Children's Home run by Ideal Social Care Group Ltd in Peterborough

Inspection report for children's home: 2803293 1 Registered provider: Ideal Social Care Group Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home is run by a private organisation and provides care for up to 3 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The manager has been in post since March 2026 and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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: 2803293 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/05/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2803293 3

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Summary of findings

Children have positive experiences living at this home. Children are making progress in education and are learning new skills. Staff keep children safe.

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Summary of findings

The home is sufficiently staffed with a stable workforce. Feedback from professionals on children's development is unanimously positive.

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Summary of findings

Shortfalls identified include damage to some areas of the home and inconsistent consultation with stakeholders during external monitoring.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child moved into the home and one child moved on. At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living at this home. Neither child was involved in the inspection as both children were away on holiday. The inspector spoke to the child who had moved on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has lived at this home since its registration in October 2024. Another child lived at the home for over a year before they moved on. Staff are committed to the children and have developed positive relationships with them. Consequently, the children experience stability and make progress in all aspects of their development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's moves into and on from the home are carefully managed. The manager considers children's contrasting needs and how staff will be able to meet the needs of both children. The child who moved in visited the home and met staff and the other child already living at the home prior to moving in. This helped them to settle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in their education due to the help and support of staff. Staff promote engagement and understand the barriers to children's learning. Managers advocate on the children's behalf for them to have education offers in line with their needs. One child who was out of school for a significant period now has tuition. Another child was successfully reintegrated back to education and sat their exams. This was something that was not felt achievable previously. Staff are proactive and creative. They successfully identified and are funding a practical equine care course for one child. This experience has helped to rebuild the child's routine and a sense of achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to prepare for their futures. They teach children independence skills such as cooking, budgeting and applying for jobs. The child who moved on had a positive transition experience, with staff holding sensitive conversations at the child's pace. Staff supported the child to view their new home and provided essential items to help them settle in. Inspection report for children's home: 2803293 4 Staff encourage the children to spend time with their family. They build positive relationships with parents. Staff welcome family visits to the home and support the children to maintain connections with their friends. Staff attend church with one child, helping the child to observe their religion. This helps children to maintain a positive sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some areas of the home detract from the overall homeliness. For example, there is visible damage in the hallway, living room and the child's bedroom. This affects children's sense of comfort.

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

Children feel safe in the home, and feedback from professionals supports this. One child said, 'This home is the safest place I ever lived.'

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

Staff and managers work effectively with other professionals. They seek support and guidance to ensure that children's needs are met. Risks have reduced for the children during the time they have lived at the home.

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

There have been some missing-from-home incidents for one child since the last inspection. When children go missing, staff know what to do and implement the clear protocols in place. They act like a caring parent and contact known associates and look for the child. Staff share information with the police and social workers and request the child's placing authority carry out a return home interview. Staff have conversations with the child when they return to try to better understand risk and how to prevent further incidents. As a result, missing-from-home incidents have reduced. The child's independent reviewing officer said, 'This has been the most stable period of their life.'

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

Staff use clear strategies to de-escalate situations effectively. When these are not effective, staff use physical restraint to keep children safe. Physical intervention, when used, is appropriate, necessary and proportionate. The manager undertakes debriefs with staff following incidents. The manager and staff discuss incidents with the children. They help the children to reflect on incidents. They listen to the child's views on restraint and explore outlets for the child to express their feelings. The manager analyses incidents to identify any emerging trends and uses learning from these to improve practice. Consequently, the use of physical interventions for one child has reduced.

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

There have been some allegations about staff. When these occur, the manager ensures that the children are kept safe and informs relevant professionals, which provides a transparent approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been leadership changes since the last inspection. However, these have been carefully managed to minimise the impact on staff and children. The previous registered Inspection report for children's home: 2803293 5 manager assumed another role in the organisation. The new manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is sufficiently staffed with a stable and committed team. Agency staff are rarely used. The stability of the staff team ensures continuity of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that they are well supported by managers and have regular supervision sessions. These supervision sessions focus on staff's wellbeing and the children's needs. Staff benefit from a variety of training that has a positive impact on their practice. The manager ensures that staff have access to specific training tailored to the neurodiverse needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers promote a learning and reflective culture. Managers identity learning following incidents, and this is cascaded to all staff. Senior leaders analyse trends in the use of physical interventions and address practice issues through individual supervision sessions and team meetings. Managers and staff reflect on and adapt support strategies for children to align with the children's changing needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff use therapeutically informed and kind language in children's records. They write with the child in mind. This helps the child to develop a positive self-image.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The required external monitoring sometimes lacks vigour. Stakeholders are not consistently consulted. Information is not evidenced, and the views of others do not inform service development. One recommendation from the last inspection is restated. Inspection report for children's home: 2803293 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. All accommodation and furniture should be maintained to a good standard. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent monitoring (including under regulation 44) to ensure continuous improvement. In particular, ensure that the independent person seeks the views of external stakeholders regularly. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 55, paragraph 10.24).

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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: 2803293 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Ideal Social Care Group Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 83 Westbury Drive, Hampton Gardens, Peterborough PE7 8QW

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Inspector

Priscilla Koroka, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2803293 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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