Children's Home run by Anchor Care and Education Ltd in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children's home: 2775281 1 Registered provider: Anchor Care and Education Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private company. It offers care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living in the home. Both children contributed to the inspection.

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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: 2775281 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/05/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2775281 3

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Summary of findings

Children are making progress in various areas of their lives. Staff support this through planned purposeful work that is personalised to children and their needs. Children have positive relationships with staff, who are confident in supporting them. When children are distressed, staff respond appropriately to this to keep children safe. There are some shortfalls in the reporting of physical interventions. Managers and leaders know the home well and are providing effective support and leadership. They are confident in leading the home and supporting staff. They understand children and staff and spend dedicated time with children that assures them of the quality of care being provided.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in important areas of their lives. One child has returned to full-time mainstream education. Another is now attending a dance class, which they were previously too anxious to do. The child is now developing relationships with peers as a result.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience playful and nurturing relationships with staff in the home. Children said they feel safe and well supported. They could highlight trusted staff who they would talk to and shared positive memories and experiences. Children feel heard, and trust that staff will act when they have requests, worries or concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, this is managed in a planned way. Managers collect additional information from social workers to inform the transition. Staff meet children before they move into the home, to start building relationships and provide reassurance. The manager understands the impact of transitions on the other child in the home. Children are well prepared for any disruption and changes when others move into or out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have moved out of the home since the last inspection. This was due to their wishes and feelings and sudden changes in their care plans. Managers made every effort to make these endings positive, such as making phone calls to children when they have left the home and offering final visits and trips with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of direct work and conversations with children. Conversations are planned and purposeful, about important areas of children’s lives. Managers have devised creative solutions when children struggle to engage in direct conversations. For one child, staff now have regular short, indirect conversations. This supports them to reflect on how their behaviours can affect those around them, without overwhelming them. As a result, direct work with children is meaningful and impactful for them. Inspection report for children's home: 2775281 4 External professionals and family members have good working relationships with the home. Staff and managers ensure regular updates are shared with all people who are important in the children’s lives.

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

Staff understand the behaviours and risks of individual children. They are confident in using de-escalation tools that support children when they are distressed. Children’s plans reflect the depth of knowledge around their triggers, behaviours and effective strategies.

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

Managers respond promptly and effectively when allegations are made against staff. They ensure that the local authority designated officer is informed and take advice on next steps. Appropriate safeguards are put in place for children and staff until an outcome is reached. Staff carry out sensitive conversations with children around false allegations and the importance of honesty.

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

Staff understand how to respond when children display self-injurious behaviours. When incidents of self-harm have increased, managers have put in additional safety plans to ensure children are kept safe. Responses to this are balanced to ensure safety while not unduly restricting children for a prolonged time.

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

Physical intervention is used as a last resort to keep children safe. Records lack clarity on what physical interventions were used, when and for how long. This impacts on the potential for managers to have sufficient oversight. There have also been occasions when the manager was involved in the physical intervention and carried out the oversight and debriefs with staff and the child. This limits the ability for leaders and managers to evaluate and provide scrutiny on the effectiveness of the measures.

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

Children’s progress is recognised and rewarded regularly by staff. However, consequences are also regularly implemented following incidents. Managers have recently revised consequences when they have not been considered effective. However, after some incidents, children have received a financial consequence as well as a loss of activities for the same incident. Children are not always offered opportunities to reduce consequences through restorative work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides strong and child-centred leadership. She is determined and promotes the importance of resilience and perseverance for children. She understands the children and the underlying reasons for behaviour which may challenge. This approach has been cascaded through the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by managers. They say the visibility of the manager is a strength and feel able to approach her with any worries or concerns. This ensures staff feel listened to and valued. Inspection report for children's home: 2775281 5 Team meetings are held regularly, and staff are given specific jobs and allocated key- working sessions to carry out that month. Managers ensure accountability for staff tasks, with responsibilities delegated fairly throughout the team. Staff also receive regular supervisions that support reflective practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff receive a very detailed induction that balances training and shifts in the home. This ensures staff are sufficiently trained before working with children. Staff are yet to receive training around sexualised behaviours and exploitation, which is a known risk for one of the children. This would deepen staff knowledge around this behaviour and how to respond to concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is very present in the home and actively involved with the children to assure herself of the quality of care provided. The positive relationships between the children and manager are evident and support children to feel listened to and valued. The manager has oversight of all documents and makes adjustments and changes to working practices when patterns and trends are noticed. The manager is supported by several senior leaders who also carry out additional audits and oversight to continue to develop the quality of care provided. Inspection report for children's home: 2775281 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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 22 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2775281 7 within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to clarity in records of what physical intervention was used, where, when and for how long. Also, to ensuring that oversight of documents is carried out by someone not involved in the incident, to review the effectiveness of the measure used.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that staff are suitably trained to meet the assessed needs of all the children in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1)

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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: 2775281 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Anchor Care and Education Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ensors Accountants LLP, Saxon House, Moseley’s Farm Business Centre, Fornham All Saints, Bury St Edmunds IP28 6JY

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Inspector

Becki Cornes-Sinclair, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2775281 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 looked after children, safeguarding, and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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