Children's Home run by Dorset Council in Dorset

Inspection report for children’s home: 2839712 1 Registered provider: Dorset Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by the local authority and provides care for one child, who may experience social and emotional difficulties, for a period of 12 weeks. One child was living at the home at the time of the inspection. They were not seen by the inspector as they were staying with family.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2025 when the home opened. The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual, and we are currently checking that this person has the relevant capacity, experience and skills to carry out the role.

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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

Date of last inspection: 13 January 2026

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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: 2839712 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/01/2026 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2839712 3

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers help staff to provide a supportive environment for children. They get to know children well during their time in the home, using this knowledge to help other professionals plan for the right next steps for children. Staff spend time with children, providing them with interesting and varied experiences. Staff take action to keep children safe, responding when there are concerns in the community or in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have lived in the home who have had very different journeys and experiences. Staff have provided children with care and unconditional support, offering a place of stability during uncertain periods in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff get to know children through shared activities linked to their interests, such as playing football, going to the driving range and bike rides. Staff spend time with children in the home, cooking together and watching sporting events on the TV. Staff work alongside families to build and strengthen the links that children have, in line with the home’s ethos. One child’s parent spoke about being ‘taken on as a whole family’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has had a positive move from the home. Their time in the home helped them to re-engage with education and re-build their trust with adults who care for them. Staff were able to advocate for the child’s wishes for their next home, resulting in a successful and well-planned move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child currently living in the home has moved in at a time when there are concerns for their safety in the community. The manager completed a thorough assessment of risk, considering carefully staff’s skills to support the child. Staff recognise the need to respond in the moment to find opportunities to build relationships with the child, mindful of the external influences that pull them out of the home. Insights obtained by staff are now used by the wider team of specialists within the service to support assessment and understanding of the child’s needs. This is important for the child’s future care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides care for children within a clear parameter of time, for a particular purpose. The child currently living in the home is due to move on soon. However, there are no clear plans about where they will move to. At the time the child moved in, expectations were set about when the plan would need to be in place by, which was not achieved. Although the manager has challenged professionals about the delayed planning, the impact has been limited. Inspection report for children’s home: 2839712 4 The home environment is homely and welcoming. The manager has made changes to the office space to make this more reflective of a home environment, and the lounge is a space that children enjoy spending time in. Damage to the home is swiftly repaired.

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

There are concerns about the safety of the child currently living in the home when they are in the community. During this child’s time at the home, staff have been able to explore and understand more about these risks, which can feed into assessments and care planning for the child’s next steps. This child has been missing from home. Staff respond swiftly, reporting concerns to the police and searching for the child. Staff are responsive when the child makes contact with them. At times, searches for the child have ended without it being clear that this is based on a situational assessment of risk.

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

Staff understand children well and get to know them, including what helps when they become upset or angry. Staff understand patterns of behaviour, and while for one child there have been incidents in the home, there have been times when staff effectively intervened to support the child and prevent incidents occurring. Staff show tenacity and use the positive relationship built to disrupt attempts to go missing, for example. On 2 occasions, the police have attended the home in response to concerns about behaviour. The risks seen were serious on both occasions. However, management oversight does not fully explore what was happening in the lead-up to incidents to see if anything could be done differently.

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

Staff build positive relationships with children. They speak with the current child to explore concerns and worries. They talk about what happens when they go missing and their romantic relationship, and they show genuine curiosity about their life. This helps the child to think about and gain a different perspective, as well as informing the professional network about the child’s understanding of risk.

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

Physical intervention has been used with one child. This was appropriate, and staff responded to the concerns to keep the child safe. Managers have reviewed this incident and identified some learning. However, there is more scope to develop the critical evaluation of how earlier actions could have better supported the child to reduce the severity of the incident.

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

Staff know and understand their safeguarding responsibilities. They take swift action to keep children safe. Concerns about staff practice have been swiftly identified and addressed. The incident was reviewed for learning, and a follow-up action was to create specific training for staff. This has not yet been completed and there is no rationale for the timescale or delay. However, the specific issues identified from the concern have been discussed with the staff team during team meetings. Inspection report for children’s home: 2839712 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A positive and committed manager leads the home. Staff and family members comment on their dedication to the home and children. They describe her over-and-above support and, as a result, people feel listened to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Over recent weeks, incidents in the home have had an impact on staff resilience and confidence. There is currently a disconnect between the positive staff practice and how they feel about it. This is well understood by managers and there are clear plans in place for further training and reflective discussions. Staff feel supported by their manager, despite these recent difficulties. As a result of pressure in the home, there has been some staff absence and use of agency staff. The impact on the child has been minimised through successful partnership working with parents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular opportunities to discuss and reflect on their role and support for children. Supervision is supplemented with clinical support for more in-depth reflective discussions about children and the personal impact of the role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager develops positive working relationships with families and professionals. She challenges delays in decision making, but balances this against being child-focused. One professional commented on the good joint-working during their child’s time at the home, which led to positive outcomes for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recruitment of permanent staff is robust, and there are good systems in place to ensure the manager has oversight of all the information they need. However, there are gaps relating to agency workers. One agency worker has employment gaps that had not been identified or explored by the agency or the manager. There is a lack of clarity about arrangements to quality assure information obtained by the agency to be satisfied it meets the standards required. The impact of this on the child is mitigated by there always being 2 staff to support them, one of which is a permanent member of staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2839712 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, 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the required checks have been completed for agency staff, and that the information provided by the agency is reviewed. The registered person should ensure there are systems in place to satisfy themselves that the information required under schedule 2 has been obtained. 30 October 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that actions identified following concerns about staff practice are implemented without delay, or that there is a clear rationale about why a different decision is made. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.10)  The registered person should ensure that there is a clear rationale for decisions made when children are missing, including when searches stop. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.25)  The registered person should ensure that when reviewing incidents, they consider learning from the earlier stages of incidents, which can help to prevent further occurrences or similar incidents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23)  The registered person should ensure they put in place training and support systems to

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Recommendations

build staff confidence and resilience in order to meet children’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20) Inspection report for children’s home: 2839712 7  The registered person should ensure that there are clear plans in place for children’s moves on from the home at the earliest possible point, in line with the home’s model and statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.9)

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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: 2839712 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Mr Paul Dempsey, County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester DT1 1XJ

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Inspector

Clare Nixson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2839712 9 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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