Children's Home, Residential special school run by Kisimul Group Limited in Lincolnshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC034241 1 SC034241 Registered provider: Kisimul Group Limited

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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 cares for up to 22 children with severe learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Care is provided to children in 2 homes that are located on the same site.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 14 children were living at the homes. Their views were considered during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since November 2025.

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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: inadequate

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: The home was subject to a restriction of accommodation notice and a compliance notice under regulation 13, leadership and management, from 12 May to 23 July 2026. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034241 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/05/2026 Full Inadequate 06/05/2025 Full Good 16/04/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 21/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC034241 3

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Summary of findings

The children receive good care from staff who are eager for them to achieve positive outcomes. Staff are provided with detailed documents about the children which support them to fulfil their caring role and provide guidance about each child’s individual needs. Children participate in a range of activities that enrich their overall life experiences. Children enjoy going to school each day. The manager has been proactive in driving forward improvements in the skills and knowledge of staff, ensuring they have all the necessary training to effectively undertake their roles. Staff are regularly consulted on their views about the children and the home, and they report feeling valued by the manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, no children have moved into or out of the home. Children remain settled living in the home, which has been decorated to provide a warm and welcoming environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are making good progress in their own individual way. The children have defined targets that they are working towards. The consistent and positive approach of staff has enabled children to make progress and achieve their goals. For example, a child has gone from using little speech to now being able to call staff by their name and say other key words associated to objects. Another child who previously refused to have a shower, is now accepting of this. As a result, their self-care has significantly improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in a wide variety of home and community-based activities, individually or with other children. This helps them to develop friendships. These outings are captured in photos, to highlight the achievements of the children and the fun that they have had.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children participate in education each day. It is not possible for one child to go to school. However, they benefit from an educational package tailored to their specific needs and are supported by staff to complete educational activities. Children are very eager to go to school, and this is a clear indication that they are happy to go and learn.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Time is taken to ascertain the wishes and views of the children. Staff use a variety of resources to enable them to gather information from the children. They plan their time with the children, meaning that any direct work is focused and purposeful and the child is engaged as much as possible. Direct work with children has significantly improved since the last inspection, highlighting the work that has been done with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children receive input from various internal therapy services. The staff are quick to identify children’s specific needs and make referrals for additional support where required. Plans are then formulated by all those involved, ensuring a team around the Inspection report for children’s home: SC034241 4 child approach. This demonstrates how children are central to the work being undertaken.

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

Staff have a clear understanding of the children’s risks and how best to respond to their needs. These are regularly reviewed and considered by managers to ensure plans are appropriate and remain current. There is ongoing analysis of behaviour so patterns or trends can be identified and, if required, plans can be adapted to support a reduction in risk.

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

Children have clear and effective risk management plans. These provide staff with essential information to recognise triggers that may lead to a child’s behaviour escalating. There is a proactive and positive approach from staff to ensure that children receive tailored and consistent support in line with these plans. This way of working has seen a reduction in incidents, due to staff understanding children’s needs.

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

The frequency of physical interventions has reduced. When used, they are proportionate and necessary to keep children and staff safe. Managers are proactive in their oversight of incidents and if any actions are identified, the manager ensures these are completed.

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

Children are supported to discuss how they are feeling after being held and their welfare is prioritised. There is a good system in place for mapping injuries, marks or bruises on children and there is continual oversight from leaders to safeguard children.

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

There is an effective process to manage allegations. When a child made allegations against staff, the manager ensured that all information was shared with safeguarding partners in a timely manner. All appropriate actions were recorded, demonstrating that communication is open and transparent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has worked hard to make sustained improvements in the home over the past few months. They took on board the feedback from the last inspection and implemented several changes in the home. These have focused on improving the outcomes for children and on staff having the right skills and knowledge to perform their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager demonstrates a strong commitment to supporting the staff team. They have been proactive in identifying training needs and arranging for staff to complete training related to their roles. They take time to speak to staff and check in with them on a regular basis. The manager has conducted ad-hoc visits to the home at different times of day to ensure they speak with staff on the different shift patterns. Staff say they are actively consulted, and their opinions are sought relating to day-to-day work in the home. They appreciate this and it reinforces to them that they are valued and their views matter. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034241 5 There are regular team meetings, which are held for both day and night staff. Staff are given the opportunity to discuss the needs of the children and, alongside colleagues, explore potential learning or alternative approaches that could be used in supporting the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

children. Staff also benefit from reflective discussions with the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff are now receiving regular and purposeful supervision. The manager has introduced a theme for each month’s supervision to promote reflection and consider any implications for practice in the home and what could be learned. The manager has started to carry out observations of staff practice as part of supervision to assure themselves that staff are carrying out their roles as expected.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Requirements made at the previous inspection have been met. No new requirements or recommendations were set at this inspection.

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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: SC034241 6

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kisimul Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Old Vicarage, High Street, Swinderby, Lincoln LN6 9LU

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Inspectors

Lizette Watts, Social Care Inspector Chris Haines, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC034241 7 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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