Children's Home run by Xclusive Care Homes Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2839287 1 Registered provider: Xclusive Care Homes Ltd

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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 June 2025 and is operated by a private provider. It offers care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2025. The manager has submitted her resignation and was on a period of absence at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living in the home. The inspector spoke with both children.

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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

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected and their welfare is not promoted and safeguarded, and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor, and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 17 February 2026

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2839287 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/02/2026 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2839287 3

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Summary of findings

Children do not feel safe in this home. Significant shortfalls in safeguarding practice and ineffective leadership and management have had a detrimental impact on children’s safety, progress and overall experiences. Staff do not understand or respond to risks to children, and this has resulted in one child experiencing significant harm.

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Summary of findings

Low staff morale, concerns about staff competency and a lack of confidence from staff in senior leaders have created an unstable workplace environment. Staff do not receive the support they need to understand their roles and responsibilities in caring for and safeguarding children.

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Summary of findings

There are also serious shortfalls in safer recruitment practices, which has resulted in staff working in the home who are potentially unsuitable to work with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s overall experiences are inadequate. They do not feel safe in this home, and their day-to-day experiences are negatively affected by inconsistent care and weak safeguarding practice. Staff do not understand children’s needs well enough to provide them with safe, nurturing or predictable care. As a result, children do not make progress, and one child has experienced significant harm.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not consistently develop trusting relationships with children, which limits children’s confidence in seeking support when they need it. As a result, children do not feel able to talk openly with staff about how they are feeling or share their worries and concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Although both children are enrolled in education, there is no information recorded about how they are progressing or how staff support them with their education. Both children said they need help with their homework, and staff do not provide the support they need. Children do not receive the consistent encouragement and support they need from staff to help them to succeed in their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home environment is not maintained to an appropriate standard. This compromises children’s health and wellbeing. Both children keep animals in their bedrooms, including animals housed in hutches and cages. Staff do not ensure these are kept clean and hygienic. This has the potential to create risks to children’s health and does not promote their overall physical wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders and staff do not ensure that arrangements for children’s family time keep them safe. Staff took one child to where their family lived but did not confirm that the family time took place. The child did not see their family and staff did not carry out appropriate welfare checks to establish whether they were safe, or what support they needed, and Inspection report for children's home: 2839287 4 the child came to significant harm. Staff’s failure to maintain oversight and check the child’s welfare had a significant impact on their safety and wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Since the last inspection one child has moved out in line with their long-term plans. The child was supported well during the move and has settled in their new home.

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

Both children said they do not feel safe living in the home, and staff do not keep them safe. The risks to children are not understood or reviewed regularly by staff. This means that safety planning is ineffective and does not help to protect them.

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

Leaders demonstrate a poor understanding of the significant risks to children and/or children’s vulnerabilities, limiting their ability to oversee practice, challenge unsafe decisions or ensure that children are safeguarded effectively.

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

Staff do not follow children’s missing-from-home plans or implement the agreed actions to keep children safe. They fail to notify the police promptly when children go missing, delaying essential safeguarding responses and missing opportunities to locate children sooner. These unsafe practices increase children’s vulnerability and have the potential to expose them to further harm when they are missing.

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

When children raise safeguarding concerns or make disclosures about potential harm, staff fail to take these concerns seriously and do not always take appropriate action to help safeguard children. One child said, ‘Nothing is ever done and I am never believed.’ This poor practice undermines children’s confidence to speak openly and leaves them at increased risk of harm because safeguarding concerns are not identified and action taken promptly.

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

Leaders’ failure to ensure that there are effective online safety arrangements in place for children has resulted in one child experiencing significant harm. Children’s mobile phones do not have appropriate parental controls in place, leaving them vulnerable to online risks. Staff do not help children understand the risks associated with online relationships, or what safe and responsible online behaviours looks like. This has had a significant impact on one child, who experienced serious harm after befriending someone online.

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

Staff do not respond appropriately when children are injured. They fail to provide appropriate first aid and do not seek medical advice when required. This poor practice places children at increased risk of harm because staff do not recognise when children need immediate care, support or further medical assessment.

