Children's Home run by 16Plus Care Support Solutions Limited in South Gloucestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2832109 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: 16Plus Care Support Solutions Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is part of a multi-build registration for up to 5 children living across 2 homes. The home is owned by a private provider and offers care and accommodation for children who have experienced social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living at the home, and both spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since the home was registered with Ofsted in January 2026. This is the home’s first full inspection. The registered manager has been absent from the home since 9 June 2026, and they were not present during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2832109 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Summary of findings

Ineffective leadership and management negatively impacts children’s experiences and progress. Children receive inconsistent care and their needs are not fully met or understood by staff.

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Summary of findings

Poor decision-making and insufficient risk management expose children to increased risk of harm. Staff do not have the skills or experience required to meet children’s needs or help them to stay safe.

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Summary of findings

Fractured relationships in the staff team impact children’s experiences, safety, wellbeing and sense of togetherness. Staff are not receiving the support they require to provide good-quality care to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s experiences and progress are adversely affected by ineffective leadership and management, inconsistent care practice and fractured relationships between staff. Children are not provided with a stable, nurturing and predictable environment in which to live. The provision of inconsistent care undermines children’s sense of security and belonging, impacts their relationships with staff and hinders their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Before children move to the home, there is limited consideration of staff’s ability to meet children’s needs and keep them safe. Children’s care is poorly planned, and staff do not have the skills or experience required to provide effective care. Staff are not provided with clear or specific guidance to support them to care for children, which means that children’s needs are not consistently met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Ineffective decision-making and planning results in inconsistent staff practice and mixed messages for children. Poor oversight of care means that children’s needs are poorly understood and overlooked. As a result, children are provided with varying levels of support, dependant on which members of staff are at the home. This adversely affects children’s well-being and creates uncertainty in their day-to-day lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

School attendance is generally positive. However, when children do not attend school, leaders, managers and staff do not liaise with education professionals to identify how children’s learning should be supported at home. As a result, opportunities to lessen the impact of disrupted education are missed. This hinders children’s educational progress and limits their ability to achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

When children raise concerns about their care, ineffective management oversight results in delayed responses. As a result, swift action is not always taken to resolve children’s concerns, which leaves them feeling unheard, unprotected and dismissed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2832109 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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

Poor decision-making and ineffective risk management result in children being exposed to increased risk of harm. Leaders and managers do not have a clear understanding of what is happening in the home, and staff do not have the skills and experience required to keep children safe.

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

Leaders and managers have identified significant concerns in relation to medication management. Not all staff have sufficient understanding of safe medication storage and administration procedures. As a result, children have been exposed to increased risk of harm. In addition, some members of staff are resistant to constructive feedback from leaders and managers to help them strengthen their practice. Consequently, vulnerabilities in practice persist, as leaders and managers struggle to implement the necessary changes to safeguard children.

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

When concerns are raised about staff practice and conduct, they are shared with the relevant professionals. Investigations are thorough, detailed and informed by evidence. However, one investigation has not been progressed with sufficient urgency and remains unresolved. This is having a significant impact on the staff team and is contributing to ongoing instability in the home, which affects children’s care and experiences.

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

Leaders and managers do not maintain robust oversight of concerns about staff practice that do not meet the threshold for referral to the local authority designated officer. As a result, leaders and managers cannot robustly monitor concerns or identify emerging patterns or themes. This limits leaders’ and managers’ ability to assess risk, improve practice and take appropriate action to protect children.

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

Children are supported to engage with relevant services to help them understand how their behaviour can affect themselves and others. Staff also provide children with advice and guidance to strengthen their understanding of safe and healthy relationships. Children are encouraged to reflect on their own experiences, which helps them to make safer and more positive choices in the future.

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

However, risk management is not sufficiently proactive, and staff do not always demonstrate curiosity about children’s lives when they are away from the home. As a result, there is limited understanding of the risks that children may be exposed to in the community. This leaves children vulnerable to harm because children’s safety outside of the home is somewhat unknown.

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

Leaders and managers do not robustly review the safer recruitment checks that are completed for agency-employed staff. As a result, they cannot always demonstrate that the necessary checks have been performed. This places children at risk of harm. Inspection report for children’s home: 2832109 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has been absent from the home since 9 June 2026. This has created uncertainty for both children and staff. The support and oversight provided by leaders and managers during this time has been ineffective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are not receiving the support that they need to provide good-quality care to children. When leaders and managers offer staff support and guidance, some staff are dismissive and resistant. Staff do not have confidence in leaders and managers, which means that they have not been able to make sustained improvements to the care that is provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is significant conflict in the staff team, which adversely affects children’s experiences, safety, wellbeing and sense of togetherness. Children receive care that is poorly planned and delivered by a staff team that lacks cohesion and a shared purpose. Staff do not always understand or agree with the rationale for decisions that are made about children’s care. As a result, children receive inconsistent care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Although the home has sufficient staff to meet children’s needs, leaders and managers are unable to provide children with continuity of care because of ongoing conflict in the staff team. There are frequent and unplanned changes to staffing arrangements, which creates instability that undermines children’s sense of safety and security.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Feedback from staff highlights the extent of the fractured relationships in the staff team and the detrimental impact on the care of children. Staff describe a culture characterised by poor communication, mistrust and unresolved disagreements. Their feedback is indicative of a closed and toxic culture, which significantly compromises staff’s ability to provide safe and effective care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff say that there is a lack of leadership, which results in the day-to-day running of the home feeling disorganised and chaotic. There are also concerns of bullying behaviours between staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers are aware of the significant shortfalls identified during this inspection, some of which pre-date the registered manager’s absence. Although leaders and managers are taking action to address the vulnerabilities in children’s care, they have lacked urgency and concerns have been left to escalate. The measures that have been introduced to promote improvement are in their infancy and have not yet had a meaningful impact on the quality of care provided to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2832109 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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

* 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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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; and

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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)(b)(c)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must undertake an urgent review of staff skills, experience and practice. Where appropriate, leaders and managers must provide staff with relevant learning opportunities to help them to meet children’s needs and keep them safe. 11 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2832109 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide staff with the support that they need to work cohesively together and provide consistent care that meets children’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure robust oversight and monitoring of the care and protection of children. This must be used to support staff, meet children’s needs and promote continuous improvement to the quality of care that is provided to children.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare; and

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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. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff are provided with clear and agreed guidance to help them to meet children’s needs and keep them safe. Staff must be supported to apply this guidance to their day-to-day practice. 9 October 2026

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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 9 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2832109 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure robust and proactive risk management planning that helps staff to protect children from harm. Staff must also be supported to develop the skills and experience they need to identify risk and take effective action to mitigate it.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must take action to assess and reduce the risk associated with a closed culture.

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Requirement Due date

he 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,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that safer recruitment checks are robustly completed and evidenced for all members of staff, including agency-employed staff, who work with children. 9 October 2026

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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. 9 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2832109 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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. (Regulation 10 (1)(a) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have a clear understanding of children’s health needs and the support they require to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that when children are not attending full-time education, they are supported to engage in structured and well-planned educational activities. The registered person should liaise with the child’s school to identify suitable activities and learning opportunities that will help mitigate the impact of the child not attending school. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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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: 2832109 9 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: 16Plus Care Support Solutions Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Parliament Street, Gloucester GL1 1HY

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Inspector

Martin Brown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2832109 10 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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