Children's Home run by Potensial Limited in Dorset

Inspection report for children’s home: 2825317 1 Registered provider: Potensial Limited

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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 managed by a private provider and can provide care for one child who may experience learning disabilities as well as social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered in July 2025, and the manager has been in post since the home was registered. The child moved in shortly after the home was registered. They were present during the inspection and spent time with the inspector.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2825317 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/03/2026 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2825317 3

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Summary of findings

Overall experiences for the child are positive. The child is making progress and is cared for by the staff, who understand their needs. Staff help the child enjoy activities and have more choice each day.

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Summary of findings

Practice is sometimes inconsistent because of weak recording systems and gaps in multi- agency working. However, this does not affect the child’s enjoyment or relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is making progress and enjoys positive experiences. Staff support them to make choices using alternative communication systems, such as picture exchange, routine boards and simple sign, although consistency varies. This supports the child’s increased participation in daily routines, including meal preparation and personal care decisions. The child is saying new words linked to preferences, such as ‘honey’, which is a favourite topping they spread on morning toast.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide a range of meaningful opportunities. They support the child to access the community, including parks, trampoline sessions and swimming at a local hotel. Staff celebrate the child’s achievements through displayed photos and artwork, promoting a sense of belonging and pride.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is nurturing and child centred. Staff have made the home more personalised, with improved access to toys and sensory items. Managers have removed unnecessary restrictions. The few that remain are tailored to each child’s needs or are currently being addressed. Managers took immediate action on the inspector’s feedback during the inspection to ensure the home was more accessible for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to access education, with some progress evident. They attend weekly outdoor education and receive support from a tutor in the home, which demonstrates progress from the child’s starting point. Managers are aspirational and have taken proactive steps to secure full-time specialist provision, including updated assessments and engagement with relevant professionals. However, the absence of regular multi-agency meetings has not been formally escalated. This limits shared oversight, communication and clear accountability in progressing the child’s education.

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

The child is cared for by the staff, who understand their lived experiences. Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of the child’s learning and neurodivergent needs, recognising their high vulnerability and the need for close supervision. This contributes to effective risk management, and there have been no missing-from-care incidents. Inspection report for children’s home: 2825317 4 Staff use relational and supportive approaches to behaviour. There have been no restraints. Staff interact with the child in a calm and respectful way, recognising cues and responding to reduce anxiety. This helps the child to feel safe and supported during periods of uncertainty.

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

Staff use body maps to record injuries. Since the last inspection, 4 minor injuries have been recorded across three dates. These relate to low-level bruising and scratches consistent with usual childhood injuries. However, in the absence of associated records, management analysis and oversight are not evident. This weakens evaluation and understanding of incidents. During the inspection, leaders accepted this shortfall and outlined immediate action to address the concern.

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

There have been no complaints made by the child or others since the last inspection. Staff promote regular consultation with the child and support meaningful family time, which is well maintained. However, there is limited evidence of how parental views are recorded, influence care or are responded to. This means feedback is not clearly tracked or evaluated, and the potential use of the complaints process as a mechanism to raise and resolve concerns is not fully considered.

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

Leaders have not ensured effective management oversight and monitoring. Weaknesses in recording systems, including the continued use of limited handwritten records, restrict effective evaluation and scrutiny. Records do not clearly demonstrate the care, support or decisions described by staff. This limits leaders’ understanding of the child’s experiences. During the inspection, leaders recognised the need to improve these systems at pace.

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

Managers clearly communicate their aspirations for the child, which align with the ethos of the home. They recognise the importance of the statement of purpose and are taking steps to ensure that it is up to date, reflects current practice and is adhered to within required timescales, including through team meetings.

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

The manager recognises that partner agencies are working in silo. However, she has not escalated this concern effectively. For example, professionals are not meeting regularly to discuss the child’s needs. This has led to gaps in coordinated planning, for example in relation to education. The manager is often attempting to resolve issues independently, which reduces multi-agency accountability and delays progress.

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

Leaders have not fully addressed the impact of the manager’s dual registration on capacity and oversight. This reduces management presence in the home and limits timely monitoring of practice. While actions are underway to upskill staff providing cover, these arrangements are not yet embedded. As a result, oversight is not consistently strong and weaknesses in practice continue to affect the consistency of care, despite regular supervision and training for staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2825317 5

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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 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

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

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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

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)(e)(f)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that they spend sufficient time in the home to effectively oversee its day- to-day running and have suitable cover arrangements to maintain the consistent running of the home. Additionally, the registered person should ensure that there are suitable systems for recording and oversight to ensure continuity of care and capture the progress of the child.

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Requirement Due date

Reissued. 3 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2825317 6 In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)).

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should use escalation processes when the child’s needs are not being effectively overseen and monitored within multi-agency forums.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home represents a family home and be free from the institutional impression created by office spaces. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2825317 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Potens, 68 Grange Road West, Birkenhead CH41 4DB

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Bettina Jeppesen

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Inspector

Ashley Arkless, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2825317 8 regulates 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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