Children's Home run by Insight Care Group Ltd in Sandwell

Inspection report for children's home: 2805014 1 Registered provider: Insight Care Group Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private organisation. Since December 2024, it has been registered to provide care for up to 2 children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home, and no children have left the home. Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. Both children spoke to the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager’s post has been vacant since March 2026. An interim manager has been in post since April 2026 and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2805014 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/07/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2805014 3

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Summary of findings

While there are elements of good care, shortfalls in staff practice relating to supervision have not led to positive experiences for children.

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Summary of findings

The new manager and responsible individual have only recently been appointed. While they are working hard and have begun to make change, it is too soon to conclude that these changes are embedded. Before they joined the home, management oversight was, at times, ineffective. Opportunities to intervene early were on occasions missed, allowing situations to escalate, resulting in children being affected.

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Summary of findings

Medication practices in the home have lacked rigour, resulting in several near misses for one child. The new manager has taken steps to address this.

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Summary of findings

The home is now well staffed, but children have experienced a lot of changes in quick succession because of staff leaving. There has been a high use of agency staff, with lots of different staff working in the home. While managers have attempted to reduce the impact of this on children, it has still resulted in children experiencing further loss and instability.

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Summary of findings

Despite these shortfalls, children enjoy living in the home and report they have positive relationships with staff. Feedback from professionals has been exclusively positive, highlighting good communication, partnership working and advocacy as particular strengths.

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improvement to be good

Children’s overall experiences and progress require improvement. While there are elements of good care, these are inconsistent. Shortfalls in practice and instability in the staff team have had a negative impact on children’s day-to-day experiences and their progress.

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improvement to be good

Children have experienced lots of changes to the adults who care for them, including a high use of agency staff. Although managers try to reduce the impact of this by preparing children for staff changes and introducing new adults sensitively, children have nonetheless experienced repeated losses. Despite this, children say that they have positive relationships with staff and feel supported by them.

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improvement to be good

Staff currently struggle to support one child to manage their emotions. For one child, staff have called the police several times to support them to manage the child’s behaviour. Managers are beginning to analyse patterns and explore alternative strategies. Inspection report for children's home: 2805014 4 Poor staff supervision resulted in an incident in which one child was physically aggressive towards another in their bedroom. This incident is likely to have affected both children’s sense of safety and their trust in adults to protect them.

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improvement to be good

It is unclear what social opportunities are being offered or what actions staff are taking to identify and overcome barriers to a child’s engagement with their peers. This limits the child’s ability to develop friendships.

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improvement to be good

Despite these concerns, children enjoy living in a home that is clean, well furnished and welcoming. Bedrooms are highly personalised and celebrate children’s interests and achievements. Children have free access to games, toys, books and healthy snacks, all of which contribute to a homely environment. Children speak positively about living in the home, with one child rating it a perfect 10.

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improvement to be good

Staff regularly engage children in conversations about important topics, using pictures and communication aids tailored to each child’s needs. This helps children to understand themselves, develop life skills and learn how to keep themselves safe.

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improvement to be good

Children who have previously experienced multiple placement moves are now experiencing greater stability. Staff use rewards to encourage progress, and children are beginning to make positive progress as a result.

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improvement to be good

Children’s physical health needs are well supported. They have access to healthy snacks and take part in regular physical activities of their choosing. When children are not receiving their educational entitlement, the manager challenges this robustly and advocates for provision that meets their needs. Staff provide structured activities to help children build confidence and re-engage with formal learning.

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improvement to be good

There have been several incidents of poor staff practice, some of which have resulted in negative experiences for children. Although leaders and managers have addressed most of these concerns, children have not consistently received good care.

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improvement to be good

One child has complained on 3 occasions about another child hurting them. While leaders and managers have now taken appropriate action, their initial response focused solely on children changing their behaviour, rather than identifying steps adults could take to keep children safe. This enabled a further incident to occur, in which weak staff supervision resulted in one child restraining another. This is likely to have undermined children’s feelings of safety and trust in the adults caring for them.

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improvement to be good

Medication practice in the home has been poor. For one child, there have been 4 near misses. Although the child did not experience harm, these errors indicate significant weaknesses in staff competence and oversight. The new manager and responsible Inspection report for children's home: 2805014 5 individual have since introduced more robust systems for administering and monitoring medication, including when medication leaves the home.

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improvement to be good

One child made an allegation on one occasion. There was a delay in responding because staff did not follow the child’s plan. The manager identified this shortfall and took steps to improve staff’s understanding and compliance. The allegation was investigated appropriately, relevant agencies were notified, and the child was kept informed of the outcome.

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improvement to be good

Poor staff supervision enabled a child to search for inappropriate material online. Following this incident, managers have introduced robust internet safety measures and plans for staff supervision.

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improvement to be good

Despite these shortfalls, children say they feel safe in the home. Incidents of children going missing from home are rare. On the one occasion a child did go missing, staff followed the child’s plan and worked effectively with partner agencies to ensure their safe return. The manager ensured that the child had the opportunity to speak with someone independent of the home, helping them feel heard and supported.

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improvement to be good

Staff use restraint only when necessary to keep children or others safe. Recent management oversight of restraint is thorough. Children are spoken with to understand their experiences, and staff take steps to repair relationships following incidents. This helps children feel safe, listened to and supported.

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

There have been significant changes to the leadership and the management of the home. A new manager and responsible individual have only recently been appointed. They are working hard and have begun to implement improvements to the safe care of children. However, it is too soon to conclude that these changes are embedded or that they have led to sustained improvements in children’s experiences. Before their appointment, management oversight was inconsistent. Opportunities for early intervention were missed, allowing situations to escalate and resulting in avoidable impact on children.

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

Although the home is now well staffed, children have experienced considerable instability due to multiple staff leaving in quick succession. The high use of agency staff, including many different individuals, has further disrupted children’s relationships and sense of security. Managers have made efforts to support children through these changes, for example by helping staff write goodbye letters and talking with children about transitions. Nevertheless, children have experienced further loss and instability.

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

The new management team is working proactively and has introduced several positive changes. Management oversight has strengthened. Staff now receive regular supervision, and frequent team meetings provide opportunities for reflection and Inspection report for children's home: 2805014 6 learning. Leaders and managers ensure that staff receive training relevant to children’s needs. As a result, staff report feeling well supported, and morale in the team is good.

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

Feedback from professionals and most family members is positive. They highlight effective partnership working, strong communication and the manager’s advocacy for children as particular strengths of the current leadership team. Inspection report for children's home: 2805014 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 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm; (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff follow children’s plans and the child protection policies in the home in order to keep children safe.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated from the last inspection. 31 August 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2805014 8 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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(e)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when children complain, they take prompt and effective action. The registered person must also ensure that staffing in the home provides children with consistency and continuity of care, and when reviewing incidents, use information to improve practices. Leaders and managers must use monitoring systems to review the quality of care.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated from the last inspection. 31 August 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children have appropriate opportunities to have fun, form friendships and enjoy life, relative to their stage of development and individual needs. This relates specifically to ensuring that children have opportunities to socialise and build friendships with other children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.10) Inspection report for children's home: 2805014 9

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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: 2805014 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Insight Care Group Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ace House, 22 Chester Road, Sutton Coldfield B73 5DA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Suntheep Dulay-Kainth

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Inspector

John Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2805014 11 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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