Children's Home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited in Somerset

Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2812978 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home is registered to provide care for up to 2 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

Two children were living in the home at the time of this inspection. One child was seen and briefly spoken to.

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Information about this children's home

There has been no registered manager in post since 28 February 2026. A new manager has been recruited and has applied to register with Ofsted. However, their suitability for the role has not yet been determined by Ofsted.

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Information about this children's home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children's home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At these inspections, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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'. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2812978 2

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Findings from the inspection

On 9 and 10 June 2026, Ofsted completed an assurance visit of the home. The visit identified serious and widespread concerns in relation to the care and safety of the children who live there.

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Findings from the inspection

Since the previous full inspection, the quality of care has deteriorated. Leaders and managers have not taken action to address the concerns identified at the previous inspection. Poor communication between leaders and managers has prevented essential information from being shared and appropriate action being taken to address concerns about staff practice and to ensure that children are protected.

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Findings from the inspection

Safeguarding practice and managers' and staff's understanding of risk are weak. Staff are not provided with clear guidance on how to address, reduce and minimise risk. Staff do not show curiosity or appropriate challenge during conversations with children. Children do not experience boundaries and routine. Consequences given to them in response to behaviours or incidents are often inappropriate and do not support children to learn from their actions. This does not provide children with the learning, care and support that they need to stay safe and make positive choices.

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Findings from the inspection

Children experience inconsistency and instability. Since 22 April 2026, they have experienced care from 24 different members of staff. Managers do not assure themselves that these staff are aware of children's risks, needs and care plans before they work with the children. There are concerns that the quality of care provided by an inconsistent staff team has contributed to one child being hospitalised and that poor staff practice led to another child to self-harm. Children themselves have said that staff have not provided them with good enough quality of care.

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Findings from the inspection

Concerns raised by children regarding the harmful and neglectful care that they have experienced in the home have not been identified, acted on or reported to Ofsted. This does not ensure that children are adequately cared for and safeguarded.

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Findings from the inspection

Children have witnessed staff speaking negatively about them and their peers. In addition, some staff speak negatively about the children to other professionals. This does not provide an environment in which children feel valued and cared for.

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Findings from the inspection

When investigations into staff practice have taken place, these have been of poor quality. Essential information has not been considered and there has been delay in these being completed. This does not provide assurances that investigations are thorough and that the outcomes are focused on the safety of the child.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders' and managers' oversight of the care provided to children and the practice of staff is inadequate. Managers rarely document their oversight of incidents and important conversations with children. What they do record does not reflect on the child's lived experiences. There are no mechanisms to ensure that learning from practice is identified and embedded into care planning for children. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2812978 3 Staff are not provided with regular supervision sessions. Those staff who are new to the home and inexperienced in working with vulnerable children have not received essential guidance and support from managers. This does not provide assurances that there is adequate oversight of staff practice, the care and safeguarding of children and the culture of the home.

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Findings from the inspection

The overall culture in the home is not positive. Staff speak negatively about the support that they receive from managers and say that they are undermined by managers. They raise concerns about the quality of team working. Team meetings take place regularly. However, meeting minutes do not document the details of the discussion or the learning that has taken place. This does not allow staff to reflect on the content of the meetings and prevents staff who did not attend from benefiting from the meeting.

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Findings from the inspection

Children have been living in cluttered, untidy and unclean home conditions. This does not provide assurances that children are valued. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2812978 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/04/2026 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/04/2025 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2812978 5

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home's workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h)

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Requirement Due date

they evaluate the impact of the quality of care provided and the progress that children make; 12 July 2026 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2812978 6 managers and staff have the required experience and skill to care for children;

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Requirement Due date

staffing in the home provides children with the care, consistency and stability that they require;

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Requirement Due date

staff listen to children, act on their views wishes and feelings and treat them with honesty, openness and transparency;

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Requirement Due date

children are engaged with meaningful and reflective discussions following incidents, behaviours of concern and in relation to areas of known risk to inform practice development;

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Requirement Due date

thorough reviews of children's experiences, decision-making and staff practice are completed following children moving out of the home;

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Requirement Due date

all staff receive regular, reflective, practice-based and child- focused supervision sessions;

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Requirement Due date

children and staff experience a positive culture in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

children are provided with a comfortable, tidy and clean home.

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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— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child's relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; 12 July 2026 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2812978 7 understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

children are supported to have positive relationships in the home and to not intentionally harm or upset each other;

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Requirement Due date

investigations into staff practice are well planned and thorough;

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Requirement Due date

appropriate action is taken to address children's behaviours that cause harm to others;

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Requirement Due date

there is clear planning in place to address risk, and action is taken to correct children from the risk of harm; and

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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;

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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 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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a)(b)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

the aims of children's placement are clear and directive; 25 June 2026 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2812978 8 they provide staff with clear guidance on how to meet children's needs; and

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Requirement Due date

robust evaluation and analysis of all available or required information about all children is completed before a decision is made for a child to move into the home.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child's education and training targets, as recorded in the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child's learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children are supported to attend education or to complete educational activities.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that work is completed to highlight the importance of education and to identify and overcome barriers to accessing education. 25 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

The health and wellbeing standard is that— 25 June 2026 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2812978 9 the health and wellbeing needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and wellbeing; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child's well- being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children's health needs are well planned for and met.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

meet each child's behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child's behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child's age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that staff provide children with routine and boundaries to support their overall development. 25 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 12 July 2026 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2812978 10 there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2812978 11

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Black Country House, Rounds Green Road, Oldbury B69 2DG

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Inspector

Carla Simkiss, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2812978 12 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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