Children's Home run by Inspirations Leicestershire Limited in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children's home: SC486398 1 SC486398 Registered provider: Inspirations Leicestershire Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The home is privately owned and provides care for up to 4 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, 4 children were living at the home. Three children's views were obtained and contributed to the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2025.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC486398 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/10/2025 Full Good 21/05/2024 Full Good 17/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/07/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC486398 3

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Summary of findings

The staff are largely inexperienced and new to the home. Leaders and managers have not had sufficient oversight to ensure that staff have received the development to consistently meet children's needs, and this has included learning from incidents that have taken place. This has impacted on the quality of care provided to children. Children's risk assessments are not always appraised to reflect children's current needs and risks, and they do not include clear guidance to inform staff how to manage and respond to children's individual needs and behaviours.

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Summary of findings

Children are making progress in many areas. They are developing good relationships with staff. There is good multi-agency collaboration that leads to coordinated care and support for children. However, changes are required to safeguarding practice in the home to ensure that the children's identified risks and vulnerabilities are understood by staff and to support children to develop and thrive.

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improvement to be good

There are some health and safety hazards and maintenance issues that need to be addressed. For example, 2 children's bedrooms are in poor condition with broken furniture and fittings, exposing hazards. One child's bedroom lacks home comforts and does not reflect the child's age and stage of development. This child's bedroom door does not close, and there is structural damage. This is a fire hazard. The manager and staff do ensure that communal areas of the home are maintained to a good standard.

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improvement to be good

Children are developing good relationships with staff. They can identify staff they can trust and speak to. If children have concerns, they actively seek out comfort from the manager, who is a consistent and nurturing presence in the home. Children understand how to complain if they are unhappy with any aspect of their care.

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improvement to be good

One child has made significant progress with a reduction in missing episodes and risk of exploitation. Staff support the child to recognise unhealthy and risky relationships, and develop the skills to keep themselves safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to develop the skills required for them to live independently. Two children have moved to semi-independence since the last inspection on 6 October 2025. Both children have remained in contact with staff. This is testament to the good experiences and relationships developed while they were living at the home. The manager provides children with personalised letters that celebrate their progress and achievements. This helps children to develop confidence and self-esteem. Inspection report for children's home: SC486398 4 Staff have demonstrated adaptability in developing the skills to support a younger child with complex needs. For example, a sensory circuit has been designed to assist with the child's transition from one aspect of their routine to another. This also includes visual aids around the home. This is having a good impact, helping the child to regulate their feelings. A visual debrief was also created for the child when it was identified that they

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improvement to be good

struggled to revisit incidents verbally.

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improvement to be good

Three children are in full-time education, and they have become more settled and started to develop routines. However, a child's engagement in the life of the home has declined sharply since the last inspection on the 06 October 2025, and they have become isolated. Staff are aware of the need to undertake routine checks on this child throughout the day. However, this is not specified in the child's safety plan or the expectations on staff in undertaking these checks, and promoting engagement lacks clarity. There has been a lack of evaluative review in connection with changes in this child's behaviour. For example, a younger child moved into the home, and staff changes were not considered.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not updated children's risk assessments and safety plans to ensure that they reflect the children's current needs and risks. For example, there is a 12-month gap in information in one child's risk assessment. During this time, risks for the child have changed and escalated. While risk assessments are written sensitively to the child, there is no clear guidance to staff regarding how to manage children's behaviour or routines. This is especially significant given most staff are relatively new to the home.

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improvement to be good

When allegations have been made about staff, these have not always been managed well. When one child made an allegation against a member of staff, the manager repeatedly questioned the child's understanding. This minimised the child's concerns and fails to demonstrate that children are being taken seriously when raising an allegation. There is no record of an internal investigation taking place following this allegation, or learning identified for staff, or support for the child.

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improvement to be good

There is good multi-agency working and collaboration with external professional agencies. The home also receives the support of an assistant psychologist, who is pivotal in developing support plans for the children through liaising with external professionals and reviewing approaches to care practice. Findings are shared with other professionals and staff to ensure joined-up working and encourage a consistent approach being maintained.

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improvement to be good

Staff have received bespoke training to safely restrain a child according to their age and size, if necessary, during transportation. However, records of physical interventions are not always transparent. On one occasion, when a child sustained visible marks to their body, the staff and child involved in the incident all gave differing accounts of what happened. The debriefs with staff and the child were recorded verbatim with a lack of Inspection report for children's home: SC486398 5 critical evaluation, and the sequence of events were unclear. The lack of evaluative oversight meant that opportunities to improve staff practice and reinforce staff accountability in this important area were missed, and there was no satisfactory conclusion to this incident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are weaknesses in the manager's monitoring systems. Audit trails are unclear, some are missing, and, therefore, decision-making by the manager is unclear. Conversations with children following significant events do not indicate who undertook the conversation with the children concerned, and staff do not consistently have planned follow-up conversations with children to address key issues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Most members of the staff team are new and in their probationary periods. None are yet qualified with the relevant qualification in residential childcare. The home has also experienced a high turnover of staff. Additionally, there have been changes to the deputy management arrangements. This has had an impact on the manager's capacity to maintain consistent oversight, including staff development. One member of staff reported that they had not received regular supervision, and several staff members have had their probationary periods extended due to limited progress with completing required training or induction tasks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Team meetings take place on a regular basis and provide a supportive forum for staff to discuss the children's needs and engage in peer reflection. Learning is strengthened by the presence of the assistant psychologist, who identifies key issues through observation and consultations within the home and shares tools and resources for staff to use to improve the quality of care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home's statement of purpose has not been updated and does not include details of the management and staff structure or their experience and qualifications. Inspection report for children's home: SC486398 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 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

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 premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to ensuring that the home, and children's bedrooms, are free from hazards, that risk assessments are up to date and clearly reflect current risks to children and that the risk assessments provide staff with clear guidance and strategies to manage and reduce risks for children and keep them safe. 01 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that no child is subject to any reprisal for making a complaint or representation. (Regulation 39 (3) (4))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, to ensure that all records of complaints and allegations are kept, including the action taken in response, that children are supported through the process of making a complaint and that information is gathered using neutral language. 01 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC486398 7 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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to ensuring that all staff receive regular supervision and that staff in their probationary period complete training in a timely way, as well as ensuring that incident reports are recorded clearly and demonstrate reflection and learning. 01 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children's home. (Regulation 25 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensuring that all children's bedroom doors are fire doors and operate effectively to protect against the risk of fire. 01 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 01 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC486398 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: SC486398 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Inspirations Leicestershire Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 131a London Road, Oadby, Leicester LE2 5DP

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Toni Bartholomew-Smith

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Inspectors

Jenna Allen, Social Care Inspector Sarah Tilbury, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC486398 10 regulates and 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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