Children's Home run by Inspire Care (UK) Limited in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report for children's home: 2729941 1 Registered provider: Inspire Care (UK) Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in December 2023. It provides care for up to 2 children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a small private company. The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2024 and is working towards the relevant qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

The term adults is used in the home rather than staff, in accordance with the provider’s preference and consistent with their therapeutic ethos.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2729941 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/06/2025 Full Good 22/04/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2729941 3

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Summary of findings

Children enjoy a range of activities and experiences that help them to broaden their horizons. Children feel safe and say that adults help them and understand what is important to them. Relationships are championed and cherished. Adults build relationships and trust with children at their pace, which strengthens connection.

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Summary of findings

The manager and responsible individual have effective oversight of the home. There is a stable staff team, however, some staff have not yet achieved the required qualification. There are gaps in adults’ understanding of children’s needs and how to support them in line with the therapeutic objectives of the home. Managers are aware of these shortfalls and are addressing them with the team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and cosy and resembles a family home. The children’s interests, experiences and personalities are visible throughout. Adults ensure that children’s special moments are captured and photos are proudly displayed in the home. This creates a sense of belonging for children. Adults write daily positive messages for children to capture their successes and achievements. This lets children know that the adults are proud of them and makes them feel loved and celebrated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Adults support children to build positive relationships inside and outside the home. They recognise the importance of social interactions for children with their peers, and the barriers that they may face. Adults encourage children to try new hobbies, get involved with events and meet new people and develop these relationships. This builds children’s confidence, self-esteem and resilience. One child has taken part in local charity events, which has helped them to feel part of the local community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in education. Adults work closely with children’s schools to understand and overcome barriers to learning. One child has achieved 100% attendance for the first time. Another child has achieved excellent results in their exams. As a result of proactive partnership working with schools, adults know what children need to achieve and strongly advocate for them. One school said that a child’s life had been ‘changed forever’ because of the actions of the manager to ensure they had the right provision that would meet their needs. This gives children the best possible chance to succeed and creates greater opportunities for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Adults reward children for their achievements. They involve children in developing and agreeing reward systems, which helps them to invest in the process. Adults use incentives effectively to support and encourage children’s growing independence and help them reach their goals. This is supporting progress. Inspection report for children's home: 2729941 4 Adults support children’s health and wellbeing. They understand children’s sensory needs well and use this knowledge to build healthier routines around diet, exercise, sleep and self-care. For one child, this has resulted in a healthy weight gain and stable oral hygiene. Adults appropriately identify additional aids, such as sensory chews, to support children to communicate their needs and feelings. This is helping children to develop healthier ways to manage strong feelings.

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

Allegations are taken seriously and promptly investigated. All relevant agencies are informed and involved where appropriate. Children’s experiences and feelings are given paramount consideration and are robustly explored. Adults offer comfort and reassurance to children, which helps them to feel safe and secure.

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

Consequences are rarely used. When they are used, they are appropriate and restorative in nature. Adults focus on relationship-building, connection and repair, which helps children to feel valued and reduces feelings of shame and guilt.

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

There are appropriate safeguards in place to protect children online. Age-appropriate restrictions are in place on electronic devices and adults perform regular checks to ensure children are accessing content that is appropriate to their age and development. Adults supervise children while they are online, to support their emotional wellbeing. This enables children to access and explore the online world safely.

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

Adults work effectively with partner agencies to keep children safe. When there have been worries for children concerning their behaviour being unsafe for themselves or others, appropriate follow-up work has been undertaken with the children. This is done sensitively while recognising and carefully navigating children’s feelings of embarrassment and shame.

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

Physical interventions are used regularly to keep children safe. This is not in line with the therapeutic approach to behaviour management outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. Leaders did not promptly scrutinise incidents during a period of increased physical interventions for one child to identify patterns and learning that would improve staff practice. This resulted in a delay in the child receiving more tailored care and undermined their dignity. Leaders’ subsequent review of incidents involving physical interventions resulted in a change to the preferred approaches for one child when they are becoming distressed. This has resulted in a decrease in physical interventions in recent months.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate and committed to providing good-quality care to children. She is a tireless advocate for children, which has had a positive impact on their experiences and access to services and support. Adults working in the home have confidence in the manager to take their concerns seriously, manage safeguarding Inspection report for children's home: 2729941 5 effectively, support them and champion their ideas. The manager is well supported by the responsible individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Adults are committed to the children. They are warm, nurturing and playful and know the children well. This helps children to feel a sense of belonging, experience safety and build trust. Children benefit from a stable staff team, with minimal changes since the last inspection. There is a consistent pool of familiar bank staff. This supports continuity of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and supervisions take place regularly and are effective forums to discuss the progress children are making, better understand their needs and make changes to how they are supported. Team meetings are used effectively as channels for learning and encourage team reflection on incidents. Supervisions are used to increase accountability among the team. The home has access to an in-house therapist who is used effectively to support children’s wellbeing and progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Adults are suitably trained to respond to children’s individual needs. Adults speak confidently about training they have received, what they have learned and how it positively impacts the care children receive. Three staff currently working in the home have not achieved the appropriate qualification within relevant timescales. Inspection report for children's home: 2729941 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 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

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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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. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that behaviour support for children is in line with the approach laid out in the home’s statement of purpose and that children’s welfare and dignity are always promoted when they are upset. The registered person must ensure that children’s needs are explored and understood, informing their personalised care plan, which should include effective strategies for behaviour support. 25 November 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2729941 7 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;

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

(a)the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”);

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(b) (4)(a) (5)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff who have previously worked in a care role obtain their qualification within 2 years, unless an acceptable reason can be provided. 25 November 2026

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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: 2729941 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inspire Care (UK) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Keystone Chartered Accountants, 263 Nottingham Road, Nottingham NG7 7DA

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Inspector

Kim Morgan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2729941 9 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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