Children's Home run by Agincare Children’s Services Limited in Dorset

Inspection report for children’s home: 2855623 1 Registered provider: Agincare Children’s Services 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 owned by a private provider. They provide care for up to 2 children who experience social and emotional difficulties or who have a learning disability. At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home. The inspector met with the child.

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Information about this children’s home

The home opened on 5 March 2026 and since then the registered manager has resigned. A new manager has been appointed and has submitted their application to register with Ofsted.

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2855623 2

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Summary of findings

The child has settled well into the home and is developing positive relationships with staff. Staff support the child to be safe and to spend time with people who are important to them. They ensure that there is a positive daily structure to help the child work towards their goals. Leaders and managers are building a positive working environment where staff feel listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has settled well into the home and feels safe. They are developing positive relationships with staff, who provide them with a warm and welcoming home. The child enjoys spending time with staff, shopping and baking. The child has a pet frog and is learning to take responsibility and care for it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand their role and the support they need to provide to help the child. Support for the child is well planned and structured, with staff focusing on practical activities and positive daily routines. They recognise the child’s hopes for increased independence and structure their time together to promote skills such as meal planning, budgeting and household tasks. As staff build relationships with the child, they offer them a space to talk about their experiences and feelings. However, support for the child’s emotional development is not reflected in planning for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote and encourage the child’s education. They support the child to be ready to learn and offer creative solutions when the child has a more difficult day. Staff understand the child’s aspirations and future career goals and work with the education provider to help the child achieve this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s mother is positive about the care provided in the home. She says that staff have given her child the opportunity to ‘live again’ by providing them with a place to continue to build on the positive changes they have already started to make.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers plan well for children to move into the home. Leaders gather information to help them make informed decisions about risks and be confident they can meet children’s needs.

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

The child feels safe at the home because of a stable environment and positive relationships with staff. The child has not gone missing and there are no current exploitation concerns, which is positive progress from the last time the child lived in the area. Inspection report for children’s home: 2855623 3 Staff have a good understanding of the child’s previous experiences and the risks they may face. Staff have conversations with the child about these as they begin to open up and develop their relationships. The child is proud of the positive changes they have achieved, and staff support them to maintain this positive progress. The child is settled in the home, and the stability provided by staff has meant there have been no incidents or concerns.

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

Staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities and how to report concerns. There are clear plans in place to help staff know what action to take in the event the child goes missing. Plans contain information about family members the child may spend time with. However, they do not contain information about the child’s friends. Staff understand the risks in the area local to the home and more broadly the potential risks in the wider area. However, they are less familiar with the specific risks associated with places where the child spends time with friends.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since registration, the registered manager and deputy manager have left the home. The responsible individual ensured that clear plans were in place to support management of the home, and a new manager and deputy are in place. Leaders and managers work well to support the staff team, and they understand the home’s strengths and areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers understand that the staff team is new and its members have varying levels of experience. The manager and deputy provide mentoring and support to lead practice in the home. Managers have used supervision to understand team dynamics and to support development of a positive working culture. They recognise that staff are keen to support another child in the home and at times feel underutilised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about working in the home and feel well supported by managers and their colleagues. They speak highly of the amount of training and support they have had to do their role. They value being part of a team, whose members are working together and have a focus on creating a caring environment for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and provide a place for staff to discuss support for the child as well as the practicalities of the home. In one team meeting, a safeguarding scenario was used to positive effect for staff development but was not repeated. The home has a low incidence of safeguarding concerns, and leaders have not taken opportunities to continue to develop staff curiosity about safeguarding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals are positive about the support that staff provide the child and about the relationships that are being built. The child’s tutor says that information-sharing is good and staff work collaboratively, which leads to positive sessions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are a range of plans and assessments in place to help staff to provide consistent care for children. Some of the language used lacks clarity and is not child friendly. Leaders and managers are reviewing the information management systems in use. Inspection report for children’s home: 2855623 4 Currently, the way that information is recorded does not always support managers to have sufficient oversight. While concerns are identified and followed up, it is not always clear what action has been taken and what else needs to be done. Inspection report for children’s home: 2855623 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure staff understand the risks associated with places the child visits and that plans relating to safety include details for all people the child is known to spend time with. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.8)  The registered person should ensure they expand support targets for the child to consider their emotional development. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)  The registered person should ensure staff have regular opportunities to explore and develop their knowledge of safeguarding. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12)  The registered person should review systems for recording information to ensure managers clearly understand and capture what action is taken in response to

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Recommendations

concerns that arise. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23)  The registered person should review the language used in documents and plans to ensure it is child friendly and descriptive, avoiding the use of professional jargon. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2855623 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Agincare Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Agincare House, Admiralty Buildings, Castletown, Portland DT5 1BB

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Inspector

Clare Nixson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2855623 7 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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Inspector

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