Children's Home run by Mulberry House Care Homes Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report children's home: SC060554 1 SC060554 Registered provider: Mulberry House Care Homes Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

A private organisation operates this home. It provides care for up to 3 children who experience social and emotional difficulties. There is a permanent registered manager in post, who is suitably experienced and qualified.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, there were 3 children living at the home. Two of the children spoke with the inspector.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 9 September 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC060554 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/09/2025 Full Good 19/12/2024 Full Good 21/08/2023 Full Good 04/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: SC060554 3

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Summary of findings

Children are making good progress in aspects of their lives and are provided with lots of opportunities to take part in a range of fun activities, such as trips to the seaside and pamper evenings with staff. Staff have a thorough understanding of children’s needs and have the necessary skills and experience to support them, including when the children fall out with each other at times. When there are risks to children, staff act quickly and work closely with other professionals to help keep the children safe. However, some aspects of leadership oversight requires improvement. This includes the supervision of agency staff, staff training and external monitoring.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 1 child has remained living in the home while 3 children have moved out. Two of the children who left had lived there for a long period of time, 1 for over 2 years and another for over a year. Although their time living in the home ended earlier than originally planned, these decisions were made in their best interests. Another child moved out after 3 months to return to their parents' care. Two new children have moved into the home and have settled in well. Moves into and out of the home are managed effectively, even when they are unplanned.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from warm and trusting relationships with staff. Two children scored the home a ‘10 out of 10' and openly expressed a strong sense of belonging. One child described the home as a ‘family’, while another shared that they ‘loved’ the manager. Staff speak about the children with genuine warmth and affection, demonstrating a deep understanding of their individual personalities. This helps children to feel safe and secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's health needs are well understood and supported effectively. Staff ensure timely access to appropriate healthcare services, including routine and specialist appointments. The home actively promotes healthy lifestyles and nutritious eating habits while encouraging participation in various physical activities. Children have become healthier and one child has lost weight in line with their care plan. As a result, children are supported to develop lifelong healthy habits and improve their overall wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's education is prioritised and all children are making progress. Staff work effectively with schools to improve school attendance and progress. When one child became upset by how school staff communicated with them, the manager shared more effective communication methods with the school. This support helps children achieve positive outcomes and reach their full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to maintain safe relationships with people who are important to them. Staff help children to see their family members. For example, they helped to improve the time a child spent with their sibling by changing the location and offering Inspection report children's home: SC060554 4 guidance and support during family time. This helps to create safer and more enjoyable interactions, strengthening important relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well-decorated, warm and welcoming. Children's bedrooms are highly personalised to their tastes. Photographs of the children sharing fun moments with each other and the staff are displayed throughout the home. This promotes a sense of belonging and helps children to feel valued.

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

Children say they feel safe in the home and would go to staff if they did not. The staff have a good understanding of children’s lived experiences and how these influence their emotional well-being and behaviour. The staff focus on children’s unique individual vulnerabilities and use this insight to guide their interactions with them. They are able to recognise early signs of distress and intervene promptly. As a result, there has been no physical intervention, and incidents have decreased over time.

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

When children go missing, professionals are informed and staff actively search for them. Upon their return, staff speak to children to help them understand the risks and dangers of going missing. This approach has earned positive feedback from external professionals, including social workers and the missing care coordinator who has said their approach has contributed to no further missing episodes for 1 child. However, significant missing incidents have not always been reported to Ofsted, and not always in a timely manner. While this did not place children at risk, delays indicate the systems in place need to be more robust and effective.

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

Allegations against staff are managed well. They are responded to promptly and appropriately, ensuring that safeguarding procedures are followed and that children's welfare is prioritised. However, allegations have not been reported to Ofsted in a timely manner and some information is unclear. This omission reduces the transparency and accountability required to maintain effective regulatory oversight and ensure the highest standards of safeguarding practice. Leaders offered reassurance that matters to address notifiable safeguarding incidents would be addressed.

