Children's Home run by Portsmouth City Council in Portsmouth

Inspection report for children’s home: 1239948 1 Registered provider: Portsmouth City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a local authority. It provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2020.

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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 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: 29 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: 1239948 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/10/2025 Full Good 18/11/2024 Full Good 10/05/2023 Full Outstanding 07/06/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1239948 3

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Summary of findings

Children experience warm, nurturing care from staff who know them well and who build positive, trusting relationships with them. The home is safe, calm and welcoming. Children’s bedrooms reflect their individuality and interests. Staff manage risk, behaviour and self-harm well, using detailed care plans and risk assessments combined with a therapeutic response. Children are supported to express their views, access advocacy and engage in a wide range of enriching activities. Three recommendations were raised at the inspection. These relate to helping children understand the outcomes of allegations, improving children’s awareness of the risks of going missing, and ensuring that Ofsted is notified of serious incidents in a timely manner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build caring relationships with children and take time to get to know them well. They use humour and fun to strengthen connections and help children feel relaxed and settled. A child’s social worker said that this is the first place that the child has called home since being in care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff speak warmly and respectfully about the children and praise and celebrate positive behaviour and achievements, no matter how small. This reinforces the children’s confidence and sense of belonging and helps them continue to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are alert to any emerging tensions between the children and work proactively with them to improve relationships through regular shared meals and activities. This helps build connection, mutual understanding and tolerance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to understand the importance of education, and staff provide consistent encouragement to aid progress. One child recently completed their GCSEs and plans to attend college. Staff supported them well with revision for their exams. This child speaks proudly about their future ambitions. Another child’s mental health needs have affected their education, but since moving schools, they have been encouraged and supported to improve their attendance. Staff work closely with external professionals to help children build confidence and establish routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health is treated as a priority. They are well supported to attend all routine and specialist health appointments. There is good partnership working with mental health specialists, with both children accessing regular therapeutic support. Staff ensure that children’s emotional and physical needs are met, providing care that promotes their overall wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to express their wishes and feelings through regular children’s meetings, during which their views are listened to and acted on. Both children have access to an advocate, ensuring that they can seek independent support and have their Inspection report for children’s home: 1239948 4 voices represented in decision-making. One child said they can talk to anyone and that staff listen to them, even if they are busy. This demonstrates that children experience care from staff who are responsive and available.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One social worker noted that staff promote family relationships with wider family members and parents. Staff understand the importance of family time if safe and appropriate and recognise how valuable these relationships are to the children. They consider and respect the child’s views and feelings when working alongside the placing authority to plan time with family, ensuring that arrangements are meaningful and emotionally safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individual interests are promoted through a wide range of activities. One child has been supported to volunteer in a role linked to their love of trains. Children also attend clubs, go to the gym, visit the beach and participate in bike rides with staff, giving them opportunities to build social skills, develop independence and enjoy positive experiences in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning is individualised to children’s needs. Planning is well informed by the social worker and mental health professionals. Children are involved in care planning and contribute their views.

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

Staff have access to detailed risk assessments that set out vulnerabilities and protective strategies for each child. They communicate effectively with professionals. There are regular multi-agency meetings that support collaborative risk management and consistent decision-making.

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

There have been no incidents of restraint since the last inspection. This reflects the positive relationships that staff build with children and their emphasis on de-escalation and a therapeutic response to complex behaviours.

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

Complaints are rare. When children raise concerns, they are taken seriously and responded to promptly. Staff recognise children’s feelings and the reasons behind their complaints, and they address issues sensitively. Complaints are discussed in children’s meetings, helping children understand the process and how to raise issues. Children are given the opportunity to escalate their concerns if they are not satisfied with the response.

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

Staff have a good understanding of self-harm and respond with a calm and therapeutic approach that helps children feel safe. Incidents are managed well and recorded in clear detail. Key work carried out with children following incidents is sensitive and nurturing, supporting them to reflect and receive the emotional reassurance they need.

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

Children have complex behaviours, and incidents are generally managed well. Staff respond calmly and apply clear and consistent boundaries. One social worker said that the staff manage some extremely challenging behaviours but do so in a professional and Inspection report for children’s home: 1239948 5 caring way. There is a good level of restorative work and a focus on helping children understand their behaviour. An independent reviewing officer said that one child has developed insight into their behaviours because of the support they receive from staff.

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

There has been one allegation during this inspection period. This was managed appropriately and led to timely and proportionate action. However, no work was carried out to explain the outcome to the child, meaning they were not helped to understand how their concern had been addressed.

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

Staff know how to respond when children go missing. They respond appropriately and make efforts to support their safe return. Risk assessments and care plans are updated following incidents. The registered manager ensures that return home interviews are carried out and that missing-from-home incidents are reviewed during regular professionals’ meetings. This promotes external oversight. However, debriefs and effective key-work sessions are not always carried out with children, which limits opportunities for children and staff to use this learning to reduce future risks.

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

The manager has recently strengthened practice to ensure that key work is more proactive and better at capturing the child’s views. However, not all serious incidents have been reported to the regulator, which limits oversight and the ability to track patterns of emerging risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is an experienced leader and brings a strong depth of knowledge to the role. He holds high expectations for the children’s care and maintains a clear understanding of each child’s needs, history and risk. His oversight ensures that children receive individualised, well-tailored support from a dedicated staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders create a supportive environment where staff feel valued and well managed. Staff report receiving regular supervision that helps them to build confidence in their practice. Management is visible and approachable and strengthens day-to-day oversight. One member of staff commented that they feel empowered in their role and supported to develop their skills and competence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they support each other well, creating a positive and collaborative team culture. They share their skills and experience, ensuring that children benefit from a consistent and knowledgeable staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are experienced and confident practitioners. They use their skills to build strong and supportive relationships with children. Staff respond to incidents in a trauma- informed way. This child-centred approach helps children feel secure and enables trusting attachments.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a good quality of training in place that aligns closely with the needs and risks of children. Staff are supported to achieve qualifications that develop their skills. Leaders Inspection report for children’s home: 1239948 6 work with specialist professionals to shape and adapt training, so staff receive relevant development that strengthens their practice and improves children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and the areas that require further development, using this insight to guide improvement and maintain consistent standards. Leaders have made plans to increase the level of peer review and self-evaluation of the home to drive practice; however, this is yet to be implemented. The introduction of a new independent person is intended to strengthen accountability and support ongoing improvements. Inspection report for children’s home: 1239948 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have the skills and confidence to communicate effectively with children. Staff should understand the importance of listening to, involving and responding to the children in their care. In particular, when children make allegations, the registered manager should ensure that the outcome is explained to the child. Children should be supported by an appropriate person to reflect on incidents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.10)  The registered person should ensure that, where there is a risk of a child missing, staff do their best to help them understand the associated risks and dangers. Staff should ensure that children know how to seek help should they go missing. Following missing-from-home incidents, staff should carry out a debrief and key work with the child to reflect on the incident. This should enable staff to use this learning to reduce

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Recommendations

future risks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.27)  The registered person should notify Ofsted about serious incidents in line with regulatory requirements. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.4)

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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: 1239948 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Portsmouth City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Head of Children and Young People’s Services, Civic Offices, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth PO1 2EA

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Inspector

Ben Wilson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1239948 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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