Children's Home run by Kisimul Group Limited in Lincolnshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2805018 1 Registered provider: Kisimul Group 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 registered with Ofsted in April 2025 and is privately owned. It provides care for up to 6 children who may have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of this inspection, 6 children were living at the home and they all participated in the inspection.

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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: 28 October 2025

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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: 2805018 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/10/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2805018 3

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Summary of findings

The care provided supports the children to make sustained progress across different areas of their lives. Children enjoy going to school. The collaboration between staff and education professionals ensures that children achieve positive outcomes. The manager has been absent from work for a period of time. During their absence, senior leaders assigned a manager to have oversight of the day-to-day arrangements in the home. Since the manager has returned to her role, she has focused on identifying areas for improvement and has made a plan to address these.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has welcomed 3 new children over the last couple of months. These were planned moves for 2 children, although they had to move into the home quicker than expected. The third child moved in a month later. All the children are getting used to sharing the space in the home and are building relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager undertook assessments of the children prior to them moving in. Once the moves had been agreed, each child's specific needs were considered. The transitions were planned and remained child centred. The manager has reviewed the moves into the home for the children to determine if there are any other actions needed to help them completely settle. One child has lived in the home for a month and they are struggling to adapt to their new home. The manager is working with professionals to consider if the child could be provided with any further support to help them settle, but acknowledged that it remains early days for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children live in a spacious home and have been able to choose how they want their bedrooms to be decorated. There are areas in the home where the children can spend some time on their own, and a large garden where the children enjoy spending time outside.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made notable progress from their starting points. Staff set clear targets and have a methodical approach to these, breaking down each task to support the children to build skills gradually. For example, one child initially did not like to leave his bedroom. The manager worked with professionals and the child's family to understand how to help him feel safe in new environments. Staff remained child centred and persistent in their approach and, over time, this paid off. The child can now take part in activities that he enjoys outside the home. This is a huge achievement for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children enjoy going to school. One child was seen to be very keen to go to school. Staff said that he 'loves school' and is always eager to go. For the children who find it difficult to transition from the home to school each day, staff are patient and provide gentle encouragement to ensure they participate in education. Staff in the home and school work together to ensure that children achieve good outcomes. Inspection report for children's home: 2805018 4 Staff are keen to capture the voice of the children. They use a variety of communication tools that are tailored for each child. Staff are aware that, at times, making decisions can overwhelm children. For this reason, staff provide choices to enable children to express their view with ease.

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

Children experience times where their behaviours escalate. As a last resort, staff physically intervene to keep the child and staff safe. There is management oversight of incidents. There has been one occasion where both the staff involved and the child were not spoken with after the incident.

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

The children's complex needs mean that they can display self-injurious behaviours. On one occasion, staff were not proactive in seeking health advice for a child following an incident where they sustained some injuries. The manager and senior leaders acknowledged the lack of action taken by staff and have strengthened systems by introducing additional management checks into daily practice. The manager has reinforced the importance of seeking prompt medical advice and ensuring that staff are responsive to children's needs, to ensure they remain protected.

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

The manager has started to analyse children's behaviours and the impact that these have on children. This enables the team to have greater insight into children's responses. The manager has been proactive in working with parents and external agencies to ensure that everyone gains a deeper understanding of each child's presenting needs and determine the best way they can be supported.

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

There has been one complaint made by a parent. The manager has worked with the parent to resolve the issue that was raised. In addition, the manager advocated on behalf of the child to ensure that their views were also considered.

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

There is a robust medication process in place and only trained staff can administer medication. Although there has been one medication error since the last inspection, the manager took immediate action by removing the staff involved from medication duties. There is a clear audit process in place that reviews the administration of medication over the month to ensure that they are completed safely and appropriately.

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

Fire evacuations are completed monthly. One child has consistently refused to leave the building during these drills. The manager was able to demonstrate that direct work to address this issue has been planned and is ready for staff to use. However, staff have not yet completed this work with the child to reinforce the importance of taking part in evacuation procedures. Inspection report for children's home: 2805018 5

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

The manager had been absent for a period and had a phased return to work. During her absence, different managers covered her role to ensure there was management and leadership in the home. As part of her return to work, she has reviewed the work completed in her absence to ensure that she has oversight of the work undertaken in the home. She has highlighted areas where practice can be strengthened and has developed a plan to address these.

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

Leaders and the manager have introduced additional systems to complement the organisation's existing processes, strengthening the manager's oversight of the home. These are necessary as, for example, some children's key records do not consistently reflect the most up-to-date information. As these systems are still in their early stages, further time is needed for them to become embedded and to improve oversight.

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

There have been some changes in the organisation. This has created opportunities for staff from another home in the organisation to move to this one. As a result, the manager's team has doubled in size in a short time frame. New staff have been supported to settle into their role and integrate into the staff team. The manager has also been proactive in reinforcing the high expectations of practice in the home.

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

Staff are not receiving supervision in line with the organisation's policy. For example, one member of staff began their role in November but did not receive any supervision until March 2026, despite being new to working with children with complex needs. Other staff have had similar experiences and have not had supervision on a regular basis. To address this, the manager has introduced a new system to plan and track the supervision of staff, improving this area of support.

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

Team meetings provide the manager with opportunities to share updates, recognise positive practice and reinforce expectations for how staff should support children. Staff wellbeing is prioritised, with opportunities to discuss any concerns through both drop-in and planned sessions. Staff report feeling well supported by the manager, who is committed to maintaining this. Following feedback from staff, the manager has revised the rota system to ensure that staff are well rested between shifts.

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

When the manager identified an area where practice could be improved, she ensured that appropriate training was sourced and delivered to the whole staff team. The manager is committed to equipping the staff with the additional skills and knowledge they need to undertake their role effectively. Inspection report for children's home: 2805018 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 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

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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the manager embedding monitoring and review systems in the home to improve the quality of care. In addition, it relates to the manager ensuring that all the children's documents remain up to date and are checked for any errors. Furthermore, the manager needs to ensure that staff receive supervision in line with the organisation's policy. 7 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")— 7 August 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2805018 7 has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the manager ensuring that staff have a debrief and children are spoken with when they have been involved in an incident where a restraint is used.

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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: 2805018 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Kisimul Group Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: The Old Vicarage, High Street, Swinderby, Lincoln LN6 9LU

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Inspector

Lizette Watts, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2805018 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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