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

Children said they know how to make a complaint. When complaints are raised, they are taken seriously and appropriate action is taken. Children are verbally informed of the outcomes of their complaints. However, they do not receive a formal outcome letter in line with the home’s statement of purpose. This shortfall was rectified during the inspection.

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

Children generally live alongside each other positively, though they do occasionally fall out. They report that staff support them well during these times. Staff are increasingly able to identify when difficulties arise and intervene early to prevent escalation. Staff have individual and group conversations to help children develop tolerance and understanding of living with other people. This supportive approach helps children feel comfortable in their home. Inspection report children's home: SC060554 5

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

The home is led by a manager who is child-focused and advocates for children with the commitment of a 'good parent'. The manager has high aspirations for the care provided, and the children speak of her with fondness. The responsible individual has equally high expectations about the care children receive. However, there are some aspects of leadership oversight that require improvement.

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

A well-established and dedicated staff team is in place. During a period of high agency staff usage to meet the specific needs of the children, the presence of a consistent core team ensured there was no negative impact on the children. However, unlike permanent staff, agency staff did not receive regular supervision in line with the statement of purpose. This limits their opportunities to discuss the children, provide a space for reflection and strengthen practice.

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

Staff receive an abundance of training, including specialist training tailored to the complex and individual needs of the children. A trainer, with lived care experience, spoke to the staff team, which they found very beneficial and insightful. This helps staff have the necessary knowledge, skills, and confidence to provide safe responsive care. Training records are not up to date. This impacts on the manager’s ability to identify shortfalls promptly and take timely action to ensure all training is completed within required timescales. A new system is being implemented, but is not yet fully embedded.

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

An independent visitor undertakes monthly external monitoring of the home. Since the last inspection, there has been no feedback collected from family members and feedback from external professionals was only obtained twice. There are also no steps to gain the views of children who were not present. As a result, external monitoring lacks the depth and insight needed to drive meaningful improvements in the quality of care and safeguarding practice. Leaders recognised this shortfall and have begun to take steps to address this.

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

Monthly team meetings take place to discuss the children and their changing needs in detail. This helps to ensure staff provide consistent care that is regularly adapted for the individual children. Staff feedback is overwhelmingly positive, with one staff member stating, ‘This is a great place to work, the manager is supportive and we all do genuinely care about the children. We say we are the [Name of home] family.’ Children benefit from being cared for by a committed team.

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

The manager has developed effective working relationships with external professionals and family members. They are highly positive about the home's communication and the care provided to children. One social worker stated, ‘The manager and staff are brilliant, really supportive. I have seen a dramatic change in behaviour, a reduction in missing episodes, and improved behaviour in school. [Name of child] is more relaxed, settled, and happier. I don’t worry about [name of child] anymore.’ Inspection report children's home: SC060554 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, 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;

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly relates to the registered person ensuring managers identify and address shortfalls and provide supervision to agency staff. 16 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(e)) 16 October 2026 Inspection report children's home: SC060554 7 In particular, the registered person must ensure that all significant incidents are reported to Ofsted within the required statutory timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month. When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

If they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

A visit by the independent person to the home may be unannounced (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a) (3))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the independent visitor has a balanced number of announced and unannounced visits; regularly speaks to professionals and relatives during visits and introduce a way to gather the views of children when they are not present during the visits. 16 October 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff encourage children to share any concerns about their care or other matters as soon as they arise. Children must be able to take up issues or make a complaint with support and without any fear that this will result in any adverse consequences. Regulation 39 sets out the requirements on the registered person to have a complaints procedure. Children must be aware of this procedure and be reminded of it, as necessary. In addition, children should be informed of the complaint outcome verbally and in written form in line with the statement of purpose. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 22, paragraph 4.13)

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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 children's home: SC060554 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Mulberry House Care Homes Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: The Cabin, 234 Eccleshall Road, Safford ST16 1JH

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Inspector

Emma Hutton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC060554 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 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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