Children's Home run by Affinity Childrens Care Ltd in Walsall

Inspection report for children’s home: 2690163 1 Registered provider: Affinity Childrens Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to 2 children who have had adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since June 2025 and registered with Ofsted in April 2026. They are suitably experienced and qualified but are due to leave the home next month.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager was not present for the inspection. At the time of this inspection, no children were living in the home. One child had recently moved out but still contributed to the inspection.

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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 inadequate

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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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Inspection report for children’s home: 2690163 2 Two compliance notices were issued at the last full inspection under regulation 12, the protection of children standard, and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. At a monitoring visit on 9 June 2026, these were deemed to have been met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2690163 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/04/2026 Full Inadequate 06/01/2026 Full Good 17/09/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2690163 4

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Summary of findings

The child living in the home has now moved on. This was a well-planned move to support the original care plan to return closer to their family. The child left the home at the end of their compulsory education, having made excellent progress from their starting point.

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Summary of findings

Since the last inspection, significant progress has been made. Risks relating to the child going missing from home were mitigated, with no further incidents since the monitoring visit. The child had made progress that resulted in reduced supervision levels.

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Summary of findings

The registered manager remains absent from the home, so oversight of the home has been maintained through the deputy manager and responsible individual. There have been several leadership changes since the last visit. The home is currently vacant; there is a clear plan to address the shortfalls and strengthen the team before another child joins the home.

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improvement to be good

No children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. The child who was living in the home recently experienced a planned move, returning to their hometown in preparation for their transition to adulthood at the age of 18.

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improvement to be good

The child’s move was carefully planned and sensitively managed. The deputy manager advocated effectively for additional visits to the new home to help the child feel settled and well prepared before moving. The child’s departure was marked with a leaving celebration attended by staff, both past and present, who had been significant in their life. One professional described the support provided as ‘excellent’ and said they ‘could not fault any aspect of the move’. They also stated that they would be happy for other children to live in the home should they require a placement in the area.

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improvement to be good

Education is highly valued and promoted. The child made excellent progress from their starting point. When moving into the home, they were adamant that they would not engage in education. Staff worked effectively with education professionals to identify a suitable provision and carefully planned the child’s reintegration into learning through a phased timetable. As a result, the child successfully returned to full-time education. They completed Year 11 with excellent attendance, developed aspirations for post-16 education and attended their school prom. The child told a professional that it was ‘the best day of their life’.

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improvement to be good

The child’s health needs continued to be well supported. Since the last inspection, staff ensured that the child attended routine health appointments and accessed specialist Inspection report for children’s home: 2690163 5 services when required. Specialist health professionals also contributed to regular safety planning meetings, helping to ensure that the child’s holistic needs were considered in plans for their future.

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improvement to be good

Staff consistently supported the child to maintain relationships that were important to them. This included supporting the child to spend unsupervised time with family members when this was assessed as appropriate. Staff worked hard to build positive relationships with family members and collaborated effectively with them to improve outcomes for the child.

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improvement to be good

The child had detailed plans and risk assessments that clearly outlined their individual needs and vulnerabilities. These documents were reviewed regularly and updated to reflect current risks and the strategies required to keep the child safe.

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improvement to be good

Incidents in the home were rare. There had been no missing-from-home incidents, allegations or complaints.

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improvement to be good

The child developed trusting relationships with staff and felt able to share worries and concerns with them. They reported feeling supported while living in the home. This support has continued following the child’s move, with staff maintaining appropriate contact and providing ongoing support to individuals who remain important to the child.

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improvement to be good

Staff have completed additional training to strengthen safeguarding practice. Further training has been identified to continue developing staff’s knowledge, confidence and competence.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff demonstrated a good understanding of the child’s individual vulnerabilities. The deputy manager attended weekly safety planning meetings with partner agencies to support a coordinated and consistent approach to risk management. Staff used their knowledge of the child to support them in taking age- appropriate risks in the community, particularly following reductions in supervision arrangements. Before moving on from the home, the child had made excellent progress from their starting point. They became more able to recognise potentially risky situations and developed strategies to keep themselves safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Since the last full inspection, additional shortfalls in leadership and management oversight have been identified. Senior leaders have taken prompt action to address these concerns. However, it is too early to assess the effectiveness and sustainability of these measures. Inspection report for children’s home: 2690163 6 There has been a decline in management oversight since the recent monitoring visit. Supervision for the deputy manager has again fallen below the frequency required by the home’s supervision policy. The deputy manager continues to oversee the day-to-day operation of the home in the manager’s absence but has not received regular and consistent support while undertaking these additional responsibilities. Furthermore, staff have not received annual appraisals for more than 2 years.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Team meetings have not been prioritised. Following the last inspection, a team meeting was not held until the director intervened and arranged meetings in June and monthly thereafter. This represented a missed opportunity for managers and staff to reflect on practice, share learning and address development needs. Consequently, staff morale has declined during a period of leadership instability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Monitoring and oversight arrangements are in place but are not effective. Leaders have failed to identify a number of significant shortfalls, including the absence of annual staff appraisals. Monthly audits have been completed; however, they lack sufficient scrutiny, evaluative comment and meaningful feedback. In addition, several discrepancies and inaccuracies were identified in the most recent audit. As a result, leaders do not have an accurate understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses and are therefore unable to drive improvement effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Practice has not been consistent with the home’s statement of purpose. Therapeutic support outlined in the home’s model of care has not been available since the last inspection. The director has begun the process of commissioning a new in-house therapeutic service to ensure that the care provided reflects the home’s ethos, values and stated objectives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home is comfortable, welcoming and maintained to a good standard. While the home is currently unoccupied, work is being undertaken to refresh bedrooms and communal areas. This will help to ensure that the environment is ready to meet the needs of children moving into the home in the future. Inspection report for children’s home: 2690163 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements which helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(h)) 1 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (5)) 1 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and 1 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2690163 8 have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the supervision of the deputy manager and the appraisals for all staff who have been employed over 12 months.

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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: 2690163 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Affinity Childrens Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Azzurri House, Walsall Road, Aldridge, Walsall WS9 0RB

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Inspector

Joanne Hawkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2690163 10 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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