Children's Home run by Virtue Health Services Ltd in Doncaster

Inspection report for children’s home: 2784182 1 Registered provider: Virtue Health Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately operated. It provides care for one child with a learning disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2026.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home and was spoken with as part of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children's home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2784182 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/05/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2784182 3

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Summary of findings

In a short period of time, the new manager has made significant changes in the home. The consistent care and stability provided by the manager and staff has transformed the child’s life. The child is now able to express their wants and needs through skilled staff support. The child is also now able to manage their emotions well. They have been sensitively reintroduced to school and now live a full and active life.

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Summary of findings

The manager is highly skilled, child-focused and has a deep understanding of the child’s needs and how to prepare them for success. She provides the stability and care that is fundamental to the child’s progress and growth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The child is making incredible progress in all areas of their life. This progress has happened at a phenomenal rate in the past 6 months. The child’s progress has opened new opportunities in the community for them and in education. The child is also being equipped with vital skills for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The manager and staff have warm, affectionate, and trusting relationships with the child. Staff effectively and consistently build structure, routine, and boundaries into the child’s life. This supports the child to feel cared for and offers them stability. The manager and staff are dedicated to the child and continually strive to improve their life and give them new opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The child has made significant progress with their communication. They communicate with staff and other important people in their life confidently and much more easily than they could before. The manager introduced new communication tools to support this. Staff support the child to share their views with professionals who visit, which supports them to shape their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Managers and staff have sensitively supported the child back into school. This has been a huge success. Staff visited school first and assessed carefully if the school could meet the child’s needs before an offer was agreed. The child enjoys going and is building up their time spent in school. They are learning and exceeding the expectations school initially had.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The quality of the child’s daily life has improved immensely. Their week is structured with school and activities which reflect their needs and interests. Staff continuously build on successes and new experiences for the child. This helps the child develop relationships, grow in confidence, access the community, and do new things which may be out of their comfort zone. They also have lots of fun. Inspection report for children’s home: 2784182 4 Managers have created a warm, nurturing, and welcoming home which reflects the personality and needs of the child. Staff involve the child in changes to the home environment, and these are introduced gradually and sensitively, giving the child time to become used to them. Sensory art is comforting for the child, and visual prompts support their decision-making.

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

Staff understand the vulnerabilities of the child and plan effectively to reduce any risks. The manager has a positive approach to risk taking and is thorough, ensuring that good planning is in place and understood by staff for proposed new activities. This helps the child to broaden their life experiences and try new things supported by trusted staff.

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

Managers are forward thinking and foresee risks. Contingency plans are considered and detailed. Practical considerations for emergency situations ensure that the child has important items they may need to help reassure them, items to keep them safe, and visual supports specific to dealing with an unexpected change. Staff also use visual supports to help the child understand changes which they know may upset them to reduce anxiety.

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

Managers and staff are skilled at maintaining a calm, purposeful atmosphere in the home. The gentle approach staff take helps the child to feel safe when they experience strong emotions. There has been a significant reduction in the times where staff have had to physically intervene to keep the child safe. Everyone involved in incidents engages in reflective learning afterwards. Managers have created bespoke visual supports to help the child express their views or for staff to capture observations of unspoken communication.

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

The staff team are newly formed and gave mixed feedback about their safeguarding responsibilities. The manager is upskilling staff in this area through workshops and safeguarding scenarios in staff supervision sessions. The manager has a strong understanding of safeguarding and uses a variety of methods to build staff skills and knowledge.

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

The manager has effective systems to monitor the administration of medication. The child’s medication is given covertly. The manager has ensured that this is done in conjunction with parents and medical professionals, who are fully involved in decision- making. The manager also has identified the steps to take to move the child towards acceptance and taking medication in the future.

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

Managers complete thorough recruitment checks for permanent staff in the home, reducing the risk of unsuitable candidates being appointed. However, managers have not assured themselves that full checks have been completed when agency staff have been used. Inspection report for children’s home: 2784182 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The highly skilled manager is driven by her clear aspirations for the child. She has made a significant difference to the home, the team and to the child’s life. The manager and deputy manager lead and direct the staff team on a journey of continuous improvement to give the child every opportunity in life. Every change and improvement made is child- focused.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers understand the child’s needs extremely well and understand how they experience the world. Managers and staff always work at the child’s pace and do not rush them. They continue to build on and review communication skills and staff understanding of communication tools to open the child’s world. As a result, the child has developed exponentially in recent months. This is recognised and celebrated by all professionals involved and the child’s family.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers support and challenge the staff to work in a consistent way and ensure that there is excellent communication between them. Staff receive regular high-quality practice-related supervision sessions and feel well supported by managers. Managers value and listen to the staff, collaborate with them, and give clear direction. Some staff say that it has been their best experience of being managed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager’s organisational skills, knowledge and diligence mean that she has strong oversight of all aspects of the home and the child’s life. She has built and upskilled the team and improved the home environment. Furthermore, the manager also has established respectful relationships with other professionals involved and ensures that they are up to date with the child’s progress, achievements, or challenges.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager uses relevant research effectively and regularly. She spends her own time summarising research and sharing it with the team. She is committed to develop staff skills and ensure that staff attend training, delivers focused workshops herself in team meetings and brings in specialists to support this. The manager uses discussion and reflection in supervision sessions to assess and evaluate staff fitness to provide safe care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The child now can shape their care and prepare for the future. This has been made possible because of the continuous and determined drive from the manager to give the child opportunity to use their voice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2784182 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all schedule 2 recruitment checks have been completed for agency staff when used in the home. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards' page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 2784182 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Virtue Health Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Oak House, Heavens Walk, Doncaster DN4 5HZ

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Inspector

Carol Jagger, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2784182 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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