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Inspection report for children’s home: SC437069 1 SC437069 Registered provider: Derbyshire County Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with learning or physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection. Both children contributed to the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a manager who has made an 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 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: 9 December 2025

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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: SC437069 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/12/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/03/2025 Full Good 03/01/2024 Full Outstanding 17/01/2023 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC437069 3

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Summary of findings

Children’s voices are central to practice, with staff understanding the individual communication needs of each child and working with professionals to ensure consistency. Children make good progress in education. Staff have high aspirations and advocate for children to achieve goals. Children’s achievements are celebrated and communication is adapted creatively so children can understand their progress. Safeguarding is effective, with staff demonstrating good awareness of individual risks and how to respond to keep children safe. Management provides strong oversight of the home with clear understanding of the strengths and areas for development. Managers take a proactive approach to improvement, implementing swift action when issues are identified.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s voices are at the heart of practice throughout the home. Staff understand each child’s individual communication needs. For one child, staff are working closely with external professionals to ensure a consistent approach to communication across all settings. One professional shared that children’s voices are at the centre of all that staff do. This ensures that children’s wishes and feelings are heard and acted on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress in education. Staff have high aspirations for children’s futures and provide consistent encouragement and advocacy to help them achieve their goals. As a result of this support, one child has secured a place at their preferred higher education setting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff celebrate children’s achievements, no matter how big or small. Children receive regular updates on their progress, with staff using individual and creative approaches to ensure that these are meaningful and accessible. For one child, staff presented their progress as a song, enabling them to understand the information in a way that reflected their communication needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to explore and develop their hobbies and interests both inside and outside of the home. Staff encourage children to access community groups and activities that promote their confidence and ability to build positive relationships. As a result, children have opportunities to develop new skills and become active members of their local community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from meaningful relationships with the people who matter most to them. Staff recognise the importance of these relationships and actively promote regular family time. Staff work proactively with significant people in children’s lives to ensure that arrangements are positive and centred on children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC437069 4

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

Safeguarding incidents are rare. When concerns arise, staff respond promptly to ensure that children are safe and well supported. Any concerns raised by children about staff are acted on immediately, with safeguarding procedures followed without delay. Relevant professionals are informed to ensure a coordinated multi-agency response. Children are kept informed about actions taken following their concerns, ensuring that they feel listened to.

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

When medication errors have occurred, thorough reviews have been undertaken to identify causes and reduce the risks of recurrence. The management team has reviewed policies and procedures to ensure they are strengthened. Staff receive additional training to ensure they are confident and competent. Staff competency is assessed and monitored and any concerns addressed before staff are allowed to administer medication. The management team maintains thorough oversight of all medication processes to ensure safe practice.

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

Staff have conversations with children following worries or concerns to ensure they are safe and appropriately supported. However, these conversations are primarily reactive rather than proactive. Ongoing discussions with children to support them in developing and building their understanding of how to keep themselves safe are limited. This is an area for improvement.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s risks and individual needs. Plans relating to children are clear and set out identified risks alongside actions staff need to take to keep children safe. Staff review plans when required to ensure that they remain current and responsive to children’s evolving needs. The manager shares updates with staff promptly to ensure they are aware of any changes and can respond appropriately to children.

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

The management team demonstrates a strong commitment to safeguarding through robust safer recruitment checks. This ensures that only adults who are deemed safe to work with children are employed in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new manager has been appointed and has submitted their application to register with Ofsted. Staff report that the home now feels more settled and better supported under the new leadership. Roles and responsibilities of staff are clearly understood, and staff feel confident in taking on new challenges. One member of staff described that the manager ‘has brought the feeling of stability back into the home for all’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains thorough oversight of the home. Regular audits and reviews are undertaken to ensure this oversight remains effective and consistent. The manager shares their findings with the staff to ensure they are aware of areas of good practice as Inspection report for children’s home: SC437069 5 well as aspects requiring strengthening. This promotes a shared understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is proactive in implementing improvements when areas for development are identified. Swift action is taken to formulate and implement plans to address these areas by management. This ensures that practice is strengthened in a timely and effective manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular team meetings and supervisions, which they report as being beneficial. Children remain the central focus of these discussions. Staff reflect on what is working well and what could be improved. This promotes continuous learning and supports ongoing development of practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a strong focus by management on staff development and learning. Staff feel confident in seeking out new learning opportunities, which in turn supports the development of their knowledge and skills. Staff receive appropriate training to meet the individual needs of the children, ensuring they continue to provide quality standards of care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC437069 6

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Recommendation

 The manager should support children to be aware of and manage their own safety, both inside and outside the home, to the extent that any good parent would. Staff should hold regular conversations with children to help them understand how to protect themselves, feel protected and be protected from significant harm (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)

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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: SC437069 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Derbyshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Derbyshire County Council, County Offices, Matlock DE4 3AG

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Inspector

Jess Baines, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC437069 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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