Children's Home run by Seasons Care Ltd in Dudley

Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 1 Registered provider: Seasons Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately operated home registered with Ofsted in March 2024. It provides care for up to 2 children with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home. They were spoken to and observed during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspectors were aware during this inspection that serious child protection allegations were being investigated by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the allegations were considered alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ judgements.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/06/2025 Full Good 04/09/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 3

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Summary of findings

The child has positive experiences and has made progress while living in this home. They have developed strong, trusting relationships with staff. Managers and staff have provided the child with a stable and loving home to live in.

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Summary of findings

Safeguarding practices are effective. Staff know the child extremely well and always display unconditional regard for the child. They collaborate with partner agencies to safeguard the child and promote their welfare. There is a positive culture of learning and continuous development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has lived in the home for nearly 2 years and is settled. The child has had positive experiences, and they have made progress from their original starting point in areas such as social development, health, and in being able to manage their emotions more effectively. This progress has led to a reduction in the restrictions that were previously in place, and the child has become safer.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build excellent relationships with the child. Staff were observed to be nurturing, resilient and patient with the child. They know the child well and have exceptional knowledge of the child’s nonverbal cues, likes, dislikes and triggers that cause anxieties or frustrations. Staff fully engage with the child’s activities and actively support them to develop and explore their creative talents. They are genuinely proud of the child’s achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of promoting the child’s relationships with family and friends. Through persistent encouragement from staff, the child has been able to rebuild relationships with their family. This will help the child to have a support network around them when they move on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with health professionals and the child to ensure that they have good physical and mental health. Staff have ensured that the child is registered with universal health services and is encouraged to attend appointments. As a result, they are now enjoying improved oral health. Also, the manager and staff seek specialist health support when needed. They encourage the child to eat a healthy diet and take part in regular physical activity, which has helped to improve the child’s overall health and wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff do not always provide effective support for the child with their education. While staff work closely with education professionals to identify barriers and suitable education placements, there is a lack of structure, routine and educational activities when the child is not in school. Furthermore, staff’s encouragement for the child to attend school is inconsistent, which can further affect their motivation to engage in education. Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 4 The home is currently being refurbished. A new kitchen has been installed, and the lounge has been decorated and is awaiting new furniture. While some areas provide a warm, welcoming environment, other areas of the home are not maintained effectively. These shortfalls detract from the homely, welcoming environment.

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

There is a positive safeguarding culture in the home. Staff know the child extremely well. They use their experience and knowledge of the child and follow clear support plans to keep the child safe. As a result, incidents in the home have significantly reduced, and the child is becoming safer.

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

Staff use highly effective, therapeutically informed de-escalation techniques to support the child when they are feeling anxious. As a result, the need for physical intervention has dramatically reduced. When needed, restraint is used as a last resort. The manager has effective oversight of all incidents. They ensure that the child and staff are spoken to after incidents. This helps to ensure that any actions taken by staff are necessary and proportionate and promote learning for staff.

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

The manager and staff respond promptly to allegations and complaints. They quickly share information and ensure that there is a multi-agency approach to keeping the child safe. The manager ensures that complainants are kept informed of any outcomes. This ensures that complainants feel listened to and confident to raise concerns in the future.

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

Staff talk to the child about important topics such as healthy eating, sleep routines, vaping and how to manage their emotions. This helps the child to be informed and keep themselves safer. However, staff do not always maintain consistent boundaries around these areas. This can lead to inconsistent care and confusion for the child about what is expected of them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership and management arrangements are effective. Leaders and managers have developed efficient systems to understand and maintain oversight of the home. They complete regular audits, have oversight of all incidents, and have development plans in place to continually develop and improve the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is caring and child-centred. He has high ambitions and aspirations for the child and staff team to succeed. He is highly reflective and is fostering a culture of learning and development. He encourages the staff team to share this ethos.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Working with the wider network is a strength of the manager. This ensures the child receives well-coordinated care. He is enthusiastic and will advocate for the child when there are delays in resources or when decisions made are not in the child’s best interests. Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 5 Staff say that they feel well supported by the manager. There is a comprehensive training offer established for the staff team. The manager ensures that staff receive regular, good-quality, practice-based supervision and there are regular team meetings. There are opportunities to reflect on practice, with reflective discussions held after all incidents. These processes support staff to feel valued, develop in their role and strengthen their practice. However, the staff team lacks diversity. This means that the child has limited access to role models who understand their gender, culture and lived

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

experiences. Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(viii)(x))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there are effective plans in place to support the child to return to school as soon as possible. In addition, when the child is not in education, there should be routines and educational activities in place that support the child’s learning. 23 August 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

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and 9 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 7 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 socially aware behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there are clear daily structures, routines and boundaries in place that provide the child with expectations of acceptable behaviour and that the child is supported to develop healthy sleep routines.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they seek to establish a diverse staff team with a range of interests, skills and experiences. They should lead staff to share those interests, skills and experiences with the child to enrich their life. In particular, the registered person should ensure that the child has access to role models who understand the child’s lived experiences. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 52, paragraph 10.6)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing environment that meets the needs of the child and that the home is consistently maintained to a good standard, with appropriate window dressings, and that the garden is kept tidy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 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: 2745565 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 121 Livery Street, Colman House, Birmingham B3 1RS

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Inspector

Sonia Sullivan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2745565 10 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 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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