Children's Home run by Caring Feathers Ltd in Derby

Inspection report for children's home: 2818061 1 Registered provider: Caring Feathers 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 owned and operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to 4 children who experience emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since February 2026.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living in the home at the time of the inspection. The child spoke to 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

Date of last inspection: 2 February 2026

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2818061 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/02/2026 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2818061 3

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Summary of findings

Children benefit from caring relationships with staff who understand their individual needs and are committed to helping them make progress. Staff support children to maintain important relationships, participate in activities and access relevant specialist services. Safeguarding practice is generally effective, with staff responding appropriately to risks and missing-from-home incidents. However, weaknesses in leadership and management reduce the effectiveness of oversight and quality assurance systems. Children’s experiences of moving in and out are not consistently well planned, records do not always demonstrate children’s views or the impact of direct work, and leaders have not consistently identified and addressed shortfalls in practice to improve outcomes for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a clean, spacious and welcoming environment that provides comfortable communal and private spaces. Children have free access to most areas, which promotes their independence and sense of belonging. However, some aspects of the environment require improvement. Worn carpets, maintenance issues in a shower room and the upkeep of the garden have not been addressed in a timely manner, despite managers identifying these concerns and requesting repairs. In addition, opportunities for children to personalise their living spaces are not yet fully maximised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s experiences of moving in and out of the home are not consistently well planned. Although staff work to support children during periods of transition, practice is not always effective. For example, one child arrived without fully understanding that they would be moving in that day, which resulted in distress and a subsequent missing-from- home incident. Furthermore, 2 children experienced unplanned endings. One child was unable to collect their belongings following their move, and another received notice of their move after only 2 weeks. These shortfalls do not promote children’s emotional wellbeing or provide them with the stability they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote and maintain relationships with people who are important to children. This helps children sustain family and social connections and supports their sense of identity and belonging. One family member spoke positively about the support provided by the acting manager, which enabled meaningful time to be spent with the child that may not otherwise have taken place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to participate in activities that reflect their interests and preferences. This provides opportunities for enjoyment, achievement and positive social experiences. Inspection report for children's home: 2818061 4 The recording of children’s wishes and feelings is not consistently effective. Records do not always demonstrate how children’s views have been sought or how these views influence care planning and decision-making. When children choose not to attend weekly meetings, this is often recorded as disengagement rather than evidencing the alternative approaches used by staff to understand their views. As a result, it is not always clear that children’s voices are central to decisions affecting their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have not consistently advocated for children’s educational needs. One child is currently not in education despite previously attending school regularly before coming into care. The child has expressed a wish to return to their previous school. However, opportunities to challenge and advocate on the child’s behalf to promote their educational engagement have been missed. This limits the child’s access to educational opportunities and progress.

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

Staff work with children to help them understand risks and make safer, more positive choices. Children receive support through direct work and key-work sessions that aim to increase their awareness of risk and promote safer decision-making. However, records do not consistently capture children’s views, feelings and understanding of risk. Key-work recordings are often brief and lack sufficient detail to demonstrate the quality of discussions held or the impact of this work on reducing risk-taking behaviours.

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

When children go missing from home, staff respond appropriately to promote their safety and wellbeing. Staff follow established procedures, make efforts to locate children and ensure that return home interviews are offered. Management oversight demonstrates reflection following incidents and consideration of learning to help strengthen future practice.

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

Risk management plans provide staff with clear guidance regarding children’s known vulnerabilities, potential triggers and the actions required to reduce identified risks. Plans are informed by relevant historical information and emerging concerns, helping staff to respond consistently to changing circumstances and safeguard children effectively.

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

Searches of children’s bedrooms are undertaken when necessary and are proportionate to identified risks. Records demonstrate that decisions to conduct searches are linked to concerns regarding children’s safety and welfare, including risks associated with self- harm. Practice is generally consistent with children’s risk management plans and known vulnerabilities.

