Children's Home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited in Nottingham

Inspection report for children's home: 1256610 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited

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Full inspection THE Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The privately owned children’s home is owned and operated by a private charity. It provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

Since the last inspection, 2 children have moved out of the home and 1 child moved in on day 2 of the inspection. This child was spoken with.

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Information about this children's home

An experienced registered manager oversees the home.

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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: 1256610 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/08/2025 Full Good 23/07/2024 Full Good 10/10/2023 Full Good 27/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1256610 3

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Summary of findings

Children are making good progress and their individuality is valued and celebrated. Bedrooms are personalised to reflect children's interests and preferences and are suitably furnished to meet their age and developmental needs. Leaders are strong advocates for children and proactively challenge local authorities when necessary to ensure children's needs are met. Children are supported to move into new homes in a planned and sensitive way, with leaders helping prospective carers to understand children's needs. However, safeguarding processes were not followed on one occasion when a child raised concerns about a staff member. In addition, recording of incidents is inconsistent, children are not always spoken to following incidents, and feedback from professionals is not routinely sought, limiting opportunities for evaluation and service improvement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a warm and welcoming home. Photographs displayed throughout the home celebrate the children’s achievements and life experiences. Children’s bedrooms are thoughtfully personalised and decorated to reflect their individual personalities, helping them to feel valued. Staff know the children well and take time to listen to them and help them work through more difficult feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to move into their new homes in a positive, well-planned and child-centred way. Leaders take time to ensure that children's new families have a good understanding of their individual needs, routines and preferences. Children are supported to feel excited about their move and are kept informed throughout the planning process, helping to reduce uncertainty and promote positive transitions. Records relating to children's moves are child-focused and written directly to the child, making them accessible and meaningful. Importantly, when children move on from the home, leaders and staff maintain regular contact where appropriate, helping children to sustain trusted relationships and providing them with ongoing emotional support during this significant period of change.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to understand and manage their emotions. When children experience heightened emotions, staff take time to explore these with them using creative and reflective approaches that help children recognise, understand and express their feelings. Staff work sensitively with children to identify strategies that can support them when they are struggling emotionally.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Key-work sessions are planned and delivered regularly to ensure that children receive consistent and targeted support. These plans are individualised, reflect each child's current needs and experiences, and help children to make progress in areas that are important to them. This approach promotes children's emotional wellbeing and supports them to develop resilience and positive coping skills. Inspection report for children's home: 1256610 4 Family time is prioritised, and children are supported to spend meaningful and safe time with those who are important to them. Families are kept informed through weekly updates that include details of activities and photographs. Feedback from families is highly positive, with one family member stating that staff and leaders go ‘above and beyond’ for children. Children's friendships are also actively promoted. Leaders advocate for children to spend time with friends, including visits to their homes and social

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

opportunities within the home. Despite delays from the local authority in approving overnight stays, leaders continue to champion children's wishes and escalate concerns appropriately to support and maintain important friendships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's views are gained regularly. Children participate in monthly meetings and their wishes are explored. Detailed minutes reflect that staff understand children's wants and are proactive in actioning this.

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

Children's plans are written in a child-friendly, strengths-based manner that reflects a good understanding of each child's individual needs. They clearly identify children's strengths while also recognising their vulnerabilities, risks and the factors that may influence their emotions and behaviours. Plans demonstrate that children are known well by those who care for them and provide staff with clear guidance that can be implemented confidently and consistently. This supports children to better understand and manage their emotions. Staff and professionals routinely review and acknowledge updates to plans, helping to ensure that children's care remains coordinated, relevant and responsive to their changing needs.

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

Staff manage medication safely and effectively, supported by regular monitoring and oversight from leaders. Physical intervention is only used as a last resort to keep children safe. Following incidents, staff take time to speak with children, helping them to understand what has happened and express their views and feelings. Staff also participate in reflective debriefs to consider potential triggers and identify strategies to reduce future incidents. Consequences are proportionate and explained to children in a child-friendly way, enabling them to understand expectations and the reasons for decisions. As a result, children receive consistent and therapeutic care that promotes their safety, supports their emotional well-being, and helps them to develop a greater understanding of their behaviours and emotions.

