Children's Home run by Bold Leap Care Limited in Walsall

Inspection report for children’s home: 2852604 1 Registered provider: Bold Leap 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 privately owned and provides care for up to 4 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living at the home. All the children were spoken with by the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently an interim manager in post. She has not yet applied to register with Ofsted and has plans to move on from the home in September.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual, and we are currently checking 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 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

Date of last inspection: 28 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: 2852604 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/01/2026 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2852604 3

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Summary of findings

Children benefit from living in a warm and welcoming home where they are cared for by staff who know them well and understand their individual needs.

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Summary of findings

Staff work hard to keep children safe. When concerns arise, staff respond appropriately and manage these effectively. However, recording of incidents requires further improvement.

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Summary of findings

The home has experienced a high turnover of leaders, managers and staff since the last inspection. While this has contributed to gaps in leaders’ and management oversight, it has not had a direct impact on children’s care and safety. Leaders and managers recognise these areas for improvement and are taking appropriate action.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s environment is spacious, warm and welcoming for children. Children enjoy spending time together and with the staff caring for them. There are photos of the children throughout and their bedrooms are personalised in line with their wishes. This helps children to feel valued and settled in their home environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home. Careful consideration was given to the compatibility of each child and the impact on risk and existing relationships. As a result, the children have developed strong, positive relationships and clearly enjoy each other’s company.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff demonstrate a strong commitment to the children. They speak about children with warmth and affection. One child said, ‘I know people care about me here. This is the only place I’ve called home; I want to stay here.’ This reflects the secure and trusting relationships children develop with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in education. One child’s school attendance is 100%. Another child’s time at school has increased since moving into the home. The child’s teacher said that their behaviour has improved significantly and that when they attend school, they are ready to learn. The child’s independent reviewing officer stated that it was the most settled and relaxed the child has been.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from taking part in a wide range of activities that reflect their interests and aspirations. One child attends gymnastics, another goes horse riding and another does football training each week. Leaders and staff are ambitious for children and ensure they have opportunities to develop new skills and enjoy positive experiences. Children say that staff support them to pursue activities they are interested in wherever Inspection report for children’s home: 2852604 4 possible. As a result, children develop confidence, skills and interests while experiencing a strong sense of achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are involved in day-to-day decisions about their lives. Staff support them to maintain important family connections where appropriate. One child’s grandmother said, ‘The staff are really caring, they support [name of child] and they support me.’ Therefore, children feel listened to and valued and are supported to maintain meaningful relationships with the people who are important to them.

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

Children feel safe and secure and know whom they can talk to if they are worried. Staff are approachable and responsive, helping children to feel heard and supported. As a result of these trusting relationships, children have become more confident in discussing their feelings and worries with staff. This has contributed to a reduction in serious incidents and supports children to feel safe and understood.

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

Staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities when children go missing from their home. They respond promptly by searching for children, notifying the relevant services and involving family members where appropriate. Following one incident, leaders acted immediately and reviewed learning to reduce the risk of reoccurrence. When children return home, staff welcome them warmly. They give them the time and space to reflect, which supports children to understand the risks and identify ways to prevent future incidents. This supportive approach has meant that one child’s incidents have significantly reduced.

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

Staff and leaders understand children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities. There are clear, child-centred support plans in place. However, recording of children’s incidents, including physical intervention and missing-from-home incidents, is not consistently robust. Leaders and managers are aware of this and are providing increased support and training to improve the consistency and quality of staff’s responses. Consequently, children’s risks are understood and managed, and strengthened management oversight is driving improvements in recording, learning and practice.

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

New staff are subject to robust safer recruitment processes. Checks and recruitment records are overseen by the manager. Records are clear, thorough and well organised, providing assurance that appropriate checks are completed before staff work with children. As a result, children are cared for by staff who are suitably vetted and appropriate to work with them.

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

The home is currently led by an interim manager who has been in post since June 2026. She is suitably experienced and qualified but is planning to leave the home in September. The director is taking proactive steps to recruit a new manager and is implementing arrangements to ensure effective oversight and management of the Inspection report for children’s home: 2852604 5 home. This will help to provide continuity of leadership during the transition and minimise disruption to children’s care.

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

Since the last inspection, there has been a high turnover of leaders and staff. This has resulted in some inconsistencies and difficulties locating important information due to weaknesses in recording systems. Management oversight has also lacked consistency. The current responsible individual and interim manager have strengthened oversight and introduced measures to improve this further. However, time is needed to embed these improvements. Consequently, some shortfalls in management oversight have the potential to impact on children’s care.

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

Staff speak positively about their experience of working at the home. They feel well supported by colleagues and leaders and are committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for children. As a result, staff work collaboratively and provide children with consistent, nurturing care in a positive and supportive environment.

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

Leaders and managers recognise the gaps in training and qualifications of the current staff team. Furthermore, staff have not been afforded consistent supervision. Action has been taken to address this. Training is planned and staff are enrolled to undertake relevant qualifications with the expectation that these will be completed within the required timescales. Supervision has become more consistent under the current manager, and external supervision is being sourced for the director and the responsible individual. However, gaps in support systems for staff reduce opportunities for reflection and learning, which impact on children’s quality of care.

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

The director has high expectations and is strongly committed to achieving positive outcomes for children. He has positive relationships with children and, during periods of staff shortage, has worked directly in the home to maintain consistency of care. He has completed all mandatory training, is undertaking his level 5 qualification and has a robust recruitment file in place. There have been learning and reflection around his leadership approach, particularly when expectations have not been met. He recognises the importance of developing a strong and consistent staff and leadership team that can provide effective care to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2852604 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 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;

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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)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they have clear monitoring and review systems in place to identify shortfalls, improve practice and understand the impact on children’s progress and experiences.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to staff performance in the home and ensuring that suitably skilled staff provide consistent care to children. 25 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2852604 7 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

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that leaders and managers model and promote respectful professional relationships, demonstrating appropriate behaviour and providing positive role models. 25 September

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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

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c)) 25 September

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping, and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2852604 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bold Leap Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Wheeleys Road, Birmingham B15 2LD

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Inspector

Mandy Wake, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2852604 9 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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