Children's Home run by Nurture Care Group Ltd in Wolverhampton

Inspection report for children’s home: 2642297 1 Registered provider: Nurture Care Group Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a small private company. It provides care for up to 3 children, who may have experienced social and emotional difficulties and associated complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The previous registered manager is now in a senior leadership role within the company. A new manager has been appointed and is undertaking the registration process.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children currently live in the home. Two children were present throughout the inspection 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 outstanding

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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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2642297 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/04/2025 Full Outstanding 30/07/2024 Full Good 06/06/2023 Full Good 22/06/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2642297 3

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Summary of findings

Children receive good quality, individualised care from a committed staff team and make considerable progress from their starting points. Children develop trusting relationships with the staff that care for them and benefit from support that promotes their safety, wellbeing and independence. Although there have been isolated shortfalls in practice, leaders respond promptly to address these and drive practice. Leadership and management are a particular strength of the home. Leaders are highly ambitious, reflective and innovative, maintaining strong oversight of practice and an unwavering commitment to improving children’s experiences and outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make remarkable progress in their education. Prior to moving to the home, all children had experienced significant disruption to their education and prolonged periods of non-attendance. Through effective planning and careful consideration of each child’s individual educational needs, leaders and staff have successfully secured appropriate educational settings for every child. Where additional educational opportunities are identified, leaders and staff actively support and encourage children to participate, further enhancing their learning and development. For one child, they successfully secured one of only 100 places available to attend a summer camp designed to provide children with experiences of what it would be like to study at the University of Oxford. This highly competitive opportunity attracted more than 7,500 applications, highlighting the success of the child’s achievement and the quality of the support they have

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a wide range of enriching activities that reflect their individual interests and aspirations. When children demonstrate a particular interest in an activity, staff respond creatively by providing opportunities that further develop their skills, confidence and self-esteem. For example, children have participated in a toddler and teen programme, as well as work experience placements within local early years settings. These experiences have enabled children to develop practical skills while gaining valuable insight into the workplace. For one child, this carefully planned opportunity, alongside preparation for their move to a semi-independent setting, directly contributed to them securing paid employment in a nursery. This approach helps children to develop confidence, broaden their experiences and establish positive support networks within their local community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into and out of the home are carefully planned and managed. Before any new child moves into the home, leaders complete a comprehensive assessment to consider the child’s individual needs, known vulnerabilities and their suitability to live alongside the children already residing in the home. Information is gathered from professionals involved in the child’s wider network to ensure that decisions are informed by accurate and up-to-date information. Leaders also seek guidance from the clinical Inspection report for children’s home: 2642297 4 team and consult with the wider staff team to determine whether the home can meet the child’s needs safely and effectively. Any training, resources or additional support identified as necessary to enable staff to meet the child’s needs is put in place without delay, helping to promote safe, well-planned moves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Supporting children to develop independence is a key strength of the home. Individualised independence plans are introduced at the earliest opportunity and are tailored to each child’s assessed needs and abilities. Leaders and staff regularly review these plans to ensure they remain aligned with children’s care plans and reflect the progress made. Each child has a personalised journey tracker, presented in a child friendly format, this celebrates their achievements, milestones and experiences, helping children to recognise and take pride in their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have, however, not consistently experienced responses from staff that reflect the guidance set out in their safety and care plans. For example, during the review of an incident, senior leaders identified a delay in staff seeking appropriate medical advice after observing concerning changes in a child’s physical presentation. This had the potential to compromise the child’s welfare. When leaders identify inconsistencies in practice, they respond promptly through investigation, reflective discussions and appropriate management oversight to address concerns, strengthen staff practice and improve the quality and consistency of care provided to children.

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

Leaders regularly assess and review staff’s understanding of risk and safeguarding practice. Reflective discussions take place through a range of forums, using previous safeguarding incidents to evaluate staff responses, share good practice and identify learning. These discussions encourage staff to consider how risks could have been reduced, how children’s resilience to risk could be strengthened and how outcomes could be improved for children. This approach enables leaders to identify any gaps in staff knowledge and take timely action to ensure that staff have the skills required to effectively safeguard children.

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

Children’s individual risks are well understood by the staff team. Risk assessments and safety plans are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect children’s changing needs and emerging risks. Staff work proactively with children to help them understand and manage risks in a way that is appropriate to their level of understanding, supporting them to develop resilience. Children are regularly consulted to explore how staff help them feel safe and secure. Their feedback is used to inform care planning and practice, helping to ensure children feel listened to, safe and secure.

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

Leaders and staff respond proactively, when children are at increased risk of going missing, by implementing targeted safeguarding measures to reduce immediate risk and disrupt patterns of concerning behaviour. These interventions are tailored to each child’s individual needs and include, where necessary, increasing staffing levels, focused direct work and increased partnership working to review the effectiveness of children’s safety plans. Leaders continually review the impact of these measures, adapting strategies in Inspection report for children’s home: 2642297 5 response to emerging risks and new information. This proactive approach helps to reduce children’s vulnerability, strengthens protective factors and improves children’s safety.

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

Children’s positive feedback demonstrates the trusting and secure relationships they have developed with the adults that care for them. Children confidently approach staff and leaders for advice, guidance and reassurance, when faced with situations that may expose them to risk of harm. This supports staff to provide timely support, reduce potential risks and promote children’s safety and wellbeing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders are highly ambitious for every child and demonstrate unwavering commitment to improving the outcomes for all children in their care. Leaders have established innovative and effective systems to monitor and evaluate children’s progress, ensuring that the care and support children experience is responsive to each child’s individual needs and aspirations. Leaders use this information proactively to review the impact of practice and identify opportunities for further development. As a result, children benefit from care that is continually adapting to meet their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders consistently invest in the development of the staff team and nurture their development and progression. Leaders have created a culture of innovation, where staff feel empowered to contribute creative ideas that enhance practice and improve outcomes for children. This inclusive and aspirational environment promotes strong professional accountability, enabling staff to take ownership of their roles and make a significant and lasting difference to the experiences and outcomes of the children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers show exemplary partnership working with external agencies. They collaborate with professionalism and purpose, maintaining proactive and transparent communication that consistently promotes the best outcomes for children. Feedback from external stakeholders highlights the effectiveness of this working. One professional stated, ‘The home’s willingness to share information, seek advice when required and work collaboratively with professionals has contributed to the stability of placement and the positive outcomes achieved for [child’s name].’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders are highly visible and provide strong leadership that inspires confidence among children, staff and partner agencies. Leaders advocate passionately for children, challenging partner agencies, when necessary, to secure timely services to meet the needs of children. This strong leadership ensures that children receive coordinated and effective responses giving them every opportunity to achieve the best possible outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No requirements or recommendations were raised during this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2642297 6

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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: 2642297 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nurture Care Group Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hilton Hall, Hilton Lane, Essington, Wolverhampton WV11 2BQ

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Inspector

Charlotte Tippett, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2642297 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.

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Inspector

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