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

The oversight of safer recruitment checks is poor. Leaders have allowed children to be cared for by adults who have not been verified as suitable. There are significant weaknesses in the recruitment, vetting and monitoring processes. The absence of robust safeguarding practice places children at risk of potential harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Inspection report for children's home: 2839287 5 Since the last inspection, the leadership team in the home has changed. The manager is not currently working in the home, and the responsible individual has left. A new responsible individual and interim manager have recently started work. Several staff have left and staff sickness levels are high. Consequently, the home has relied heavily on agency staff. This has affected the quality of care, with children often supported by staff they do not know, making it difficult for them to develop trusting relationships and confidence in the staff team. Staff do not always have sufficient knowledge or understanding of children’s individual risks and needs. Consequently, staff do not consistently develop the stable, trusting relationships they need with children for children to feel safe and secure.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff morale is low and many staff say they do not have confidence in senior leaders to provide clear direction and effective support. Concerns about the competency of staff remain unresolved, contributing to an environment that feels negative, unstable and disjointed. This lack of cohesion and professional confidence undermines children’s experiences and impacts their safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Monitoring and review systems are ineffective. Leaders and managers do not demonstrate sufficient professional curiosity when reviewing staff practice. As a result, practice concerns are not identified or addressed promptly. These weaknesses have resulted in failings in the quality of care and the protection of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff shift patterns are not organised in a way that supports safe practice. Leaders do not ensure that staffing arrangements consistently meet children’s needs and provide appropriate staffing levels in line with required staff ratios. As a result, children do not always receive the supervision, support and care they need, which has placed them at risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are not adequately supported to improve their practice or the care they provide to children. Appraisals, regular supervision and team meetings are not taking place. As a result, staff do not have opportunities for professional development or to reflect on their development and on incidents that have occurred.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and staff do not have the training to meet children’s individual needs and manage risks safely. Staff have not completed necessary training to understand how to keep children safe. This has contributed to situations where children have come to harm because staff have not had the knowledge and skills required to recognise risks and respond appropriately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

In addition, recording practices are inconsistent and do not provide a clear or reliable account of children’s experiences, risks and progress. Staff do not consistently record the essential information needed to understand what children have experienced, how they are presenting and developing, and whether their needs and risks are being appropriately identified and responded to. Inspection report for children's home: 2839287 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 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;

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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

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager must ensure that staff are supported to understand children’s needs and vulnerabilities and that clear 2 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2839287 7 strategies are in place to reduce the risk of any harm to the children.

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Requirement Due date

Staff must take immediate action to safeguard children during incidents.

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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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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 has sufficient staff to provide care for 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

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 2 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2839287 8 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)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager must ensure leaders, managers and staff have the required experience, skills and knowledge to provide safe and effective care to each child and staff have the skills to recognise and act appropriately when a child may have been harmed or is at risk of harm.

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Requirement Due date

All children must be supported by appropriate staff-to-child ratios that meet their individual needs.

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Requirement Due date

Managers and staff must receive regular, purposeful supervision, and all staff must be recruited safely and in line with Schedule 2 requirements.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that managers have effective monitoring systems in place to oversee and understand the quality of care children receive. Leaders and managers must ensure that they use this understanding to take action and improve the care children receive.

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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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positive responses to other children and adults.

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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 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; 2 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2839287 9 help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager must ensure that staff consistently help children to understand risks, learn how to keep themselves safe and develop effective strategies to reduce the likelihood of harm.

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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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understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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treat each child with dignity and respect;

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provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(vii)(ix)(c)(i)(ii)) 2 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2839287 10 The registered manager must ensure that all areas of the home, including children’s bedrooms, are maintained as safe environments, free from hazards that could compromise their health, safety or wellbeing, reducing risks and ensuring children are safe.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager must ensure staff maintain clear and up-to-date records, that information is securely stored to protect confidentiality and that records are readily available when required. 2 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: 2839287 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Xclusive Care Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hilton Hall, Business Park, Hilton Lane, Essington, Wolverhampton WV11 2BQ

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Inspector

Jas Nahar, Social Care Inspector Isabella Sabine, Inspector Assistant West Midlands Inspection report for children's home: 2839287 12 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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