Children's Home run by Inspirations Leicestershire Limited in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2842487 1 Registered provider: Inspirations Leicestershire 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 January 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

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2026.

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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: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2842487 2

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Summary of findings

The home is led by a dedicated manager who has worked hard to stabilise a new staff team and foster an open and supportive working culture. The manager has established a strong relationship with the child and consistently models trauma-informed practice. Staff understand the child’s risks and vulnerabilities and can link these to the child’s early life experiences. This has resulted in a resilient and compassionate staff team and has created an environment in which the child feels safe and is able to develop trusting relationships. Staff receive support through regular supervision, team meetings, and training relevant to the child’s needs. However, not all staff have received sufficient training to ensure that they can keep themselves and the child safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is generally well presented. However, the child’s bedroom is in poor condition, with soiled bedding, food waste and no curtains. Staff do not take ownership of maintaining a clean and comfortable environment for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the child’s health needs and any emerging health concerns are thoroughly reviewed. This is particularly important given the number of moves the child has experienced and the lack of consistent health oversight to date. Chronologies are maintained to track the child’s health needs and are shared with relevant health professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has made progress in developing their self-care skills since moving into the home. They engage positively with an incentive chart that includes daily tasks, such as brushing their teeth. The manager has arranged for the child to attend a weekly visit to a hairdresser for a wash and blow-dry, due to the child’s reluctance to accept assistance with this from anyone in the home. This demonstrates creative thinking and a child- focused approach to care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is receiving gentle encouragement to re-engage with education, with careful consideration given to the length of time they have been out of school and the impact this has had on their confidence to learn and participate. This has resulted in some progress being made, including the involvement of a tutor who now visits the home. Staff offer creative learning opportunities through play and everyday activities. For example, they support the development of literacy and numeracy skills by encouraging the child to write grocery shopping lists and assist with budgeting during shopping trips.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have developed visual aids to ease the child’s anxiety about who will be working in the home. Staff from each of the organisation’s sister homes, who occasionally provide shift cover, have contributed to this to ensure that the child has a photo of everyone. This supports the child’s developing sense of stability and belonging, and improvements have been observed in the way they respond to staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2842487 3 The child has been supported to maintain close relationships with people who are important to them. One family member has enjoyed regular visits to the home and has reported excellent communication from the manager. Staff have also supported the child to develop peer relationships in a safe and supportive way by facilitating contact with children from other homes in the organisation.

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

Staff understand the child’s journey through care. The child’s risks and vulnerabilities are clearly detailed in the risk assessment and behaviour management plan, which provide guidance on the actions staff should take to support them. These documents are updated following each incident, and there are systems in place to ensure that all staff are informed of any changes.

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

Physical intervention is used only as a last resort. Staff employ recognised de-escalation strategies before holding a child and demonstrate a good understanding of PACE principles. However, staff have sometimes been slow to recognise when situations are becoming unsafe, resulting in them sustaining significant injuries. On one occasion, when the child was experiencing a high level of emotional distress, staff retreated to the staff room, leaving the child unsupervised in the home and exposed to the risk of significant harm. When an additional member of staff arrived to provide support, they could not gain access to the home. Managers and leaders failed to reflect on this aspect of the incident and, as a result, no learning was identified and no additional safety planning was implemented.

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

Not all staff had completed physical intervention training before working with the child. On 2 occasions, this meant one member of staff was unable to provide sufficient support to their colleague to ensure the safety of both staff and the child. Learning was not identified following the first incident, which could have prevented or reduced the seriousness of the second incident. Managers have, however, since reviewed these matters and made changes to the staffing rota. These include changes to ensure an appropriate balance of male and female staff on each shift and to ensure that no further adults work at the home without having completed formal physical intervention training.

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

Staff know how to respond to and report allegations. The manager ensures that all allegations made against staff are reported to relevant professionals and referred to the local authority designated officer. The child is always spoken to following an allegation, and reparation work is undertaken between the child and staff involved. The manager has appropriately followed up referrals and requested meetings with the child’s social worker to strengthen safety plans.

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

Managers and staff are vigilant in identifying potential hazards in the home, given the child’s known risks and vulnerabilities. Room searches are carried out when concerns arise, and these are recorded, with the child kept informed. Routine health and safety checks are carried out across the home. However, on one occasion, medical advice was Inspection report for children’s home: 2842487 4 not sought when it was suspected that the child had taken medication that had not been prescribed to them.

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

Consequences are relevant, proportionate, and used only when necessary to help keep children safe. Children are spoken to about these consequences to help them understand the impact of their behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced and dedicated registered manager who knows her team and the child well and is committed to improving outcomes for children. The manager has developed a strong bond with the child and speaks about them with genuine care and compassion. The manager has a thorough understanding of the child’s history and can relate their behaviours to their experiences and resulting view of the world. This demonstrates, and role models, a trauma-informed approach to care that has had a positive influence on staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has overseen the development of a new and inexperienced team of staff. Focus has been placed on establishing positive working relationships and fostering an open working culture in which staff feel confident to share ideas, offer peer reflection and raise concerns. This has been achieved through team-building exercises, weekly team debriefs and regular consultations. One team member has supported the manager in producing an induction guide that clearly outlines the role and responsibilities of a residential support worker. The guide includes prompts and exercises designed to encourage reflective and therapeutic practice and is now being rolled out across the organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report feeling supported by the manager and their colleagues. One staff member stated, ‘The strong teamwork, supportive management, and positive working environment help make the challenges easier to overcome and contribute to an overall enjoyable and fulfilling experience.’ Staff receive regular supervision from the manager, and there are clear arrangements in place for performance review and professional development. However, on one occasion, a new staff member raised concerns with the manager that they did not feel confident or equipped to carry out their role following a serious incident in the home. This concern was not explored or acted on, which placed staff and the child at risk of harm during a subsequent shift.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and are supplemented by team development days. These focus on improving practice to meet the child’s individual needs and strengthening team morale. Staff receive training relevant to the child’s needs, which is enhanced by specialist input from the assistant psychologist, who has a regular presence in the home and offers feedback and consultation to staff and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the home, reviewing all incidents and providing reflective evaluations that are fed back to the team to promote continuous development. Additional oversight is provided by the responsible individual and assistant psychologist. Inspection report for children’s home: 2842487 5 Peer-on-peer audits carried out across the organisation provide an additional layer of scrutiny and assurance that procedures are being followed consistently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose has not been updated and does not include details of the management and staff team, including their experience and qualifications. Inspection report for children’s home: 2842487 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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff take responsibility for ensuring that the child’s bedroom is appropriately furnished and maintained to a good standard. 31 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 31 July 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. Any concerns raised around staff capability should be addressed by managers in a timely way.

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2842487 7 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: 2842487 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inspirations Leicestershire Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Toni Bartholomew-Smith

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Inspectors

Jenna Allen, Social Care Inspector Rachael Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2842487 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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