Children's Home run by Staffordshire County Council in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC065679 1 SC065679 Registered provider: Staffordshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is managed by a local authority and provides residential short breaks for children who may have experienced childhood instability resulting in trauma and associated complex behaviours.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The short-break service provides planned overnight stays for children on the edge of care and short-term emergency placements. Since the last inspection, the home has provided emergency support for 8 children.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home. The child discussed their experiences of living in the home with the inspector.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The service is led by an experienced and qualified manager, who registered with Ofsted in June 2023.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 9 September 2025

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC065679 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/09/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/05/2024 Full Outstanding 23/05/2023 Full Good 09/11/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC065679 3

p.2

Summary of findings

The home provides emergency short-term care for children. Managers work proactively with commissioners to secure suitable long-term homes and support children through sensitive transitions. Children benefit from warm relationships, good health support, enjoyable activities and welcoming surroundings. Risks are reduced through consistent safeguarding practice, effective management of missing-from-care incidents and strong multi-agency working. Leaders are experienced and child focused. They use effective monitoring systems and create positive partnerships with professionals. Areas for development include online safety, educational oversight and completion of relevant staff training.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers accommodate children in emergency situations, providing them with a safe place to live when they need it most. Although this can reduce opportunities to plan and manage transitions for children effectively, the manager has developed a new initial screening tool that will strengthen admission decisions.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff work proactively with commissioners to identify suitable long-term homes for children to move to. Staff make considerable efforts to ensure that children’s moves from the home are managed sensitively and positively.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff develop warm and trusting relationships with children, helping them to feel safe and secure. Children are supported to understand that their stay is temporary while plans are made for their longer-term care. This helps them manage difficult moves and prepares them for future change.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported well by staff to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Where appropriate, staff work effectively with professionals and family members to help children return to live with their families. When plans change, staff respond with sensitivity and compassion, helping children to manage disappointment and minimise feelings of rejection.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a wide range of enjoyable activities and experiences. These opportunities support their emotional wellbeing and help them develop confidence and positive self-esteem.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s physical and emotional health effectively. Children access routine healthcare services and specialist support when required. Staff model good routines, which has contributed to children benefiting from an improved sleep routine and them showing curiosity about different foods cooked by staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC065679 4 The home environment is well maintained, comfortably furnished and suitably decorated. Children benefit from welcoming spaces where they can relax and enjoy activities.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide appropriate support to children who regularly attend school, and they make good progress with their learning. One child has taken their GCSEs and is awaiting their results. Staff have not been professionally curious about one child’s education arrangements where there are barriers to them attending. The limited information about their education plans reduces opportunities to encourage and promote attendance through naturally occurring conversation.

p.4

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s risks, vulnerabilities and behaviours. They use this knowledge to provide care that promotes children’s safety and wellbeing. They implement plans that reduce risk. The consistent care provided by staff helps children develop trust in the adults who care for them.

p.4

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

Staff respond well to incidents where children are missing from home. They work effectively with parents and professionals to locate children when they are not where they are expected to be. Staff follow children’s risk management plans and ensure that they receive a warm welcome home. When children return to the home, staff speak with them about their experiences. This helps to inform future practice so that effective actions can be taken to reduce and respond better to risks.

p.4

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

Staff use physical intervention proportionately. For example, they intervened to prevent a child from causing serious harm to themselves. The registered manager reviewed the incident and raised awareness of local area risks to the child’s social worker.

p.4

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

Managers and staff respond effectively to safeguarding concerns. On one occasion, they took appropriate action following a disclosure made by one child. On another occasion, they managed risks relating to a child’s mobile phone use. Partnership working with local authority social workers and the police has been effective in these instances.

p.4

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

There are limited strategies in place to help staff understand and monitor children’s online experiences. This leaves children potentially vulnerable to accessing harmful material or experiencing online exploitation and abuse.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has an experienced and tenacious manager who understands children’s needs and plans. They are committed to children making good progress and support staff to achieve this. They are supported by a motivated responsible individual who is keen to drive improvement and achieve positive outcomes for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported and understand the vision and aspirations for the home. They speak positively about the leadership and management arrangements in place. Inspection report for children’s home: SC065679 5 Regular supervision and team meetings provide staff with opportunities for reflection, development and support. These arrangements help staff feel valued and contribute to a positive team culture.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective monitoring systems, including audits, observations of practice, and feedback from children and those important to them, are in place. These systems enable managers to evaluate the quality of care provided and gain a clear understanding of children’s experiences in the home. Information gathered through these processes is used to identify strengths, address development areas, and drive continuous improvement in the care children receive.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home benefits from strong partnerships with professionals involved in children’s care. Professionals consistently recognise the home’s strengths, particularly in relation to communication and the positive relationships developed between staff and children.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some staff members have not completed the required training. Managers do not always ensure that all staff complete training relevant to their role and the specific needs of the children living in the home. This does not promote a consistent approach to learning and ensure that staff are knowledgeable about children’s diagnosed conditions. Inspection report for children’s home: SC065679 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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)(b))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that children’s online experiences are understood and that effective systems are in place to reduce online risks. 13 August 2026

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.6

Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(a))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager should ensure that staff receive job- related training as well as training that is specific to the needs of the children who use the service. 13 August 2026

p.6

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: SC065679 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Staffordshire County Council

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Staffordshire Place, Stafford, Staffordshire ST16 2DH

p.7

Inspector

Helen Dunn, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC065679 8 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.

p.7

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 . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8