Children's Home run by Heritage Children’s Homes Limited in Somerset

Inspection report for children’s home: 2634633 1 Registered provider: Heritage Children’s Homes 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

This home is managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to 2 children, who may have emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, 2 children have moved into the home, but they have now moved on. A third child who was living in this home moved into another home owned by the provider. This was a planned move to support their independence. The home currently cares for one child, who recently moved in. The inspector considered all of the children’s experiences and met with the child who currently lives in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since 1 February 2026 and applied to register with Ofsted on 30 March 2026.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2634633 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/04/2025 Full Good 03/09/2024 Full Good 17/01/2024 Full Outstanding 05/07/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2634633 3

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Summary of findings

Children have mixed experiences living in the home and they make varying degrees of progress. Staff have not always taken steps to help children understand how to keep safe online and in the community. Additionally, they have not always supported children living in the home to develop positive and healthy relationships. While staff have some important conversations with children, they require further advice and guidance.

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Summary of findings

There are weaknesses in leadership and management oversight. This includes safer recruitment, training, learning from incidents, staff supervision and team meetings. Additionally, low-level incidents of restraint are not always recorded, and this impacts the manager’s oversight and ability to determine if restrictive practice is necessary and proportionate.

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improvement to be good

Children make varied progress from their starting points. While living in the home, one child participated in an internship, however, staff did not effectively support them to develop independence skills or effectively support their transition into adulthood. Another child who lived in the home attended regular tutoring and enjoyed learning. However, staff are not always effective in encouraging all children to attend education and they struggle to provide them with educational activities during the day.

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improvement to be good

One child, who recently moved out of the home, maintains regular contact with the manager and is positive about the care they received from staff. Children who previously lived in the home have enjoyed activities, such as paddle boarding and visiting the zoo. Staff have supported them to spend time with their family and friends. This has helped children to strengthen ties with people who are important to them and supported their sense of identity.

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improvement to be good

One child currently lives in the home and this child has indicated that they feel settled and they are developing positive relationships with staff and the manager. They have confidence in the staff team and ask them for help when needed. They are happy that staff support them to spend time with friends and to enjoy activities.

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improvement to be good

Staff are struggling to support the child to establish healthy routines and this means they are spending extended periods in their bedroom and they have developed a poor sleep pattern, which impacts their mood and motivation. While staff make efforts to wake the child every morning, encouraging them to eat breakfast and participate in activities, their efforts are not always impactful. Inspection report for children’s home: 2634633 4 Some areas of the home require repairs and refurbishments and managers have instructed the maintenance team to address this. They want the home to be cosy and comfortable for children. The child’s bedroom is in a poor condition and staff are ineffective in supporting the child to aspire to live in a clean and tidy space. Staff continue to carry bunches of keys in the home and this takes away from the homely atmosphere they are attempting to create.

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improvement to be good

Staff struggled to support a child who used to live in the home, when they became frustrated and distressed. Staff physically intervened to prevent the child from hurting themselves, however, they did not perceive ‘guides’ and ‘shepherding’ as restrictive practice. Consequently, this low-level physical intervention went unrecorded and the manager did not have oversight of them. It remains unclear whether this practice was necessary and proportionate.

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improvement to be good

Conflict has previously existed between children living in the home. Staff said they supported children to manage their relationships, however, there is little evidence of how they helped children to repair their relationships and to safely manage future disagreements. It is unclear whether the children were supported to explore their emotions, learn how to problem solve and to consider scenarios from their peer’s perspective.

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improvement to be good

All the children have had access to technology, such as handheld devices, including the current child living in the home. Despite this, staff have not helped them to understand how to keep themselves safe online. While there have been risk mitigation strategies in place, such as Wi-Fi restrictions, staff have not always been clear about children’s online experiences, which means they have not been able to effectively monitor the content they access.

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improvement to be good

Staff take appropriate action when children go missing from home, for example they have followed children’s missing protocols and made efforts to ensure they return home safely. Staff talk with children about the risks associated with going missing, however, one child was at risk of sexual exploitation and staff did not help them to understand how to keep safe in the community.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a mixed approach to implementing boundaries with the child who currently lives in the home. Some staff are worried about how the child might respond if they attempt to implement boundaries and they, therefore, prioritise building relationships with them. However, this does not address the child’s need for consistent boundaries, and routine and support them to understand expectations. Staff’s inconsistent approach could potentially cause the child to feel confused.

