Children's Home run by Prestige Adolescent Care and Education Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report children's home: 2758223 1 Registered provider: Prestige Adolescent Care and Education Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children's home

The home is owned by a private company and is registered to provide care for up to 4 children with social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children's home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in February 2024.

p.1

Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home. Both children spoke with the inspector. One child spoke in person and the other by telephone.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2758223 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/08/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/09/2024 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2758223 3

p.2

Summary of findings

The home provides a nurturing and homely environment in which children are making progress. Children benefit from a stable and consistent staff team that understands their needs and how to support them. Education is promoted and children enjoy a range of fulfilling activities that supports their general wellbeing. Incidents in the home are minimal and feedback from children and stakeholders is positive about the care provided. However, there are some shortfalls including the oversight of medicines, the use of professional curiosity when incidents occur and in planning for children moving into the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home and another child has moved in. The 2 children currently living in the home are making progress across various aspects of their lives. The inspector spoke to both children, one in person and the other by telephone as they were on holiday with family. Both said they were happy and got on well with the adults. They particularly liked the garden, which one child described as 'massive', and enjoyed the activities they got to do. These included golfing and dance lessons.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education. They work alongside professionals to ensure children are in education that best meets their individual needs. When there are difficulties, staff support their professional colleagues to help promote consistency across school and home. This gives the children the best chance of educationally achieving.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's health and wellbeing needs are understood and supported. Children are encouraged to eat healthily and be active. Staff ensure children attend their health appointments and follow advice given by specialists. Where children have specific health needs, staff are sensitive and discrete in their approach so that children do not feel embarrassed or different. This supports children to maintain good health.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a range of opportunities to enjoy new experiences and have fun. Children regularly attend clubs where they are able to pursue interests and socialise with children their own age. For example, one child regularly attends Brownies and dance lessons. During the inspection, the children were preparing for their summer holiday with the staff team. These experiences help children to build positive memories, learn new skills and grow in confidence.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with people who are important to them. For one child, staff are working with professionals to support reunification with their parent. The parent said, 'The staff are all brilliant. I can't fault them at all; they have been an excellent support.' Inspection report children's home: 2758223 4 However, transitions into the home are not always well planned. When one child moved in, they did not have the opportunity to visit the home or meet the staff team beforehand. The other child already living in home was also not made aware of the move. While both children adjusted well, this lack of planning does not help children to prepare for these life changing moments or ensure they are as positive as possible.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained, clean and tidy. It is furnished to a high standard and has homely touches including pictures of the children and fresh flowers. The home is spacious which allows the children plenty of space to play or relax.

p.4

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

Children say they feel safe living at the home. They have built trusting relationships with staff who understand their needs. As a result, incidents involving behaviour are minimal and there have been no occasions where physical intervention has been necessary.

p.4

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

Staff have established clear routines and boundaries which children engage in well. Children are supported through incentives, where they are able to earn extra money if they maintain their routines. These arrangements help children to know what is expected of them and helps them to feel safe.

p.4

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

Children are given regular opportunities to raise any issues or concerns they may have. While there have been no complaints or allegations, staff have a good understanding about what action they must take to respond to children and keep them safe if they do raise any concerns.

p.4

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

Staff respond quickly when children are at risk of harm. For example, when a child showed self-harming behaviour, staff were quick to seek medical attention. This decisive action helped reduce the risk of the child coming to harm.

p.4

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

Staff do not always ensure adequate professional curiosity is demonstrated when children have gone missing. Although staff have conversations with children about the reasons they go missing, staff do not fully explore details such as where children have been or who they have been with. Staff also lack persistence when children do not respond to their telephone calls while they are missing. These factors do not help the staff to mitigate current and future risks and potential harm to children.

p.4

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

There are shortfalls in the management of medicines in the home. On one occasion, staff failed to ensure there were enough medicines available, leaving the child without their prescribed medicine for several days. In addition, temperatures where medicines are stored are not routinely monitored to ensure they are kept within manufacturer's requirements. This could place the child at risk and contribute to a deterioration of their health condition.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced and appropriately qualified manager who advocates well for the children and has high aspirations for them. Feedback from professionals and Inspection report children's home: 2758223 5 parents is positive about the home and the care children receive. One professional said, 'The staff there really know [name of child], they give her space to be comfortable and give her autonomy. They do a good job.'

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable staff team in the home. Staff say they feel well supported and enjoy their work. They speak warmly about the children in their care. Staff receive regular supervisions and annual appraisals where they can discuss their work. Well attended team meetings also provide opportunities to share important information about the children and their support needs. This helps children to receive consistent care and support which adds to them feeling safe.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular training opportunities to equip them with the skills needed to help the children in their care. Staff receive training specific to children's needs and advice from a therapist who works closely with the children. Staff are encouraged to obtain the relevant qualification in residential childcare. This ensures children are supported by staff with the skills and knowledge to do so.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children's views, wishes and feelings are actively sought. However, children do not always receive a timely response to reasonable requests. Regular house meetings are held so that children can have input into the running of the home as well as opportunities to discuss how they are feeling. However, on two occasions the children had made repeated requests for changes to their rooms or activities but had not received a response. This does not help children to feel heard or valued. Inspection report children's home: 2758223 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children's home. (Regulation 23 (1))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure effective systems are in place so that children are not left without their required medicines and for ensuring medicines are stored at the correct temperatures, in line with manufacturer's instructions. 31 August 2026

p.6

Requirement Due date

The children's views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

p.6

Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children's care and welfare and their lives.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child's views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child's best interests when making decisions about the child's care and welfare;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child's views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(iii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure professional curiosity is applied when children go missing to enable them to 31 August 2026 Inspection report children's home: 2758223 7 better understand and mitigate risks to their safety. In addition, when children make reasonable requests, they must be carefully considered and, when not acted on, children must be given an open and honest account of the reasons for this decision without delay.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.7

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children's home; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure, where practical, the child moving in and other children living in the home are helped to prepare for the move. 31 August 2026

p.7

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 children's home: 2758223 8

p.7

Children's home details

Registered provider: Prestige Adolescent Care and Education Limited

p.8

Children's home details

Registered provider address: 90 King Street, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire ST5 1JB

p.8

Inspector

Louise Naylor, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2758223 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9