Children's Home run by Homes 2 Inspire Limited in West Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2515380 1 Registered provider: Homes 2 Inspire Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a registered manager in place. The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

There were 2 children living at the home at the time of the inspection. Both children were spoken with as part of 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: 2515380 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/06/2025 Full Good 30/07/2024 Full Good 05/07/2023 Full Good 14/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2515380 3

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Summary of findings

The home provides children with stability and nurturing care. Staff work with the children to build trusting relationships to promote their self-esteem and sense of belonging. Children are valued and their achievements are celebrated. Children are supported to develop their independence skills as they progress into adulthood. The children’s needs are understood and risks are well managed. Children are supported to spend time with their families, when it is safe and appropriate to do so. The home is managed by an experienced and suitably qualified registered manager who knows the children well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a warm and welcoming environment; children are involved in choosing the decor. Plans for additional home improvements are underway, and the children are asked to contribute their views around any changes to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide a safe and stable home environment that supports children. Children are encouraged to have positive routines, and the guidance and boundaries in place are clear. Children are working on their independence skills in line with their current needs and individual circumstances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are sought in a variety of ways, and their voices are heard. Children’s meetings take place consistently and staff spend time with them doing the things that they enjoy. The children are encouraged to develop their own interests and hobbies, and the staff team provides positive new experiences for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting relationships with staff they know well. There is an ‘open-door’ culture in the home, and children are encouraged to spend time with the managers and the staff team. The staff care about the children and speak about them with warmth and pride.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in education. When plans in place are not supporting a child, managers take timely and appropriate action to challenge partner agencies to support better outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with children to help them to manage complex relationships, including those with their birth families. The staff team facilitates and promotes the children’s time with their family and friends. There is a focus on building positive relationships and supporting children’s resilience and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Direct work and important discussions take place, but staff do not always record this work that they complete with children effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: 2515380 4

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

Risks are well understood and managed appropriately to keep children safe. Risk assessments and plans are updated with new information to ensure that they remain current, and they are followed by staff.

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

Incidents are well managed by staff, who are able to de-escalate most challenging behaviours. Strong partnership working is in place, and the manager and staff maintain good communication with children’s professional networks about any incidents that occur.

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

Children are encouraged to contribute to their individual safety plans. Children are educated around risk-taking behaviour to support them to better understand risk and make safer choices.

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

When children raise concerns or make allegations, these are treated seriously and responded to without delay. Appropriate action is taken, including liaising with the local authority designated officer to ensure that children are safeguarded.

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

Safer recruitment is in place when new staff come to work in the home. These processes have not always been followed by the organisation. A shortfall was identified quickly by the registered manager after they commenced employment, and appropriate safeguards were put in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced and suitably qualified registered manager. Managers have aspirations for children living in this home. Children are supported to make progress in all areas of their lives, building their confidence and developing their interests. The home has experienced a challenging period following some staff leaving the organisation. The manager has taken steps to manage the impact this has had on children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff working in the home feel well supported in their role. Regular supervision is taking place, which supports staff. Team meetings take place on a regular basis and provide an opportunity for staff discussion. Topics include training, development and supportive conversations to better understand the children’s needs and vulnerabilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to a range of training to support them in their role. This includes training specific to the needs of children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have good oversight of incidents and concerns. When areas of development are identified, the manager takes prompt action to support the continued learning and improvement of the staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2515380 5 There is good partnership working with children’s professional networks. The manager advocates well for children in this home. She provides timely and appropriate challenge when plans are not meeting the children’s needs or if there are actions outstanding. Inspection report for children’s home: 2515380 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they maintain good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguard children and minimise potential risk to them. In particular, the registered person must ensure that all employment checks are fully completed and deemed satisfactory before any new employee commences their role. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about a child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. In particular, this relates to capturing and recording direct discussions with children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2515380 7

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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: Kathryn Scoltock

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Inspector

Christie May, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2515380 8 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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