Children's Home run by Inspirations Leicestershire Limited in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2504494 1 Registered provider: Inspirations Leicestershire 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 home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care for up to 4 children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living at the home. One child had recently moved out, and their experiences were considered during this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 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 outstanding

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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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2504494 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/03/2026 Full Outstanding 19/03/2025 Full Outstanding 27/02/2024 Full Outstanding 08/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2504494 3

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Summary of findings

Staff have received training to understand children’s experiences of trauma, and they respond to children with care and compassion. Children have established trusting relationships with staff and have made significant progress with their emotional and mental health and their ability to accept and seek support from others. Children are making good progress with education and there is a multi-agency approach to all aspects of their care. Managers provide strong, child-centred leadership and ensure continuous practice development through robust oversight, supervision and bespoke training.

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Summary of findings

However, a recent increase in incidents has impacted on children’s sense of security in the home. Safeguarding arrangements have not matched children’s levels of risk and vulnerability and staff have become overwhelmed, at times. This has resulted in one child coming to harm in the community and causing tensions in the local area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the inspection period, one child moved to the home and then moved out after a short time. The manager completed a thorough assessment to consider the child’s needs and compatibility with the children living in the home. However, the level of risk and resulting peer influence was greater than anticipated and escalating concerns could not be safely managed by staff. The decision to end the child’s placement was made in line with the child’s needs and the safety and wellbeing of others and in collaboration with the respective local authority. Despite a short notice period, the child was well supported by staff and experienced a smooth transition from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consistently apply an approach to care practice that is well informed about trauma that children may have experienced. This has enabled children to develop trusting relationships with staff and engage in meaningful discussions with staff. The staff carefully plan one-to-one discussions with children that focus on the child’s prevalent needs and risks, supporting children to develop insight into their feelings and behaviour. Managers assign discussions to staff, suited to their skills and relationship with the child. As a result of these consistent and stabilising relationships, children have made great strides with understanding their emotions and seeking and accepting support from others. They are now starting to engage in therapeutic life-story work, which marks significant progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans for children are individual to the child and help staff to know how to care for each child, considering their journey into care. Grab files are an excellent addition to these, for a basic overview of essential information pertaining to each child with safe care. There is a real focus on understanding the child, and staff are routinely prompted to reflect on the child’s world and previous experiences. Research-informed practice tools are used within the home to promote critical evaluation of care provided to children and understand root causes of behaviour. Inspection report for children’s home: 2504494 4 Children have made good, sustained progress with education since living in the home. One child is attending alternative education provisions on a full-time basis, after a considerable time out of education. Children who attend education are readily engaging and their achievements are celebrated. A child’s school report stated that there is

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

excellent communication from staff in the home and attributes the child’s confidence to return to education to the strong and supportive relationships they have developed with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive the support they need to maintain positive relationships with people who are important to them. One child’s parents spoke highly about the support they have received to maintain a close relationship with their child. Staff recognise the significance of these relationships in promoting children’s sense of identity and belonging. When children have planned stays away from the home with family, staff check in with the children regularly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Communal areas in the home are homely, clean, comfortable and with spaces for children to relax, play and study and share meals. However, children’s bedrooms are not maintained to the same standard, with clutter and rubbish covering floors. One child commented that they like it this way because it reminds them of home.

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

Children’s risk assessments are clear, comprehensive and are updated after incidents. These are informed through consultation with other agencies and professionals, and with oversight from the in-house clinical team where appropriate. There is a multi-agency approach to all aspects of children’s care, providing a coordinated approach to helping children. However, some aspects of children’s risk assessments are reactive rather than proactive and do not adequately address increasing levels of risk.

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

A recent increase in incidents has impacted on children’s sense of security in the home, due to police attendances, unsettled evenings and rising tension within the local community. Staff demonstrate resilience and remain calm and consistent in their responses to children in stressful circumstances. However, staff are sustaining injuries from children and, at times, have been overwhelmed. On one occasion, a child was left outside and unsupervised and caused damage. Safeguarding arrangements in response to increasing levels of risk have been insufficient to keep children and staff safe and reduce the frequency of incidents.

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

Staff do not always adequately supervise children in the community. One child has repeatedly gone missing from staff. The child goes out on a go-kart and then rides away from staff. On one occasion, this resulted in the child coming to harm from others. There has not been a dynamic approach to managing this risk. Missing-from-care procedures are followed and recording is thorough. However, on one occasion, staff were slow to follow a child when they left the home, and on another occasion, there was a delay in reporting the child missing to police. Inspection report for children’s home: 2504494 5 Incidents requiring physical intervention are clearly recorded. Staff are routinely debriefed and these discussions are detailed and reflective. Child debriefs are always attempted and evidence of this provided. Physical intervention is only used as a last resort. However, managers have acknowledged that it has not always been possible for

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

staff to carry out physical interventions safely, due to children overwhelming staff. This is an area for development.

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

Children feel able to confide in staff when they have harmed themselves. This reflects the trusting relationships that they have with staff. There is a real focus on minimising feelings of shame, and responses to children are caring and compassionate. There has been a significant reduction in one child’s self-injurious behaviour since living at the home. Specific-issue safety plans and behaviour chronologies run alongside children’s risk assessments. These are updated after incidents, so they remain up to date. These are then shared with relevant professionals to ensure a coordinated approach to care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is led by a strong, motivational manager, who provides dedicated support to children and staff alike. She is committed to promoting children’s emotional wellbeing and development through very good care, and therapeutic parenting approaches are embedded in day-to-day practice. As a result, children receive individualised care from adults who know them well and who care for them with genuine compassion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home has responded promptly and robustly to concerns raised by residents in the area because of damage and disturbance caused by children residing at the home. Leaders and managers have ensured good communication and consultation with residents and are making every effort to repair relationships in the community, including working alongside police and the local council to identify areas for improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

When allegations about staff are made or concerns about staff practice are raised, these are promptly responded to by the manager, who takes the appropriate action. Children’s views and wellbeing take priority in decision-making. Staff know how to use the whistleblowing procedures and take swift action to report concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The members of the staff team are very stable and committed. They communicate well and support one another to offer consistent care to children. When children have become overwhelmed with difficult behaviour or emotions, staff stay on shift until the child is settled. This provides children with a consistent level of care and ensures that safe staffing ratios are maintained. In line with one child’s needs, managers ensure that there is always one female member of staff working in the home. When agency staff are used, the manager strives to keep to a small pool of staff who are known to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Team meetings are planned and purposeful, with a focus on peer reflection and practice development. When specific training needs are identified, staff are supported to use research to develop bespoke training and deliver this to the team. This promotes a positive culture of learning and peer support. Inspection report for children’s home: 2504494 6 The manager is a trainer in the model of physical intervention used by the organisation, and they use this expertise to provide regular upskilling to the team during meetings. Staff morale is high and staff report feeling supported in their roles, benefiting from regular, reflective supervision. The manager places a strong emphasis on staff wellbeing, recognising that this is key to ensuring consistently good levels of care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has excellent knowledge of the home, providing thorough, reflective oversight across all areas of practice. This has helped to identify areas for development. Incident records are detailed and thorough, providing a clear description of the event, the antecedents and reflections from staff involved. The responsible individual provides an additional layer of critical evaluation. External professionals report excellent communication from the manager and staff, ensuring a joined-up approach to children’s care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2504494 7

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Recommendations

 Staff should 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 the placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risk on a day- to-day basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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: 2504494 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inspirations Leicestershire Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 131a London Road, Oadby, Leicester LE2 5DP

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Inspectors

Jenna Allen, Social Care Inspector Jibin Vakanil, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2504494 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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