Children's Home run by First 4 Children Ltd in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report for children's home: 2809280 1 Registered provider: First 4 Children Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home was registered with Ofsted on 9 July 2025 to provide care for up to 3 children who may experience emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The manager is suitably qualified and has been in post since August 2025.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living in the home. All the children were seen and spoke with the inspector.

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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: 17 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: 2809280 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/02/2026 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2809280 3

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Summary of findings

Staff mostly know the children well, advocate for them and promote their welfare. Staff offer care that is individualised, and the children living in the home are making progress. Staff understand children's vulnerabilities and take actions to reduce risk. However, staffing arrangements do not always provide consistency for children. Recent improvements made by managers and leaders to the oversight of the home are not yet fully embedded.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home that is warm, welcoming and well maintained. There are plenty of social spaces for children to be able to relax and enjoy in the home. The children's bedrooms are personalised to reflect their individual tastes and interests. Leaders have taken action to renovate the garden to ensure that children can continue to enjoy this space safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in meetings to review the plans for their care. Children are regularly asked about their experiences of living in the home and are encouraged to make suggestions to improve the activities and opportunities they are offered. However, the manager does not always talk to children about the outcome of their suggestions or explain whether these can be acted on. This means that children do not always feel listened to or understand how their views influence decision-making.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children can engage in education. All children attend an education provision and are supported with boundaries and routines that prioritise school attendance. When children find attending school difficult, staff are creative, offering additional support to ensure that children can remain in their education provision. As a result, two children who previously faced barriers, are now attending school consistently. Staff support children when they have exams and know how to help children prepare for independence. This has helped children make progress in relation to meal planning and independent travel. Managers and staff celebrate achievements for children, such as attending their school prom and gaining a place at their preferred college.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff talk to children about how to stay healthy and ensure that they are supported to attend medical appointments. Children are encouraged to understand the importance of engaging in physical exercise and ways to support their emotional wellbeing. Some staff know the children well and have supported them to develop strategies to manage their feelings when they become upset or distressed. Managers and staff foster positive relationships between the children living in the home. They encourage them to spend time talking about their day and playing games together at mealtimes and in the evenings. This means that children have become more settled living in the home, and children say that they enjoy these opportunities. Inspection report for children's home: 2809280 4 Managers and staff advocate effectively for children to ensure that their wishes and feelings are understood within multi-agency discussions. However, children's feedback is

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

not always acted on consistently within the home. Staff do not always take time to talk to children about how they are feeling after incidents, and managers do not consistently facilitate restorative discussions between staff and children. When one child made an allegation involving 3 staff members, no meaningful restoration work took place before the staff members returned to work. This means that children do not always feel their views are valued, have opportunities to repair relationships or have confidence that their views will lead to meaningful change.

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

There has been a reduction in incidents of children being missing from home. When incidents do occur, staff manage these well, and managers maintain effective oversight. Staff use their curiosity and are confident in exploring risk with children. This has helped to increase children's understanding of external influences, supporting them to make safer choices.

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

Staff have a good understanding of online risks. Systems are in place to monitor children's access to age-restricted platforms, ensuring that inappropriate content is blocked. As a result, children are better protected and supported to manage their online activity.

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

Managers and staff ensure that rewards and incentives are personalised to each child's interests and strengths. Children are supported to understand their individual goals, and the manager has also introduced the opportunity for spontaneous rewards. This encourages a culture of high praise and an environment where children feel noticed and valued.

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

There has been one incident of physical restraint, and staff responded safely and proportionately. The manager took prompt and appropriate action when the child subsequently made an allegation, ensuring that safeguarding processes were followed and the child's views were considered.

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

Staff are trained to administer and store medication safely, and practice in the home generally reflects this. However, staff do not always have the guidance needed to ensure that they administer safe doses of medication, which creates avoidable risk. Managers and leaders acknowledged this shortfall and have a plan to address this.

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

The registered manager is appropriately qualified and registered with Ofsted. External professionals say that staff communicate effectively and that information is shared appropriately. This helps to ensure that children's needs are understood and they receive the support they need. Professionals value the additional support the manager and staff afford to children, especially around helping them to access education. Inspection report for children's home: 2809280 5 Staff receive a comprehensive induction and training to develop their knowledge and skills to safely care for children. The staff team comprises a range of experience, and several staff members are still within their probation period. Frequent interchange of staff working at another home linked to the organisation, sometimes at short notice, creates instability and inconsistency for children. Managers and leaders acknowledge this shortfall and are actively recruiting to reduce reliance on staff movement and improve

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

Children's plans are not always updated to reflect their most current support needs. This means that staff may not always have the information they need to support children. This is significant because of the movement of staff between homes, as it reduces staff's ability to provide consistent, well-informed care.

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

Although managers and leaders have systems in place to ensure their oversight of the quality of care, they were not aware of an occasion when a child alleged a member of staff had pushed them. This gap in oversight meant that the concern was not identified or addressed at the time. The manager took immediate and appropriate action when he became aware of the incident.

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

Staff say that they receive regular supervision, but written records of these meetings were not always available for review, limiting leaders' ability to demonstrate oversight. In addition, some gaps in safer recruitment process mean leaders cannot be assured that all required checks have been completed before staff begin working with children. Managers and leaders acknowledged this shortfall and have taken steps to strengthen practice in this area. Inspection report for children's home: 2809280 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 children's views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children's care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child's views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child's best interests when making decisions about the child's care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child's views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children are helped to understand how their views, wishes and feelings are acted upon. 1 Sep 2026

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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

mutual respect and trust; 1 Sep 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2809280 7 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—

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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

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child's respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children's previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iv)(viii)(ix)(x))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children are supported to repair relationships when they need to rebuild trust with the staff caring for them.

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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— 1 Sep 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2809280 8 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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, implement effective monitoring and review systems to oversee and improve the care children receive. In addition, ensure the workforce can provide consistent and skilled support to children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children's home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. 1 Sep 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2809280 9 (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d))

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Recommendation

 The registered person must ensure that medicines are administered in line with a medically approved protocol. Records must be kept of the administration of all medication. In particular, they must ensure that staff record the maximum dosage of medication that can be given in a 24-hour period. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,' page 35, paragraph 7.15)

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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: 2809280 10

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Children's home details

Registered provider: First 4 Children Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Office 7, Old Whieldon Road Business Centre, Old Whieldon Road, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 4HW

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Inspector

Helen Dickens, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2809280 11 regulates and inspects 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 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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Inspector

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