Children's Home run by Nottingham City Council in Nottingham

Inspection report for children's home: SC427165 1 SC427165 Registered provider: Nottingham City Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to 3 children who may have emotional and behavioural needs.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home. One child had moved out. All 3 children were spoken with as part of this inspection.

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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

Date of last inspection: 22 October 2025

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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: SC427165 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/10/2025 Full Good 17/12/2024 Full Good 12/02/2024 Full Good 27/09/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC427165 3

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Summary of findings

Children’s achievements are consistently recognised and celebrated. Leaders actively support children to pursue their hobbies and interests and encourage them to explore their identity in a safe and nurturing environment. All children attend education and are making progress. Professionals describe leaders and staff as going above and beyond for children. Children have positive relationships with one another and enjoy spending time together. They are supported to reflect on incidents and, as a result, are making notable progress in understanding and expressing their feelings. However, risk assessments are not always followed when children self-harm, and records relating to CCTV consent require greater oversight and clarity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a warm, welcoming and nurturing home that is personalised to reflect their individual interests and achievements. Their artwork is prominently displayed, helping them to feel valued and have a sense of belonging. Children say that they feel happy and safe. Leaders and staff know children well, speak positively about them and consistently celebrate their achievements. Children are encouraged to develop their hobbies and talents, which supports their confidence, identity and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

External professionals speak highly of the support provided by leaders and staff. They describe communication as effective and collaborative and highlight how staff actively participate in therapeutic activities alongside children to promote positive outcomes. Professionals consistently say that staff go above and beyond to meet children’s needs. They recognise the commitment shown by leaders and staff and attribute children’s progress to the quality of care, support and guidance they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The deputy manager supports children to reflect on and understand why incidents have happened, the impact of their behaviour and what can be learned from these experiences. While the deputy manager facilitates these discussions, children are encouraged to consider their own thoughts, feelings and conclusions. This approach promotes their emotional resilience, self-awareness and social development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals praise leaders and staff for embracing children’s individuality and supporting them to explore and develop their identity. Children are empowered to be themselves, and staff respond positively and sensitively when children choose to explore different names or pronouns, ensuring that they feel respected, valued and accepted. Staff actively encourage children to express themselves with confidence and pride. One staff member, in particular, goes above and beyond to help children achieve ambitions that may initially seem out of reach. Through this support, one child received a personal response from an MP whose values aligned with their own, while another was given the opportunity to meet their sporting heroes, creating memorable and meaningful experiences. Inspection report for children's home: SC427165 4 Children’s meetings are held regularly. Meetings explore children’s wishes and views,

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

looking at activities and planning for celebrations. Meetings are also used to ensure children hear each other’s wishes and understand their feelings when living together.

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

When children’s relationships with peers increase their vulnerability, leaders respond proactively and work in partnership with relevant agencies to ensure that appropriate support is identified and accessed. Referrals to external services are made when required, and comprehensive safety plans are developed in collaboration with the wider professional network. These plans clearly identify risks, strategies and responsibilities to promote children’s safety and wellbeing.

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

Leaders maintain detailed chronologies that help professionals understand children’s lived experiences, monitor patterns and risks, and ensure that support is informed, coordinated and effective in meeting children’s individual needs.

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

Leaders and staff have clear multi-agency working with medical professionals to support children who self-harm. Through this approach, children have made significant progress in their confidence in understanding emotions. However, assessments of risk are not always followed, and children’s rooms are not routinely searched when they may have objects with which they could hurt themselves.

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

Consequences are used infrequently and only when necessary. When applied, they are proportionate, relevant to the behaviour and appropriate to the child’s age and understanding. Children are given opportunities to discuss any consequences imposed, and their views are clearly recorded. Leaders and staff take children’s feedback into account and, where appropriate, amend consequences following discussion. This child- centred approach helps children to feel listened to, promotes restorative practice and supports the development of positive relationships between children and staff.

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

Staff support children to stay safe online and respond promptly when concerns arise about their online activity. Leaders and staff take appropriate action to reduce risks, working in partnership with children and their social workers to implement agreed safeguards on mobile devices where necessary. Children are also supported through targeted educational work to help them understand the potential risks associated with the online world and develop safer online behaviours. This proactive approach promotes children’s safety while helping them build the skills and knowledge needed to navigate online environments responsibly and independently.

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

When children raise concerns about staff, managers act promptly to ensure their views are heard. Appropriate safeguarding procedures are followed, including referrals to the local authority designated officer when required. Children are kept informed about investigations, their views regarding a staff member’s return are recorded, and restorative work is offered where appropriate. However, on one occasion, a staff member did not follow the correct procedures when a child shared concerning information. As a Inspection report for children's home: SC427165 5 result, managers did not have timely oversight of the concern or opportunities to explore the child’s worries fully.

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

CCTV is used at the rear of the property. However, leaders have not ensured that written consent from the relevant placing authorities has been obtained and appropriately recorded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a committed manager, with support from her assistant manager. Leaders are proactive in supporting staff practice, ensuring that staff are well equipped to meet the needs of the children and provide effective care and support. Managers have thorough oversight of the home and, as a result, any areas for development are quickly identified and addressed with the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision and team meetings are firmly focused on children’s experiences, progress and outcomes. Leaders ensure that staff receive regular supervision, where children’s achievements and development are explored and celebrated. Team meetings are held regularly and provide opportunities for detailed discussions about children’s needs, progress and care planning. Leaders also facilitate development days for staff, involving external professionals where appropriate to reflect on children’s needs and strengthen therapeutic approaches. This collaborative approach helps staff to better understand children and provide consistent, informed support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders have effective systems in place to monitor staff training and development. Staff complete training that is tailored to the individual needs of children and undertake additional learning when new risks or concerns emerge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is ambitious and proactive in promoting continuous professional development. Annual appraisals identify clear learning objectives, including reflective activities designed to strengthen safeguarding knowledge and practice. Progress against these objectives is reviewed regularly to ensure learning is embedded. As a result, staff are well informed, equipped to respond to children’s changing needs and able to provide safe, effective and child-focused care that promotes positive outcomes. Inspection report for children's home: SC427165 6

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Recommendations

 Any home using CCTV or other monitoring equipment should have a written policy describing how this will support the safeguarding and wellbeing of those living and working in the home in accordance with regulation 24. Homes must gain consent to any monitoring or surveillance by the placing authority in writing at the time of placement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  Children must be listened to and enabled to report any allegations at the earliest opportunity. Staff should report any allegation of abuse immediately to a senior manager in the home. Any allegation of harm or abuse must be addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.17)  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a

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Recommendations

child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and the placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risk on a day- to-day basis. Staff should ensure that plans are followed, including searching rooms for items that children may use to harm themselves. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report for children's home: SC427165 7

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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: SC427165 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nottingham City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG2 3NG

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Inspector

Louisa West, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC427165 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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