Children's Home run by A&S Rescue Services Limited in Leicester

Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 1 Registered provider: A&S Rescue Services Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since 21 April 2026. A new manager has been in post since June 2026 but is not yet registered.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home. One child was spoken with as part of the inspection. The other child was not at the home, due to an ongoing incident being dealt with by the home and appropriate agencies.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual, and Ofsted is currently checking that this person has the relevant capacity, experience and skills to carry out the role.

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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: 2807068 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/06/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 3

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Summary of findings

The leadership of the home is not yet stable. There have been numerous changes in leaders, which has had an impact on the leadership and management of the home. Children regularly go missing and are at risk of exploitation. Staff action following children going missing is not consistently fully in line with plans. Staff do not regularly talk to children about their significant vulnerabilities. Children’s wishes and feelings are not captured. One child has made good progress in their education, but there are shortfalls related to education for the other child. Children are not receiving good care.

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improvement to be good

Two children have moved into the home since the last inspection. and children were unable to see their new home before moving in. The previous manager undertook assessments to consider the needs of children moving in and how staff would meet these. However, numerous actions identified in these assessments were not met, including specific training for staff and direct work with children regarding their vulnerabilities.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently meet the health needs of children as identified in plans, including one child not receiving supplements as recommended by specialist health professionals. There has been a lack of progress regarding a child receiving a specialist assessment, which has not been promptly escalated to avoid delay. Following a medication issue, staff practice was changed to support a child to take their medication in a different way, however, this is not recorded in health plans. Health plans are not updated regularly. This impacts on how staff understand how to care for children in relation to their health needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently seek children’s wishes and feelings to support their care planning. For one child, staff have not sought an up-to-date local authority care plan and therefore it is unclear how staff ensure a multi-agency response to the child’s needs. There is a lack of personalisation in children’s bedrooms, despite children wanting this to be improved. Some old items awaiting collection had been left outside, which impacts on the welcoming appearance of the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff have supported one child to make positive progress in their education, which has meant the child has achieved qualifications. However, there has been a lack of progress related to education for another child, and this has not been escalated promptly to avoid delay.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to spend time with their family and take them regularly to their home areas, which supports their identity needs. Staff also support children in relation to their religious identity. Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 4 Several key professionals gave positive feedback about the care children receive. Children gave positive feedback about living in the home. One child has lived in the home for several months. Their social worker said that staff have supported the child well, helping to reduce incidents and prepare them for the transition to adulthood.

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improvement to be good

There are several different plans in place to support staff in the care of children, however, there are various shortfalls in these plans. These include specific vulnerabilities for children not being adequately risk assessed, including those related to criminal exploitation and e-cigarette use. There are vulnerabilities for children included in plans which are not relevant and risk labelling children inappropriately.

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improvement to be good

Children use substances and e-cigarettes, however, one child’s plan states there have been no concerns, despite staff stating the child smokes e-cigarettes and that they have been seen in children’s bedrooms. It is unclear from plans what action staff should take about this, and there has been a lack of direct work with children to attempt to reduce their use of e-cigarettes and substances.

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improvement to be good

There have been numerous occasions when the staff on duty have not had a first-aid qualification. Leaders have not had oversight of this. As a result, staff have not had the appropriate training to support children who have several vulnerabilities that may require prompt medical attention. One child moved into the home with an injury which limited their mobility. Despite this, no evacuation plan was in place for how staff would safely support the child to leave the home in an emergency.

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improvement to be good

There are shortfalls in safer recruitment processes. Several references have not been obtained for the manager and for staff who previously worked in roles involving children. The manager has not yet been able to apply to register with Ofsted, due to a delay in important checks, which leaders were aware of before the manager was employed. This has contributed to a continued period without a registered manager and delayed the stabilisation of leadership arrangements. Although leaders have implemented risk assessments to mitigate potential risks, these measures do not address the underlying gaps in recruitment and registration requirements.

