are reflected. Staff persistently pursued arrangements for one child to safely spend time with a close family member after a prolonged period of not seeing them. Staff recognised the impact this was having on the child’s emotional wellbeing. Staff support children to access age- appropriate experiences, including school trips abroad and sleepovers with friends. This helps children maintain important relationships and enjoy experiences in line with their peers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2777558 4 Cultural diversity is celebrated. Staff organise cultural evenings and activities that provide an authentic experience. This supports children to appreciate and learn about different cultures and backgrounds.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education. Three children attend suitable education provisions. One child is being supported with college applications and career pathways. Since moving into the home, one child’s engagement with education has improved. The child’s independent reviewing officer said that staff have been proactive in supporting school engagement and they are pleased with how the child is doing.

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

Careful planning took place before 2 children moved into the home. The manager and deputy manager visited the children to introduce themselves and share information. about the home. A family member was encouraged to support with travel and settling in. Welcome letters were written beforehand and staff ensured that children’s preferred foods were available.

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

Staff use positive reinforcement to recognise and celebrate children’s achievements. Each child has a personalised praise book in which staff write comments. These are proudly displayed at the home and reflect the value placed on children’s progress and success. Staff also write individual letters to children to acknowledge and praise children’s efforts.

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

Staff use therapeutic approaches and prioritise early intervention. They have a good understanding of the children and use this to provide responsive support. There have been no physical interventions or missing-from-home incidents. Staff maintain a safe, stable environment that supports children’s wellbeing.

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

Regular one-to-one sessions take place with children. Staff use these sessions to support children’s understanding of risk and how to make positive future choices. Children benefit from an in-house therapist who visits regularly. The therapeutic support informs risk assessments and how staff can support children.

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

Risk assessments are detailed and clearly written. These enable staff to understand each child’s needs, identify presenting risks and emphasise therapeutic strategies. These are working documents that are regularly reviewed and updated following incidents. However, for one child, the identified risks have not all been fully assessed with clear information for staff.

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

Significant incidents are generally well managed. Staff take clear action with appropriate follow-ups and information shared with the child’s professional network. On one occasion, a child presented a concerning mark. This was not recorded as an incident. This meant there was no management oversight. It is unclear how staff monitor such marks or identify when new ones appear. This limits assurances that potential safeguarding concerns are fully recorded and reviewed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2777558 5 Consequences appear to be natural and restorative in nature. Staff sometimes involve children in deciding the appropriate consequence. This promotes reflection and accountability. However, children are not always spoken to about the reason for the consequence and their views are not always gained. Staff discussions following consequences are not routinely completed. This reduces opportunities for staff and

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

managers to reflect on incidents and consider what could be done differently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is confident and dedicated. They talk with care and understanding about the children and their experiences. They are visible at the home and attend staff handovers daily. This supports good oversight and provides clear direction to staff. There has been reflection and learning since the last inspection. This has supported improvements in practice and care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular team meetings that are well attended. Safeguarding scenarios and role play are used to support learning. Recent incidents are discussed and staff reflect on how responses could be improved. This supports consistent practice and strengthens staff’s understanding of safeguarding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are given lead roles in areas such as health, activities and culture nights. They take responsibility for developing these areas at the home. This supports staff development and promotes a wider range of positive experiences for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff said that they feel well supported by the manager. They are invested in their roles to support children. Staff are positive about the progression opportunities available, and have been supported to develop their careers. This helps to build a skilled and stable workforce.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions take place regularly and in line with policies. These are detailed and include reflective discussions with staff. Staff use supervision to discuss their practice and receive feedback. This supports consistent practice and, in turn, helps the children to understand expectations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professional feedback is positive. Professional networks highlight good communication and effective working relationships. This supports joined-up working and contributes to consistent care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2777558 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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

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)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff respond to self-harm incidents with professional curiosity and take appropriate action to understand and address underlying concerns. Also, to record and monitor injuries to ensure that this informs ongoing risk management and care planning. 1 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2777558 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and that the above principles as set out in 9.35 are respected. Following the use of consequences, staff should complete debriefs and speak with the children to understand their views about the consequence used. This will help to promote reflection, learning and the consistent use of fair and proportionate discipline. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to

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Recommendations

manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis.

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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: 2777558 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Strive and Succeed Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C/O JP Accountancy, Phoenix House, Rosslyn Crescent, Harrow HA1 2SP

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Inspector

Harkerat Lidhar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2777558 9 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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