Children's Home run by Anchor Care and Education Ltd in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children's home: 2637127 1 Registered provider: Anchor Care and Education 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 owned and provides care for up to 4 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The manager is not registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children's home

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. Their views were sought during the inspection.

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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: 2637127 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/05/2025 Full Good 12/11/2024 Full Good 08/08/2023 Full Good 10/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2637127 3

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers provide good oversight, with a clear focus on driving improvement and maintaining high standards. The manager and staff team know the children well and use this understanding to provide individualised, child-centred care. There are clear processes and systems in place to review strategies and behaviour management approaches. Children's care is regularly reviewed to ensure consistency across the team, with the staff and children being included in these reviews. This helps to ensure that practice is consistent and that there is a clear understanding of how to support each child's needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and welcoming, providing children with a range of areas where they can play, relax and spend time together. Although some repairs and maintenance works have not always been completed promptly, the manager is taking steps to ensure repairs and maintenance are completed in a timely manner moving forwards. This will ensure that the environment remains safe and well-kept for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive care from a dedicated staff team that has built trusting relationships with them. These relationships help children feel safe and supported when sharing concerns. Children's views are respected and incorporated into day-to-day practice, including decisions about their personalising the home and children's daily routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are engaging in education and making good progress. For example, one child now attends school full time. This is a significant achievement given their previous struggles in this area. The staff team works closely with each child, their schools and other professionals to establish routines, build children's confidence and increase motivation. This has enabled barriers to attending education to be overcome.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have developed a creative and meaningful approach to life-story work with the children. For example, the staff have created videos sharing their feelings, experiences and happiest memories with children and include photo reels and feedback from the children themselves. This will enable children to look back on important milestones, their time at the home and the special moments shared.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are strong advocates for children. They ensure children's health and developmental needs are identified and met through effective partnership working with specialist services, including child and adolescent mental health services. They persist in progressing referrals for assessments when needed and promote children's long-term wellbeing. Staff also encourage healthy lifestyles and consistently celebrate children's achievements, helping them to develop confidence, positive self-image and pride in their individuality. Inspection report for children's home: 2637127 4 Children are supported and encouraged to explore their aspirations and careers. Staff provide encouragement and guidance, helping children to make informed decisions about their future. One child regularly attends fire cadets. This is a fantastic achievement, helping them to build confidence and develop valuable skills and future opportunities.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children's risks and individual needs. Plans relating to children set out identified risks alongside actions staff need to take to keep children safe. However, these documents are lengthy and include historical information that is no longer relevant to children. This can make it difficult for staff to quickly identify current key risks and required actions.

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

There has been a significant reduction in the number of incidents of children going missing from home. When they have occurred, staff respond quickly and appropriately, ensuring the children know that staff really care about them. As a result, children feel secure at the home and have an increased sense of belonging.

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

Staff hold regular conversations with children about how to keep themselves safe and revisit these discussions to ensure understanding is maintained. When incidents arise, staff respond promptly to ensure children's immediate safety. All incidents are reviewed by senior leaders, ensuring reflective practice discussions take place and lessons learned are identified, with changes made to practice where identified.

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

Children are making significant progress. The frequency of incidents has reduced, and staffing levels have appropriately decreased from 3-to-1 support to 1-to-1 support. As a result of this progress, one child will now be going on holiday to the seaside with the support of one staff member. This demonstrates the positive impact of the care and support children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She is well supported by a senior management team that is regularly present in the home, offering consistent guidance and support to the staff team. The management team has developed strong relationships with children, who know them well. This has created a positive, nurturing environment and gives children confidence in the home's leadership.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers demonstrated a strong commitment and perseverance when reviewing the future of a child's placement. Despite previously considering serving notice, after careful reflection, they decided to continue working with the child rather than ending the placement. Over the past year, the child has made substantial progress, and their overall wellbeing has improved significantly. This demonstrates the home's commitment to working through challenges, providing stability and giving children the opportunity to succeed. Inspection report for children's home: 2637127 5 Leaders and managers have carefully sourced a new staff development programme to strengthen practice. This will provide the manager with a complete analysis of the staff training needs and will directly inform the training programme. It will also enable the manager to work more effectively with individual staff members by recognising different

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

learning styles, skills and personal strengths. This reflects a clear commitment to developing staff and ensuring they have the right skills and knowledge to meet children's needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have improved the quality and consistency of recording. This remains an ongoing process. The manager is aware of this and, alongside the deputy operational manager, maintains constant oversight to ensure that records are accurate, detailed and up to date. This oversight helps to drive quality and ensure that recording continues to improve across the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2637127 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 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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the registered manager ensuring that maintenance needs are addressed without delay. 30 September 2026

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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: 2637127 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Anchor Care and Education Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Ensors Accountants LLP, Saxon House, Moseley's Farm Business Centre, Fornham All Saints, Bury St. Edmunds IP28 6JY

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Inspector

Sarah Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2637127 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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