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improvement to be good

Children regularly go missing from home. Staff do not consistently follow plans to carry out room searches when a child goes missing. Key documents that support multi-agency working are not complete, which could impact on swift responses to children being missing. When children return to the home, discussions staff have with them are limited and do not fully explore the reasons they went missing. Independent return home interviews are not held with children, which limits staff’s ability to understand children’s motivation for going missing.

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improvement to be good

A person connected to the child raised concerns that staff have not consistently gone to collect children promptly when they have been missing, which increases risks. Leaders Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 5 have taken action to reduce barriers to staff being able to search for children, and staff travel to cities far away to attempt to find children. The manager is taking steps to escalate concerns to the multi-agency network regarding children being missing regularly.

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improvement to be good

Staff have effective strategies during incidents to support children to feel calmer. As a result, staff have not had to hold children. Staff understand that physical intervention should be used as a last resort.

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

There have been several changes in the leadership of the home since the last inspection. There have been 3 responsible individuals and 2 managers. The most recent responsible individual has resigned. The leadership of the home has not been stable for some time. The new manager has plans in place to develop the home, however, these are yet to be implemented.

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

Leaders do not have good oversight of staff training. The systems in place to monitor staff training do not include all staff members and it is therefore unclear which staff are trained in different areas. There appears to be a lack of training for leaders in the home, which is of concern due to the importance of leaders being able to support and develop the staff team. Staff have not had specific training related to the individual needs of children. This increases risk, as staff are not trained in how to respond to emerging risks.

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

The new manager is yet to implement effective systems of monitoring in the home and has not always been aware of shortfalls in staff practice. For example, medication audits are unclear and the recording system makes it appear there have been medication errors. This was not the case, but the manager had not had oversight of this.

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

Several staff members are significantly outside timescales for completing qualifications. There are a number of gaps in staff supervision, including for new staff. This impacts on staff having the space to reflect on the challenges of the role and to develop their understanding.

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

Team meetings are held regularly, which staff value. The manager supports staff in team meetings to understand specific vulnerabilities for children. Staff feel supported by the new manager, who they feel is implementing positive change. Leaders understand the importance of gaining feedback to support the development of the home and welcome recommendations from independent visitors to improve practice. They had identified a lack of feedback from the home’s previous independent visitor and addressed this by employing a new independent visitor. Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure:

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Requirement Due date

staff follow missing-from-home procedures consistently and that incidents are recorded accurately;

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Requirement Due date

children receive independent return home interviews;

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Requirement Due date

risk assessments should reflect all current risks for children and be clear on how staff should respond to reduce risk;

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Requirement Due date

staff should support children to reduce their substance and e- cigarette use;

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Requirement Due date

staff should talk to children regularly about their specific risks, in line with plans.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 14 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure leaders and staff have training to meet the specific needs of children, and that training outlined in assessments for children moving into the home is provided to staff. Further, ensure staff receive regular supervision. The manager should implement systems of monitoring and review to ensure that any shortfall can be addressed, to improve care for children. 14 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 14 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 8 ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s bedrooms are personalised in line with their wishes and feelings. Further, ensure up-to-date local authority plans are obtained to allow multi-agency care planning for children. Children should be consulted regarding their wishes and feelings, to contribute to their care planning.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s health needs are consistently met in line with recommendations from specialists and plans 14 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 9 outline what action staff should take. Progress for children to receive specialist assessments should be made without further delay.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the employment of any person on a temporary basis at the children’s home does not prevent children from receiving such continuity of care as is reasonable to meet their needs.

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Requirement Due date

at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification. (Regulation 31 (1) (2)(a)) 14 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or 14 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 10 in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must assure themselves of full safer recruitment checks for leaders and staff. Further, staff for whom the expected date of completion has passed should complete their qualification in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home.

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of— the name of the person so appointed;

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Requirement Due date

the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (1)(a) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders must ensure that the manager makes an application to register without delay. 14 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (7)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to ensuring there is a consistent responsible individual in place to support the home. 14 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 11

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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: 2807068 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: A&S Rescue Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Phoenix Studios, 253-255 Belgrave Gate, Leicester LE1 3HU

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Inspector

Lorna Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2807068 13 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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