Children's Home run by Headway Adolescent Resources Limited in Somerset

Inspection report for children’s home: 1249196 1 Registered provider: Headway Adolescent Resources Limited

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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 by a private provider. It provides care for up to 4 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living at the home. The inspector spent time playing and talking with the children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2025.

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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: 1249196 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/06/2025 Full Good 22/07/2024 Full Good 23/05/2023 Full Good 26/07/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1249196 3

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Summary of findings

Managers and staff provide a stable and supportive environment in which children feel safe and cared for. They receive high-quality care from a team of staff who know them well and understand their individual needs and vulnerabilities. As a result, children are making positive progress from their starting points across different areas of their development, and they have built strong, trusting relationships with staff. Families and professionals speak highly of the care provided, recognising the home’s positive influence on children’s progress and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are settled and happy in this home, having been supported to develop a sense of belonging. They have built strong relationships with staff based on trust and respect. Staff adopt an empathetic, playful approach that engages children and encourages interaction. Children and staff come together to share evening meals. Children appear settled and comfortable around staff. They approach staff for support and affection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to express their views. Staff take time to explain, observe and listen carefully to children. Staff support children to manage their relationships. When there was a concern about conflict between the children, each of them was supported sensitively. Staff helped the children to resolve any tension and move forward in a positive manner. There have been no further issues.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well understood by staff, who ensure they have positive health outcomes. Staff take children to routine appointments and help them to access specialist services. Children make good educational progress from their starting points because staff address any barriers to learning. One child has made particularly good academic strides, enabling them to sit an exam.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The property is homely, with lots of toys and games and pictures of children displayed. The garden is vast, and children enjoy using the swimming pool and the outdoor space to play and ride their bikes. However, the home looks tired and untidy in some areas. Renovation plans are underway to address this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are dedicated to helping children remain connected with those people who matter most to them. They recognise that strengthening family bonds is vital to children’s identity and overall wellbeing. When appropriate and safe, they collaborate with families and professionals to foster and maintain positive relationships.

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

Staff understand the vulnerabilities and potential risks children experience. They manage and reduce these risks by collaborating with a specialist training and clinical support Inspection report for children’s home: 1249196 4 provider to develop strategies and plans to help keep children safe. Incidents of concerning behaviour are not common, but when they do occur, staff respond in the best interests of the children. They recognise the value of clear, consistent boundaries.

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

Staff have developed an in-depth understanding of each child’s needs and know how to support them effectively when they are emotionally unsettled. The strategies staff employ take into account each child’s preferred approaches, helping children to feel calmer and more settled, as well as providing a sense of belonging and stability.

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

Children can identify staff they can approach to express their worries and concerns. Staff have open conversations with children, often discussing sensitive information in a child- friendly manner. Staff listen carefully to children to understand their concerns, respond appropriately and take prompt action to alleviate any fears and ensure that children feel protected and safe.

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

Staff take a positive approach to children’s behaviours and quickly de-escalate incidents. As a result, there have been no instances of physical restraint or episodes of children going missing from the home since the last inspection. Staff are confident about the procedures for responding to safeguarding concerns.

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

Managers respond appropriately when children raise concerns about staff, demonstrating that they listen to children. They follow established safeguarding procedures and consult children’s social workers and other local authority professionals. They conduct internal investigations and share the outcomes with external professionals and the children.

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

The home is fully staffed, following a recent recruitment drive. When new staff join the team, appropriate safer recruitment checks are carried out to help the registered manager determine that they are suitable to work with vulnerable children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager strongly advocates for children, ensuring that their views, wishes and feelings are heard, especially when she believes other professionals have fallen short in their duties towards children. She speaks with enthusiasm and commitment about the children. She is a child-focused practitioner who has inspired her team to embrace this approach, which is clear in the staff’s interactions and the strong family-oriented culture.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the manager, with regular supervision and team meetings used effectively to reflect on the care they provide, ensuring children’s needs are met. The culture promotes openness and transparency, emphasising learning and development. Staff are supported in developing the skills and experience necessary to meet children’s needs and keep them safe. As a result, children are making good progress from their starting points and they feel happy and safe in this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the quality of care delivered to children, and her oversight is evident in records. She supports staff to deliver good care to children by Inspection report for children’s home: 1249196 5 monitoring their development through training, supervision and observation of their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children’s welcome guide is lacking some information. It does not include clear contact details for raising concerns or complaints and contains outdated staffing information. This limits children’s access to accurate information about who to contact if they need support or wish to make a complaint.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from external professionals and families is complimentary. They state that children have made good progress from their starting points due to the care and support they have received from staff. One family member said, ‘As a parent, you couldn’t wish for your child to be in a better home. The home goes above and beyond. They are compassionate and proactive. The home is the best I’ve ever come across in my child’s time in care.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 1249196 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

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document; (Regulation (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the children’s guide helps children to understand what they can expect from the home including quality of care, entitlement to support, how they can make a complaint about the home and/or staff, and how they can access advocacy support. 30 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 1249196 7

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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: 1249196 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Headway Adolescent Resources Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Headway, Malvern View, Saxon Business Park, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove B60 4AD

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Inspector

Darren Wickens, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1249196 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 children looked after, safeguarding, and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the

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Inspector

terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspector

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Inspector

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