Children's Home run by SureCare Residential Ltd in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Inspection report for children's home: 2825327 1 Registered provider: SureCare Residential 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

The home is owned by a private provider. They provide care for up to 5 children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, 3 children were living at the home. The inspector met all 3 children and spent time speaking with one of them.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2025 when the home opened.

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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: 2825327 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/08/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2825327 3

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Summary of findings

Staff support children with warmth and compassion, delivering purposeful care that is aligned with the home's ethos, which helps children to make progress. There have been some serious incidents in the home, and care has, at times, been impacted by inconsistent boundaries implemented by staff. Leaders and managers have strong oversight of the home and quickly identify areas for development, making changes to improve children's experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive relationships with staff and are comfortable living in the home. One child spoke positively about their experiences and the opportunities they have living there. Staff are knowledgeable about children's experiences and adapt the care they provide to reflect this. Staff understand the home's ethos and model of care. They care for children with warmth, compassion and nurture. They understand the importance of relationship-based working.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

With support from staff, children make progress and enjoy positive experiences. Staff support children to develop kindness and empathy, lead healthier lifestyles and build self- care skills. Staff use clear and relevant targets, which are reviewed regularly to monitor children's progress. Short-term targets capture the small wins and steady progress, while long-term targets inform more focused work. Support for children is well planned and purposeful. This intent informs most conversations and helps children's development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children's education. Some children have been supported to return to learning. One child currently has limited education in place. As an interim arrangement, staff carefully plan activities and tasks to support them with a positive daily routine. Staff work with one child's school to identify strategies to overcome their barriers to attending on time. This child is experiencing delays with the identification of a new school for their next education phase. While leaders and managers attend relevant meetings relating to this, they have not escalated concerns to reflect the urgency of ensuring that arrangements are in place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has used creative strategies to support one child with their health needs, arranging for a private GP to visit the home when the child has been unwilling to attend an appointment. This has enabled the child to access important healthcare advice. Two children in the home use electronic vapes. Staff regularly speak with children about the health risks linked to this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with those who are important to them. They work with local authorities to ensure that this is done in a safe way and in line with any legal framework in place. Families say that they value the support the home provides their children. One parent identified the good progress that their child has made in beginning Inspection report for children's home: 2825327 4 open up to others emotionally. While families say that relationships with staff are good, they say there could be improvements with communication, which is sometimes inconsistent or unclear, with matters not always followed through.

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improvement to be good

Children have not always been safe in the home, and some serious incidents have occurred. Dynamics between children have not always been positive and there have been lengthy incidents of disruption involving more than one child. Staff have not always had the skill to manage the relationships between the children or known how to best support children during incidents. This has been compounded, at times, by inconsistent boundaries. The manager has identified this shortfall and understands that it is an area for development. Assessments for children moving into the home and decisions for the timing of moves have not always been successful. The manager has met with staff and reviewed processes. The early indicators are positive, and changes are now being embedded.

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improvement to be good

There are concerns for the frequency that one child goes missing from the home. The manager works well with the child's social worker and school to understand the risks and the pull factors for the child. Staff respond proactively when the child goes missing. They show tenacity to search for the child and, over time, have built a detailed list of linked locations and friends. At times, this has helped them to locate and return the child home.

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improvement to be good

Staff get to know children well. Consequently, they can identify areas of potential risk for children. Staff skilfully explore important topics around risks, such as online safety, friendships, substance misuse and personal safety. Staff consistently use curiosity and a therapeutic approach, recognising how to best engage children in conversation.

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improvement to be good

Physical intervention has been used for two children in the home. The social worker for one child has raised concerns about the frequency of incidents. Leaders and managers have undertaken a thorough review of physical interventions to identify patterns and learning from the child's actions and experiences. They continue to work closely with the local authority to review this. The use of physical intervention for children has mostly been necessary and proportionate. On one occasion, the manager identified that this was not the case. They took appropriate action to investigate the concern with support from relevant safeguarding authorities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced and dedicated manager leads the home. She understands the strengths and areas for development of the staff team. Leaders and managers recognise the continued need for role modelling and development with the staff team. The manager has created the conditions to foster a stable staff team. While that team is now more experienced, there are still circumstances and situations that they need additional guidance with. Inspection report for children's home: 2825327 5 The manager has strong oversight of practice in the home and regularly reviews the quality of care. The manager supports staff to learn from incidents and reflect on and develop their practice. She creates a culture of safe challenge and aspiration to improve. Staff commented on changes that have been made to the processes for children moving into the home and now feel that their views are considered. By sharing information at an

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

earlier stage, they also feel more able to begin to plan for children's care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home and feel well supported by their managers. Staff benefit from regular opportunities in team meetings and supervision to discuss children, their progress and the support offered. They use time together as a whole team to develop consistent approaches to children's care, which the manager has identified as an area for improvement. Staff benefit from a comprehensive induction programme when they start, which helps to embed the home's ethos and approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from professionals is mixed. They identify that children build positive relationships with staff, who they see as committed and caring. However, communication sometimes lacks clarity or consistency. Professionals for one child expressed concerns about them not always arriving at school ready for the day. The manager has plans in place to address this. Inspection report for children's home: 2825327 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff understand the potential risks that there may be between children or in their relationships. In addition, ensure that staff provide effective support through de- escalation or intervention to reduce or prevent these risks. 14 August 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there are clear and structured processes for communicating with families and professionals to reduce the risk of any confusion or mixed messages. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 52, paragraph 10.3)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they escalate concerns relating to one child's education in a timely manner, recognising the potential impact of education delays for this child. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 12, paragraph 2.8) Inspection report for children's home: 2825327 7

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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: 2825327 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: SureCare Residential Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: The Old Snap Factory, Twyford Road, Bishops Stortford CM23 3LJ

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Inspector

Clare Nixson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2825327 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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