Children's Home run by Solent Child Care Limited in Dorset

Inspection report for children’s home: 2740453 1 Registered provider: Solent Child Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider and offers care and accommodation for up 2 children who have experienced social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living in the home and the inspectors spent time talking with them and observing their interactions with staff and each other.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager’s post is vacant. A manager has been appointed and has submitted their application to register with Ofsted.

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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: 25 February 2026

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2740453 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/02/2026 Full Requires improvement to be good 21/01/2025 Full Good 12/03/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2740453 3

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Summary of findings

Children enjoy living at this home. Staff have built positive and trusting relationships with children and provide personalised care that meets their needs. As a result, children are making good progress. Staff provide children with care that promotes their development and offers positive experiences and opportunities.

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Summary of findings

Staff help children to express their feelings in safe ways. However, staff do not always do enough to ensure that children are kept safe online. The new manager has had a positive impact on the practice in the home and has taken action to improve children’s care and safety. This is an ongoing process, but practice development in this area is on a more positive trajectory.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are settled and happy living in this home. They have developed good relationships with staff that are based on trust and respect. Staff have an empathetic and playful approach that engages children and encourages them want to spend time with staff. One child rated their home 10 out of 10. They described staff as caring, kind and approachable.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide care that considers each child’s individual needs and their starting points. This helps them to provide informed care which promote best outcomes for children. The staff and manager have a clear understanding of each child’s needs and their experiences before moving into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child continues to attend education regularly and is making good progress. Overall, staff support children to increase their education attendance well. Both Children are making progress in this area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use memory books with photos and comments to capture children’s memories and milestones. Achievements are celebrated and children’s journeys are clearly recorded. This helps children to develop a positive sense of belonging and to feel valued. Children are supported to enjoy their interests and hobbies. Staff encourage children to have new experiences, such as guitar lessons, joining sports teams and going on day trips.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has several welcoming spaces, where children can spend their time. It is well decorated and the children’s bedrooms have been personalised to reflect their individual preferences. The outdoor areas are spacious and include equipment that supports play and recreational activities.

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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2740453 4 Staff mostly have a good understanding of children’s lived experiences and vulnerabilities. They are mindful of how children’s needs and previous experiences impact how they perceive the world and learn. This helps staff provide care to children which is bespoke to their individual needs and age-appropriate understanding. Children are encouraged to express their thoughts and feelings in safe ways.

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

Staff regularly have conversations with children about the things that are important to them. These discussions are supportive, reflective and capture the child’s views and wishes. Staff also create opportunities to talk to children about challenging situations and help them to understand and express their emotions safely.

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

Children are provided with consistent care from staff, who know them well. Thorough safer recruitment procedures are used to determine that staff are suitable to work with children. Staff’s induction to the home is robust and staff feel supported to meet children’s needs.

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

There is a lack of oversight of one child’s use of the internet and their mobile phone. Staff are not aware of what the child is doing online or the people who they contact. Staff are not following the child’s safety plan and ‘spot checks’ are not consistently completed or recorded. As a result, there is a limited understanding of when and how the child uses the internet and their phone. Staff recognise that they should be doing more to ensure that the child is safe online.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers are committed to supporting children to achieve positive outcomes. Leaders and managers are regularly in the home and contribute to the care and support of children. This has allowed leaders and managers to build positive and trusting relationships with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

The new manager is dedicated to ensuring that children feel happy, valued and well supported. They have made changes to children’s care to improve standards, and they understand that this is an ongoing and continuous process. Staff shared the positive impact that the new manager has had. They report that they feel well supported and empowered in their roles. Professionals and parents speak positively about the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

Regular staff supervision sessions and team meetings are used to help staff to reflect on the care that they provide to children to ensure that their needs are met. Staff attend regular training sessions to ensure that their skills and knowledge remain up to date. Additional training is identified as and when children’s needs or associated risks change.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

Staff understand that family relationships can be complex and that they can impact how children feel. Staff listen to children carefully and seek to understand children’s relationships so that they can respond in sensitive and supportive ways. However, staff do not always have the skills, experience and guidance to understand how they should respond if concerns about children’s relationships are identified. Inspection report for children’s home: 2740453 5 Leaders and managers do not always robustly challenge external professionals, when decisions are made about children’s care that they do not agree with. Children are not provided with strong advocacy support, which means that their views and wishes are not always listened to by external professionals. Leaders and managers took action to address this vulnerability during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

Staff have built positive relationships with children. Their interactions with children are grounded in the home’s chosen therapeutic approach. Staff support children to ensure that their needs are met. However, plans to encourage children to develop increased resilience and life skills are not yet clearly developed or regularly reviewed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2740453 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

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

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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; and

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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)(v)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have appropriate oversight of what children are doing online. Staff must take action to ensure that children are protected from harm when using the internet and their mobile phone.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that staff are aware of the actions to take in response to concerns about children’s relationships. 31 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2740453 7 In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (1)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they challenge the decisions of external professionals when they are not in line with children’s views and wishes. Leaders, managers and staff must strongly advocate for children. 31 July 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are supported to develop emotional and mental resilience. In particular, staff should encourage children to develop the skills that they will need in adulthood. These plans should be regularly reviewed to promote progress. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)

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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: 2740453 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Solent Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 9 St Georges Yard, Castle Street, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7LW

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Inspectors

Darren Wickens, Social Care Inspector Martin Brown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2740453 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 children looked after, safeguarding, and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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