Children's Home run by Gemstones Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children's home: 2772912 1 Registered provider: Gemstones Care Limited Full inspection 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 company and is registered to provide care for up to 3 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

A manager has recently been appointed and has applied to register with Ofsted. The manager is currently working towards their relevant level 5 qualification.

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Information about this children's home

The home does not currently have a responsible individual.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the visit, 2 children were living at the home. Both 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

This home received an assurance inspection on 3 March 2026 in which serious and widespread concerns were found in relation to the care and protection of children. A Inspection report for children's home: 2772912 2 notice restricting accommodation and 2 compliance notices under Regulations 13 (the leadership and management standard) and 14 (the care planning standard) were issued.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit was undertaken on 23 April 2026, which found the compliance notices had been met, and the notice restricting accommodation was lifted. Inspection report for children's home: 2772912 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/06/2025 Full Good 03/07/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2772912 4

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Summary of findings

Since the monitoring visit in April 2026, the home has undergone management changes. The previous manager and responsible individual left, and a new manager was appointed. Two children have moved in and have settled well in the short time they have been living there. The children have been enjoying an active summer and have school placements ready for September 2026. Incidents are minimal. There are some shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home, in particular the management of medicines and overall monitoring arrangements to support and improve the quality of care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have moved into the home since the last inspection. One child described the home as 'great', and both children said they were happy living in the home and got on well with all the adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's moves into the home are positive, despite weaknesses in the planning. Staff have worked hard to ensure that children have the opportunity to visit the home and meet staff before moving in. However, information to support decisions about whether staff can safely meet a child's needs are not proactively sought from all relevant stakeholders and do not take into consideration risks relating to the location of the home. Failure to identify and mitigate risks for children moving in could affect children's experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote and encourage the children to enjoy active and healthy lifestyles. Children regularly participate in sports of their choosing. They enjoy balanced and healthy meals and attend routine health appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education and have worked tirelessly to ensure children have suitable education placements. One child, who has been out of formal education for several months, now has a school place secured for September 2026. Staff are working with the child to help ensure that the transition back into education is as smooth as possible. This gives children the best chance of academic success.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is well maintained. Children's photos and artwork are displayed, enhancing the homely feel. There are board games that the children enjoy playing, which contributes to their ongoing learning. Children say they like their rooms and are proud of their personal spaces. This helps children to feel comfortable in their surroundings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to ensure their views, wishes and feelings are heard. Regular meetings are held that enable children to participate in day-to-day decisions about the Inspection report for children's home: 2772912 5 home and raise any issues that they might have. The manager maintains oversight of these meetings and ensures that children receive a personal response to any issues raised. This helps children to feel valued, knowing they will be listened to.

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

Staff have instilled clear routines and boundaries in the home. These routines have helped the children to participate and enjoy activities on offer over the summer and will place them well when they return to education after the holidays. This has helped create a positive home environment in which children understand the expectations of them.

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

Children have established positive relationships with staff in the home. They say they get on well with all the staff. They know who to speak to if they have any concerns. Staff have taken the time to explain this to them. This gives children the confidence and understanding to raise concerns if they need to.

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

Incidents in the home are minimal. There have been no complaints, allegations or missing-from-home incidents. When incidents involving behaviour have occurred, staff have generally managed these well without the need for any physical intervention. Children and staff involved have the opportunity to discuss the incident to help reduce the risk of further incidents occurring and to check on their wellbeing. However, on one occasion, there was insufficient professional curiosity applied by management when staff appeared to have contributed to the incident escalating.

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

Staff make use of rewards and incentives to help promote positive behaviours. Each child has individualised goals where they can earn additional money. The goals set are achievable and help children to make positive choices.

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

There are shortfalls in the management of medicines. Medicines are not stored safely. The location in which they are stored does not provide adequate security or protect the medicines against extreme heat. Temperatures where medicines are stored are not routinely monitored to ensure they are kept within manufacturer's requirements. In addition, medicine records do not clearly state whether medicines have been offered and/or refused. This could reduce the effectiveness of prescribed medicines and contribute to a deterioration of children's health conditions.

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

The home has undergone changes in management since the last monitoring visit. The previous manager and responsible individual left, and the deputy manager stepped up into the manager's role and has applied to register with Ofsted. In the absence of a suitable responsible individual, the manager lacks the support needed as a first-time home manager.

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

While there have been improvements in the monitoring and oversight of the home, the systems are overcomplicated. This has limited their effectiveness in identifying and Inspection report for children's home: 2772912 6 addressing shortfalls in the quality of care, for example systems such as those for managing medicines, assessing risks when children move into the home and identifying environmental risks, including the home's car.

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

The changes in management have not adversely impacted on the children living in the home. The manager speaks warmly about the children and has high expectations for them to achieve. Stakeholders report positively about the communication with the home and the progress children have made. Professionals and family (where appropriate) receive regular reports and updates. One professional said, 'I think [name of child] has really improved. They are in a good routine. They have built attachments with staff in the home and enjoy the activities.' Another professional said, '[Name of child] has been here for about 5 weeks, it has been very positive, it was welcoming. They paid attention to things that mattered to [name of child].'

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

Staff feel well supported. Staff have regular opportunities to discuss children's care and support needs through regular team meetings and supervision. This helps to deliver consistent care to the children living in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2772912 7

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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 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; and

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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

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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure effective systems are in place to oversee the management of the home. This includes the oversight of incidents, decisions to admit children into the home, medicines and environmental risks. 30 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children's home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them;

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a)(c)) 30 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2772912 8 In particular, the registered person must ensure medicines are suitably stored and clearly recorded.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that decisions to admit a child are well informed and take account of the home's location assessment to ensure that the child's needs can be safely met. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that the physical necessities required to meet children's day-to-day needs are provided in a safe way. Specifically, the registered person should consider whether the home's car, used to transport children to school and activities, is fit for purpose. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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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: 2772912 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Gemstones Care Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: International House, The McLaren Building, 46 The Priory Queensway, Birmingham B4 7LR

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Inspector

Louise Naylor, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2772912 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 children looked after, 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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