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

When children raise concerns about staff members, these are generally investigated appropriately. Children's views are sought; they are updated on the outcome of investigations, and relevant professionals are informed. However, on one occasion, the outcome of a referral to the local authority designated officer was not recorded. In addition, a disclosure made by a child regarding concerns about a staff member was not recognised or acted on. Consequently, management was unaware of the concern, no investigation took place, and the child did not receive an opportunity to discuss their worries. Inspection report for children's home: 1256610 5 The quality of incident recordings is inconsistent. While some records are detailed and child centred, others lack important information about events leading up to and during incidents. This limits opportunities for reflection, evaluation and learning. Furthermore,

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

children do not always receive meaningful conversations following incidents, particularly when they have been harmed by their peers. As a result, children may not have opportunities to share their feelings, receive appropriate emotional support or contribute to strategies aimed at reducing future incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager leads by example and promotes a therapeutic, nurturing culture within the home. Staff describe receiving excellent support and report having confidence in the leadership team. The manager is highly regarded by staff, with one staff member describing her as being ‘empowering’ and leading the home with a ‘love-led approach’. The manager's commitment and dedication to both children and staff are evident in day- to-day practice and contribute to a positive and supportive environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders are strong advocates for children and are committed to ensuring that their needs are understood and met. When concerns arise, leaders are proactive in escalating these to the relevant local authorities and professionals. Clear chronologies demonstrate persistent and effective challenge on behalf of children. Leaders work tenaciously to ensure that children's voices are heard and that professionals remain focused on improving outcomes for them. As a result, children benefit from leaders who are ambitious for their futures and committed to securing the support they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings focus on children's experiences. Leaders ensure that all staff members are confident in children's current plans and are given the opportunity to express any concerns or highlight any worries with the children. Staff attendance is high.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to a wide range of training opportunities, including training tailored to the specific needs of the children they care for. Management has effective systems in place to monitor training completion and ensure that staff develop the knowledge and skills required to meet children's individual needs. However, not all training identified within the home's statement of purpose has been completed. This means leaders cannot be assured that staff have received all of the training deemed necessary for their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders do not routinely obtain feedback from professionals involved in children's care. Opportunities to evaluate practice, identify areas for development and drive continuous improvement may be reduced. Furthermore, the independent visitor has not consistently sought feedback from professionals over a significant period of time. This limits the effectiveness of independent monitoring and reduces external scrutiny of the quality of care provided to children. Inspection report for children's home: 1256610 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child's behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children's previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(v)(x)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff respond consistently to children during and following incidents, providing them with opportunities to share their views, reflect on their experiences and receive appropriate emotional support.

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Requirement Due date

Furthermore, the registered person must ensure that records of incidents are comprehensive, accurate and clearly detail the events leading up to, during and following an incident. 23 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 1256610 7 Managers should provide staff with specific guidance, support and oversight where necessary to promote high-quality recording and enable effective evaluation, reflection and learning.

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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

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

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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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when children raise concerns about staff members, safeguarding procedures are followed consistently. This includes ensuring that concerns are appropriately recognised, investigated and responded to, and that children are provided with opportunities to discuss their worries and receive feedback on the outcome.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that all communication and decisions made by the local authority designated officer (LADO) are accurately recorded and retained within the home's records. 23 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 1256610 8 The registered person must also ensure that staff complete all training identified within the home's statement of purpose, enabling them to fulfil their roles and responsibilities effectively.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that feedback from families, professionals and other stakeholders is routinely sought, evaluated and used to inform service development. In addition, implement effective monitoring systems to identify learning opportunities and drive continuous improvement in the quality of care provided to children.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and ensure the independent visitor continually gains professional feedback. (Guide to Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ Page 55, 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: 1256610 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Black Country House, Rounds Green Road, Oldbury, B69 2DG

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Carla-Marie Dore

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Inspector

Louisa West, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1256610 10 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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