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

Children benefit from support from a range of professionals, including mental health services and therapeutic providers. Effective multi-agency working helps to ensure that children’s emotional wellbeing needs are understood and responded to. However, records do not consistently evidence the depth of direct work undertaken with children or demonstrate how interventions have contributed to reducing identified risks and improving outcomes. Inspection report for children's home: 2818061 5 Physical intervention is used infrequently and only when necessary to protect children or others from harm. Records demonstrate that interventions are generally proportionate to the presenting risks. However, recording does not always clearly evidence the rationale for intervention or fully capture the views of those involved. In addition, management oversight is not consistently evaluative and does not always identify opportunities for

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

reflection, learning and improvement following incidents.

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

There has been no registered manager since February 2026. An acting manager has been appointed to lead the service. However, an application to Ofsted has not yet been submitted. This has resulted in a lack of permanence in leadership arrangements and reduced accountability for the quality of care provided to children.

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

Management oversight is not consistently effective. Monitoring systems do not provide leaders with sufficient assurance regarding children’s experiences, progress and significant incidents. Shortfalls in practice are not always identified promptly, and opportunities to implement improvements are sometimes missed. As a result, leaders are not consistently able to demonstrate the impact of their monitoring activities on improving outcomes for children.

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

Leadership oversight arrangements lack clarity. Decision-making processes and lines of accountability are not always well defined, particularly when responsibilities are shared between managers. This reduces the effectiveness of management oversight and limits opportunities for consistent evaluation of practice.

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

Management responsibilities are not sufficiently well established. While the deputy manager undertakes aspects of managerial oversight and provides support to the acting manager, the distinction between leadership roles is unclear. This creates uncertainty regarding accountability and weakens management monitoring systems.

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

Despite these shortfalls, staff demonstrate a good understanding of the individual needs of children in their care. They are committed to supporting children to make progress and achieve positive outcomes. Staff speak positively about the support they receive from leaders and describe a culture in which they feel valued and supported.

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

Staff receive regular supervision, but the quality is variable. Records do not consistently evidence reflective discussion, professional challenge or evaluation of practice. Some records are brief and do not demonstrate how supervision is used to improve practice and support positive outcomes for children. Leaders have recognised these weaknesses and have recently taken steps to strengthen supervision arrangements. Early improvements are evident, although these are not yet fully embedded.

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

Leaders have identified some areas for development and have begun to implement changes. However, monitoring and quality assurance systems are not yet sufficiently robust to consistently identify weaknesses, evaluate the effectiveness of practice and drive sustained improvement. Inspection report for children's home: 2818061 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that children moving into and out of the home experience well-planned and carefully managed transitions. This includes ensuring that children are appropriately prepared for moves, understand the plans being made for them, are supported to express their views about these arrangements and receive practical and emotional support to help them experience moves positively. 18 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings; 18 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2818061 7 help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care;

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Requirement Due date

is given appropriate advocacy support. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(b)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff consistently seek, record and consider children’s views, wishes and feelings. Records should clearly demonstrate how children’s views have influenced decisions about their care and welfare, and children should be supported to understand how their views have been taken into account, including the reasons for decisions made.

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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

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

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(f)(g)(ii)(h)) 18 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2818061 8 In particular, the registered person should ensure that there are effective management monitoring systems in place to provide robust oversight of the service. This includes maintaining clear accountability arrangements, ensuring leaders have comprehensive understanding of children’s experiences, progress and significant incidents, and using monitoring and review processes to identify shortfalls, evaluate practice and drive continuous improvement.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to ensuring that a registered manager recruited into post makes a prompt application to register with Ofsted. 18 September 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff act as effective advocates for or on behalf of a child who may be experiencing difficulties with education or training matters, including but not limited to attainment, admissions, attendance or behaviour, as a good parent would do. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.12)

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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: 2818061 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Caring Feathers Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 4b, The Park Estate, Bury Park Road, Luton LU1 1EN

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Inspectors

Lauren Barwell, Social Care Inspector Nile Blanchard, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2818061 10 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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