Children's Home run by Assure Care Homes Ltd in Hampshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2666995 1 Registered provider: Assure Care Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home provides care for up to 4 children with social and emotional difficulties. It is owned by a private organisation. At the time of this inspection, there were 3 children living at the home.

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Information about this children's home

The manager 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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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded. Their care and experiences are poor and they are not making, or not likely to make, progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2666995 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/07/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/09/2024 Full Good 15/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2666995 3

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Summary of findings

The home is judged inadequate because of significant shortfalls in the leadership team that have resulted in poor oversight of practice, leaving children at risk of harm. The manager has failed to recognise and respond effectively to safeguarding concerns. Inconsistent staff practice and variable responses to children's needs are having a detrimental effect on their day-to-day experiences. These weaknesses in leadership mean children do not consistently receive the expected standard of care or safeguarding practice.

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Summary of findings

Professionals reported mixed views on the quality-of-care children receive. Some reflected how well staff know the children and positive communication between them and the home, others report limited progress for individual children, and express concerns about their wellbeing. Although children generally form positive relationships with staff, many staff are new in post, and relationships are not yet established. Staff respond appropriately when children are missing from home and work effectively with partner agencies to manage risks in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Not all staff consistently demonstrate a clear understanding of children's individual needs and associated risks. These shortfalls indicate that staff are not always recognising and responding appropriately to children's behaviours and underlying needs. As a result, on occasion, this has led to children becoming distressed. Two wellbeing professionals echo these concerns. Children have also shared with health professionals that they did not feel safe in the home when another young person was living there.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Consequences for children are not applied consistently or fairly, which limits their effectiveness. Financial consequences are used as a form of reparation. However, these are not proportionate or consistently applied to all the children in the home. As a result, some children experience overly punitive financial measures, while others receive more appropriate responses. Children's views are not consistently considered when consequences are implemented, and there is limited follow-up work to support children's understanding of the reasons for consequences or how these relate to their behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not always respond to children in distress in a therapeutic or appropriate way to reduce risks. For example, on one occasion, staff inappropriately used a child's religious beliefs to shame and influence the child's decision-making. This approach is not in line with the home's statement of purpose or child's plans and had not been identified or challenged by the manager. Staff do take appropriate action to seek medical advice when children engage in self-injurious behaviour. Inspection report for children's home: 2666995 4 Not all areas within the home are well maintained. One child's bathroom and living area have not been maintained to an acceptable standard. Thick dust and cobwebs were evident in the window, indicating that cleaning has not taken place over a sustained period. The bathroom also requires maintenance, including redecoration, and significant damage to the door had not been addressed. These shortfalls mean that the child is not

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

living in an environment that is conducive to their comfort and wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are generally developing positive and trusting relationships with staff. However, many staff are new in post, and these relationships are not yet sufficiently established. Staff recognise and celebrate children's achievements, including improvements in personal hygiene and progress in developing life skills. This contributes to children's growing confidence and independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s education progress is mixed. For example, one child is now studying with a tutor and working towards attending an education provision. However, another child is not engaging in any form of education and there are no current plans to detail how his education needs will be met or how routines will be established.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children approaching adulthood receive thoughtful and individualised support to prepare for independence. One child has benefited from a carefully planned and sensitive transition, including being actively involved in decisions about their future living arrangements. The child has also accessed advocacy services to help them express their views, ensuring that their voice is heard and valued.

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

There is a poor safeguarding culture within the home. Some staff are not fully aware of safeguarding procedures and how to escalate concerns. This limits staff's ability to make effective safeguarding decisions for children.

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

The manager failed to recognise the safeguarding concerns arising from an incident involving physical intervention. Despite being present and overseeing the incident, the manager did not identify that staff used a restraint technique to hold a child on the ground for which they were not appropriately trained to use. This represents a serious shortfall in oversight and safe practice. Furthermore, the manager did not take appropriate action to address these concerns or implement learning with staff to prevent recurrence. As a result, there are insufficient safeguards in place to protect children from unsafe practice.

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

Incident reports lack clarity and do not consistently provide a full account of incidents or the actions taken by staff. There is insufficient management oversight to identify and address these recording shortfalls. As a result, records do not provide a reliable account of events, limiting the manager's ability to monitor practice effectively and demonstrate that appropriate action has been taken to safeguard children. This places children at risk of receiving poor-quality and unsafe care. In addition, not all significant incidents have Inspection report for children's home: 2666995 5 been shared with Ofsted by the manager. This limits the regulator's oversight of the service.