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improvement to be good

When concerns are raised about staff, managers and leaders take immediate steps to explore them and identify risk mitigation strategies. They also seek external safeguarding Inspection report for children’s home: 2634633 5 advice. However, on one occasion, managers failed to notify Ofsted of a reportable incident in accordance with the regulations.

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

Leaders and managers are aware of the strengths of the home, however, they also recognise there are areas for improvement. Leaders provide regular support to the manager for their learning and development. The shortfalls found during the inspection were accepted by leaders and managers.

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

Staff informed the inspector that they feel anxious working in the home because they do not always feel equipped for the demands of their role. This impacts their confidence and ability to meet the child’s needs. Staff do not always receive timely supervision and they do not benefit from regular team meetings, both of which impacts their ability to learn from practice and develop new skills.

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

While staff have completed mandatory training, they have not received bespoke training relating to the child they currently care for. Staff are expected to adopt a therapeutic approach when working with the child, however, they have not completed the necessary training to apply this approach. Staff’s training records are disorganised and unclear, which negatively impacts the manager’s oversight of their training needs.

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

There have been issues with staffing sufficiency in the home and on these occasions, managers and leaders have permitted additional staff, who are employed by the company, to work in the home. However, safer recruitment checks are not robust. The manager did not consider a significant gap in one staff member’s employment history. This places children at risk of harm because vetting processes are not completed in line with safer recruitment guidance.

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

The manager is a good advocate for children. They challenge professionals when they believe they fall short of their duties towards the child. They regularly attend meetings to address concerns and to formulate plans with the aim of keeping the child safe. Professionals shared positive feedback about the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2634633 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, 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

The conditions are— that the care meets the child’s needs; that the care is delivered by a person who—

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Requirement Due date

has the experience, knowledge and skills to deliver that care; and is under the supervision of a person who is appropriately skilled and qualified to supervise that care. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(vi)(viii) (3)(b)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff help children to learn practical skills that prepare them for adulthood. 1 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2634633 7 In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff support children to live in clean and tidy environments, including their bedrooms.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have the experience, knowledge, and skills to deliver good-quality care to meet the children’s needs.

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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—

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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

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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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 1 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2634633 8 exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(x))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff encourage children to attend education settings and highlight the importance and benefits of education. Where children are not attending education settings, the registered person must ensure staff complete educational activities with them and encourage them to return to education settings as soon as practicably possible. Additionally, the registered person must ensure they take steps to secure the right education setting for each child by understanding any barriers to learning and working collaboratively with external professionals to address them.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(b)) 1 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2634633 9 In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to monitor children’s online activity and identify and address any concerns. Staff must also talk with children about how to keep safe online and how to share worries about online content and/or communication.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to identify disagreements and conflicts between children and support them to safely repair and rebuild their relationships.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have regular conversations with children that help them to understand their vulnerabilities and associated risks.

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing—

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (2))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff understand the purpose of physical interventions and the importance of recording low and high level physical interventions that restrict children’s movements and/or prevent them from using their free will. Physical intervention records must take account of the regulations and guidance. 1 August 2026

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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

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’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; 1 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2634633 10 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

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received;

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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 (2)(a)(c)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that safer recruitment processes and procedures are completed for all new staff, including obtaining their full employment histories and exploring any gaps in employment.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they have oversight of records relating to physical interventions and serious incidents to satisfy themselves that staff action is necessary, proportionate and aligns with the regulations.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when children make allegations against staff, they are promptly recorded and shared with Ofsted in accordance with the regulations. This applies even when children have moved out of the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff complete their training in a timely manner and that they have effective mechanisms in place to identify and address new training needs. Staff records should clearly record the dates on which they completed training.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that staff access regular supervision to support their skills and development, with the aim of strengthening their care towards children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2634633 11

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home environment is nurturing and that any institutional practice is addressed with staff (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2634633 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Heritage Children’s Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 21, Ergo Business Park Kelvin Road, Swindon, Wiltshire SN3 3JW

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Inspector:

Emma Fryer, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2634633 13 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:

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Inspector:

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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