Children's Home run by Positive Outcomes Childcare Ltd in Dudley

Inspection report for children’s home: SC483958 1 SC483958 Registered provider: Positive Outcomes Childcare Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home that provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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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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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since 9 January 2026. Since then, a new manager applied to register but withdrew in May 2025. A new manager started at the home on 1 July 2026 but did not apply to be registered, and they left the role on 31 July 2026. A new manager is now in post but has yet to apply to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspectors were aware during this inspection that serious child protection allegations were being investigated by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the allegations were considered (where appropriate) alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspector’s judgements.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home, who did not wish to share their views. The inspector observed the child within the home. Since the last inspection, 4 children have lived in the home and moved on. This inspection also focused on their overall experiences.

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: SC483958 2 There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected, or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making 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: SC483958 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/07/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/09/2024 Full Good 30/05/2023 Full Good 27/04/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC483958 4

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Summary of findings

Children’s experiences, progress and safety have been negatively affected by serious and widespread weaknesses in the care provided by staff and managers. Ineffective leadership and management systems have failed to ensure that children receive safe care and support.

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Summary of findings

Staff do not always have sufficient understanding of children’s complex needs and lack the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to provide effective and consistent support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not plan children’s care effectively. Care and support plans lack sufficient detail and do not provide staff with clear strategies to meet children’s needs. As a result, staff do not consistently understand children’s vulnerabilities or respond appropriately to emerging concerns. These serious shortfalls have placed children at risk of harm and have compromised their welfare and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are not cared for or supported by a stable and consistent staff team. High levels of staff turnover have resulted in a lack of continuity of care and support for children. Consequently, children have not received consistent, therapeutic care and have been unable to develop positive, trusting relationships with the adults caring for them. This instability has adversely affected children’s emotional wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children do not receive effective support in the important areas of their lives. Staff have failed to consistently support children’s education, health, emotional wellbeing and mental health needs. As a result, children have not always received the help they need at the right time. Some children have felt unsafe, and these shortfalls have undermined their sense of security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Before children move into the home, leaders and managers do not assess whether staff have the skills, experience and capacity to meet children’s needs. Managers do not sufficiently assess information appropriately. As a result, decisions about children moving into the home are not well informed, and staff have been unable to meet children’s needs or safeguard them effectively. Some children have moved on from the home in an unplanned way. These serious failings have affected children’s experiences and stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Despite these shortfalls, some children have developed positive relationships with some staff. Children have spoken positively about these relationships when reflecting on their experiences of living at the home and when moving on. Inspection report for children’s home: SC483958 5

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

Children have said that they did not always feel safe living in the home and did not trust staff to protect them. Serious safeguarding failings have resulted in children experiencing harm and ongoing emotional distress. These failings have significantly undermined children’s sense of safety and have had a detrimental impact on their overall wellbeing.

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

Safeguarding practice is ineffective, and children are not consistently protected from known risks. Leaders, managers and staff do not have the skills and experience to keep children safe. A lack of professional curiosity shown has resulted in safeguarding concerns not being recognised or responded to appropriately, and some children have experienced harm. These serious failings mean that children have not received the protection they need.

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

Significant incidents involving children are not always reported, recorded or responded to appropriately by staff and managers. Since the last inspection, serious safeguarding incidents have occurred in which staff did not take effective action to protect children from harm. Furthermore, staff have not always ensured that children receive appropriate support following incidents, including seeking medical attention when required. As a result, risks have remained unmanaged, which has compromised children’s safety.

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

Staff do not consistently support children to develop and maintain safe peer relationships. Relationships between children have quickly become unsafe, and staff and managers have failed to identify and respond to the associated risks or taken appropriate action to reduce them.

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

Children have been left vulnerable, feeling unsafe and exposed to unnecessary risk. Staff and managers do not assess and manage children’s risks effectively. For example, they were not aware of one child’s history and online safety risks and only became aware when alerted by the inspector. Consequently, there were no safety plans in place to ensure the child’s safety online.

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

Despite these safeguarding shortfalls, staff respond appropriately when children go missing from the home. They follow agreed procedures and work with the relevant professionals and family members effectively to help ensure children’s safe return.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Serious and persistent failures in leadership and management have resulted in children receiving poor-quality care, significantly undermining their safety, experiences and progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Poor and ineffective leadership and management have had a direct impact on staff’s ability to provide safe care to children. Since the last inspection, the home has been led Inspection report for children’s home: SC483958 6 by 4 different managers, and 4 different responsible individuals. A lack of stable leadership and consistency has had a significant impact on children’s safety and welfare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers do not use effective monitoring and review systems to evaluate the quality of care provided to children. This means that they do not have an accurate understanding of children’s day-to-day experiences. Significant incidents are not routinely evaluated or analysed, which limits leaders’ ability to identify emerging risks, challenge poor practice and take effective action.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not support staff effectively. Supervision sessions are inconsistent, and limit opportunities for reflection, learning and professional development. Consequently, staff have not been supported to develop the skills to meet children’s complex needs and keep them safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

An independent person has carried out external monitoring of the home every month. While these visits are completed within the time frames, they do not fully focus on developing or improving the home. For example, the independent person’s monitoring has failed to identify improvements in safeguarding and leadership systems. As a result, leaders and managers have not had reliable external oversight of weaknesses in practice and have been unable to take timely action to address concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not work effectively in partnership with the people who are important in children’s lives. External professionals and family members reported inconsistent communication from staff and expressed concerns about children’s safety and wellbeing. These shortfalls have undermined effective multi-agency working and hindered efforts to safeguard children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC483958 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

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; and

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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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that children’s risks are known, reviewed and updated after incidents and that 18 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC483958 8 any changes are communicated effectively to staff. In addition, the registered person must ensure that staff are supported to understand how to keep children safe.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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

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;

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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)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h)) 18 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC483958 9 In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they have clear monitoring and review systems in place to identify shortfalls, improve practice and understand the impact the staff have on children’s progress and experiences. This specifically relates to the manager’s lack of oversight, challenge and follow- up action when staff’s actions do not meet the expected standards.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff working in the home have the skills, experience and knowledge to provide safe and consistent care to children.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. 18 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC483958 10 The conditions are—

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Requirement Due date

that the care is delivered by a person who—

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Requirement Due date

has the experience, knowledge and skills to deliver that care. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iv)(v)(vi) (3)(b)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff understand the home’s statement of purpose and provide support in line with this. In addition, they must ensure that staff understand children’s personalised plans and provide support that meets their needs.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the 18 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC483958 11 competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iv)(vi)(ix)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff understand and respond consistently to children’s emotional and behavioural needs and support children to develop positive relationships based on trust, respect and understanding.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, staff must escalate concerns if peer relationships indicate safeguarding concerns and managers must ensure that they take appropriate action to reduce risks.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that children’s needs are assessed effectively before moving into the home, with assessments that consider their needs, vulnerabilities and risks and the impact on children already living in the home.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, leaders and managers must ensure that children have appropriate support to prepare for independence. 18 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC483958 12 The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (1) (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the independent person’s oversight and reports must provide specific actions that the registered person may take to improve the quality of care received by children in the home. 18 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: SC483958 13

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Positive Outcomes Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Agriculture House, Southwater Way, Telford, Shropshire TF3 4NR

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Inspector

Hayley Booth, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC483958 14 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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