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

There has been one medication error that was not managed or investigated appropriately. The manager did not seek to identify and implement actions to reduce the likelihood of recurrence. This shortfall in effective oversight and evaluation limits the opportunity for learning and improvement and does not provide assurance that safe medication practices are consistently maintained to safeguard children.

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

Risk assessments do not always reflect the full extent of children's known risks, with some behaviours of concern inappropriately identified as low risk. This reduces the effectiveness of guidance available to staff. With the frequent use of temporary staff, and new staff due to start, this is a missed opportunity for staff to have a clear and accurate understanding of children's vulnerabilities or how to respond appropriately.

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

When children are missing from home, staff take prompt and appropriate action to locate them and support their safe return. Staff work effectively in partnership with the police and other external professionals to ensure a coordinated response. Where concerns around exploitation are identified, the team liaises proactively with relevant agencies to reduce risk. Children at risk of exploitation are supported by appropriately allocated external professionals, ensuring that they receive targeted and multi-agency support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has not demonstrated effective professional challenge, particularly in situations where partner agencies have not responded appropriately. Action taken has not been timely or proactive and has relied on direction from external professionals. This reflects weak leadership and insufficient safeguarding oversight, resulting in ineffective responses that place children at potential risk of harm. The manager has also failed to recognise and respond appropriately to a child's disclosure. This was also only shared with the child's social worker after direction from an external professional. This undermines effective multi-agency working and does not ensure that children receive timely protection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff and management team do not always work effectively as a team. The manager failed to take prompt and effective action to resolve conflict between staff, which resulted in disruption within the staff team. A senior leader within the organisation needed to intervene to resolve the dispute. The manager and staff acknowledge this has had a negative effect on the children who were aware of tensions. The manager said they felt unsupported during this period, indicating a lack of cohesive working in the management team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not provide effective leadership through appropriate delegation or oversight of staff practice. Consequently, there are significant shortfalls across the home, including inconsistent environmental standards and poor-quality recording for children. Inspection report for children's home: 2666995 6 Systems to identify poor practice and promote high standards for children are not consistently effective to improve safeguarding practices and provide high-quality care and support for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

While safer recruitment processes are generally followed, candidates’ employment histories are not always sufficiently explored. For example, there is a lack of clarity in one member of staff’s employment dates, so it is unclear if there are gaps in their employment. This had not been challenged, explored or identified by managers. A previous member of staff, who had no prior experience caring for children was employed and potentially placed a child at serious risk of harm. While immediate action was taken to address this, the broader learning from this has not led to more robust recruitment practices. This lack of critical reflection potentially exposes children to unsuitable individuals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

While staff receive induction, supervision and training, the manager has not ensured that learning is embedded into practice. This contributes to inconsistent care and limits the quality of support children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Monitoring systems used by the responsible individual are not consistently effective. Although they have established monitoring frameworks that are effective elsewhere, these are not operating effectively within this home. They recognise these shortcomings and are planning to review the reasons for this and identify the necessary improvements. Inspection report for children's home: 2666995 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(v)(vi)) 13 July 2026

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 13 July 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2666995 8 ensure that the home's workforce provides continuity of care to 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; 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)(a)(c)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children's home if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(b)) 13 July 2026

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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

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. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(c) (2)(a)(i)) 13 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child. 13 July 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2666995 9 The following measures may not be used to discipline any child—

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Requirement Due date

imposing a financial penalty, other than a requirement for the payment of a reasonable sum (which may be by instalments) by way of reparation. (Regulation 19 (1) (2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that financial consequences for children are consistent and not unreasonable.

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered manager must ensure that children's case records detailed in Regulations 35-39 are kept up to date while they remain in the home. In particular, the manager must ensure that all records, including risk assessments, are updated with relevant information that is consistent and guides staff to deliver effective care and support for children. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that children are enabled to live in clean and well-maintained environments. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 14, paragraph 3.3)

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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: 2666995 10

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Assure Care Homes Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Tuctyn, Nutburn Road, North Baddesley, Southampton SO52 9DX

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Newman

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Inspector

Louise Webling, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2666995 11 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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Inspector

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