Children's Home run by The Care Advantage Limited in Suffolk

Inspection report for children’s home: 2849931 1 Registered provider: The Care Advantage Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in March 2026 and is privately owned. It provides care for up to 2 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager in post since April 2026. An interim manager has been appointed; they have applied to register with Ofsted.

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2849931 2

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Summary of findings

Poor communication in the leadership team during a period of managerial change, alongside ineffective oversight, has weakened the organisation of the home. As a result, day-to-day care provided by staff has been inconsistent. This has had a negative impact on children’s experiences and has reduced the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements.

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improvement to be good

Since the home registered with Ofsted, 2 children have moved in, and one child has moved out.

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improvement to be good

Children do not experience positive endings to their time at the home. Staff do not consistently ensure that they can meet children’s needs before they move in. As a result, staff struggle to manage children’s behaviours safely and effectively, which compromises the safety of children and staff. For example, on one occasion, staff were unable to respond effectively to a child’s needs. This resulted in the child becoming involved in serious incidents in the community. The child’s safety was compromised, and they had to move suddenly after only 3 days, causing further disruption and instability.

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improvement to be good

Children spend a lot of time out in the community; they rarely engage in meaningful activities with staff. A staff member said, ‘A lack of teamwork and the inexperience in the staff team was having a negative impact on the level of engagement from children, care provided to children and their overall experiences and outcomes.’

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improvement to be good

Children have had some positive experiences. One child has completed their GCSEs and was supported by staff to attend their examinations. Education professionals speak positively about the support provided by staff to the child.

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improvement to be good

The home is well decorated and has a homely feel. Damage resulting from incidents has been repaired in a timely manner.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers fail to consistently notify Ofsted of serious incidents. Although one incident was considered serious enough to refer to the local authority designated officer, Ofsted was not informed. This shortfall hinders Ofsted’s ability to monitor children’s safety and the safeguarding arrangements effectively.

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improvement to be good

An external professional carried out the home’s fire risk assessment in February 2026. While staff have addressed some of the identified actions, they have not responded Inspection report for children’s home: 2849931 3 promptly to all recommendations to reduce fire risks. In addition, staff do not consistently follow basic fire safety procedures. At the time of the inspection, a fire door was propped open. This practice increases the risk of fire spreading more rapidly and compromises the safety of children, staff and visitors in the event of a fire.

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improvement to be good

There have been no allegations made against staff, no complaints made by children and no physical interventions. When children go missing from home, staff take appropriate action and speak with them following their return to discuss the incident.

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improvement to be good

Staff receive the organisation’s mandatory safeguarding training. They are confident in their roles of reporting and escalating any child protection concerns, and they understand the whistleblowing policy.

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improvement to be good

The children’s guide is child friendly and gives children a sense of what it is like living at the home. The guide also contains details of who children can speak to if they are worried or if they need support outside the home.

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

There have been several changes in the leadership and management of the home since its registration in March 2026, including changes to the manager and deputy manager, as well as the departure of a senior member of staff. These changes have had a negative impact on the management and oversight of the home.

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

The management of the home fails to support the approach and ethos described in the statement of purpose. Some members of staff report feeling unsupported by managers and say that they do not have confidence in the leadership of the home.

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

Leaders and managers have reviewed the workforce development plan, but they have not ensured that it contains all relevant information. As a result, opportunities may be missed to monitor and assess the skills, experience and development of the staff team.

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

Staff benefit from regular one-to-one reflective supervision and attend regular team meetings. However, the manager does not consistently receive supervision, and there are gaps in the supervision records. As a result, opportunities to monitor and support the manager’s development and performance effectively are missed.

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

The independent person visits the home monthly; however, reports often lack feedback from parents and external agencies. As a result, opportunities may be missed to incorporate the feedback of relevant individuals into the assessment of the quality of care and development of the service.

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

Feedback from professionals is positive, with all stating that communication from the manager and staff team is good. Inspection report for children’s home: 2849931 4

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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 staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(e)) 20 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended 20 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2849931 5 that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home; (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they thoroughly assess the home’s ability to meet children’s needs before placing them in the home. This will help to reduce the risk of placement breakdowns and minimise the likelihood of children having negative experiences of moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that matters identified in the fire risk assessment as high risk are rectified without delay. Furthermore, ensure that fire doors are not propped open. 20 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 20 July 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that supervision records are kept for staff, including the manager. The records should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33 (4)(b). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)  The registered person should ensure that there is a workforce plan in place that meets the workforce-related requirements of Regulation 16, Schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should detail the required management and staffing structure, including any staff commissioned to provide health or education services. It should also set out the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure, along with any additional training required to enable them to deliver Inspection report for children’s home: 2849931 6 the home’s statement of purpose effectively. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes

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Recommendations

Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that they actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make effective use of information obtained through both independent and internal monitoring, including monitoring undertaken in accordance with Regulation 44, to support continuous improvement. In particular, the registered person should ensure that, in accordance with Regulation 44, they help the independent person, where consent has been given, to carry out private interviews with any children, parents, relatives and individuals working at the home whom the independent person wishes to speak with. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: 2849931 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Care Advantage Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 115a London Road, Morden SM4 5HP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Andrea Threlfall

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Inspector

Anver Rose, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2849931 8 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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