Children's Home run by Sunlight Children’s Care Limited in Derbyshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2762777 1 Registered provider: Sunlight Children’s Care Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to 3 children with social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, no children were living in the home. One child has lived in the home during this inspection period.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since July 2025.

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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

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: 2762777 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/07/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/11/2024 Full Good 12/12/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2762777 3

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Summary of findings

Staff supported the child to make progress with their emotional resilience and learn about the risks of exploitation. The support offered to the child around their emotional wellbeing enabled them to form positive relationships with staff and supported them to engage in education. Leaders and staff carry out effective reflection following significant incidents, which supports learning and safety planning. Leaders and staff knew the child well and had high aspirations for them. Care and risk management plans are detailed but are not child friendly and lack consistency in relation to staff actions. Safer recruitment checks have not been carried out for all staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a strong knowledge of the child’s needs and take time to develop relationships with them, through patient and consistent care. Staff have remained in touch with the child after they have moved out, which is testament to the lasting relationships built. Staff supported the child to move to their new home in a therapeutic manner. They took the child out on a final activity, offering them the chance to create memories together and providing emotional support through a difficult time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with other professionals who support the child. One external professional spoke about the significant social and emotional progress made by the child. Staff recognise the importance of the relationships the child has with different professionals. Staff allow each professional to use their strengths in supporting the child through effective communication and advocacy. The child has accessed education through tutoring and has achieved a qualification. This support has helped the child to build confidence, knowledge and resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff carry out regular and focused direct-work sessions, which are varied and creative and in line with the child’s interests. Staff have sensitive and challenging conversations with the child around relevant topics. These sessions and conversations are clearly recorded, with the child’s views captured. The child has produced artwork on a subject which is important to them. This piece of work showcases what the child has learned and offers advice and motivation to other children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The care plan contains a detailed background for the child which informs the understanding and approach of the staff. However, the care plan does not consistently contain child-friendly language and would not be appropriate to share with the child. The leadership team has put plans in place to address the structure of care plans so that they are more accessible to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home uses CCTV, door alarms and monitors to safeguard the child. The use of CCTV is agreed with children, local authority and carers, but its use and purpose is not clearly stated in the care plan. Inspection report for children's home: 2762777 4

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

Staff respond quickly when the child goes missing. They attempt to follow and locate the child and have developed an extensive mapping tool which lists all known contacts and associates. Staff use this tool to help them, together with police, to locate the child as quickly as possible, reducing the risk of exploitation.

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

Staff carry out proportionate physical interventions with the child when necessary. They consider the child’s preferences and wellbeing when they are held. For example, if the child prefers to be held by either male or female staff, the staff will swap over while a hold is taking place, where safe to do so. Debriefs take place following any intervention, which ensures that the child feels listened to.

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

The child and staff have experienced incidents which have been particularly challenging and distressing. Staff have responded appropriately, contacting the police when required. Managers who are on call also respond quickly and attend the home during the night to support when needed. Staff learn lessons from incidents and have applied this knowledge to subsequent incidents, showing continuous improvement and adaptionin their practice.

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

Staff understand the importance of firm boundaries and predictable care and respond to the child in a safe and caring manner. Staff use a therapeutic approach and a change of face during incidents, which has resulted in the child feeling calm and safe. Consistent responses have provided a secure and trusting base.

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

On one occasion, staff did not try to have a conversation with the child after they returned from being missing, which led to the incident escalating. Staff had failed to follow the risk management plan for the child, which may have prevented the child from being harmed. Risk management plans contain all appropriate risk information for the child, but some important actions and responses for staff to follow are not clear.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a committed manager, who is invested in the progress of the child and encourages continuous learning and reflection. The manager feels well supported by the responsible individual, who offers practical advice, support and guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager carries out detailed debriefs with the child and devotes regular time to the child so that they can give their views. The manager has a strong relationship with the child but has reflected that this may have impacted on staff’s confidence and authority when making decisions. The manager has addressed this through attempting to empower staff and through knowing when to step away from situations and allow staff to take the lead.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Debriefs with staff take place after significant incidents. The manager listens to staff’s concerns and responds in a constructive and supportive manner. The manager is Inspection report for children's home: 2762777 5 prepared to have difficult conversations with staff. Incidents when things have gone wrong are fully explored and investigated. Staff and leaders are encouraged to learn and develop from their mistakes, while interim safety measures are put in place to ensure that the risk to the child is reduced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by the leadership team and praise the child-focused ethos of the home. They say morale has remained strong despite some difficult moments. Staff feel clear on what is expected of them in relation to safeguarding. Processes have been changed and improved, which has led to clearer and more effective communication.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership team and staff have attempted to keep the child at the home for as long as possible, showing commitment to them. There has been continuous reflection on the safety and appropriateness of the placement. The leadership team made the difficult decision for the child to move on. This decision was taken in the best interests of the safety of the child and the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff have achieved, or are working towards, necessary qualifications. There has been a delay in some staff completing specific training around self-harm, which was relevant to supporting the child. This impacted on staff’s ability to make decisions which support the child to stay safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a small staff team at the home and the manager is actively recruiting new staff. The manager ensures that when needed, the same agency staff are used. This offers continuity and security. Safer recruitment checks for one member of staff were not thorough, and there has not been sufficient exploration of information which relates to staff’s ability to keep children safe. Inspection report for children's home: 2762777 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 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 if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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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. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 25 September 2026

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; 25 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2762777 7 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;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to ensuring that full and timely debriefs are carried out with children to assess their wellbeing after they have been missing from home, or after significant incidents have taken place.

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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

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. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(c)(e)) 25 September 2026

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Recommendation

 Any home using CCTV or other monitoring equipment should have a written policy describing how this will support the safeguarding and wellbeing of those living and working in the home in accordance with regulation 24. Homes must gain consent to any monitoring or surveillance by the placing authority in writing at the time of placement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16) Inspection report for children's home: 2762777 8

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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: 2762777 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sunlight Children’s Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 8, Trinity Place, Midland Drive, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands B72 1TX

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Inspector

Patrick Rowell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2762777 10 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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