Children's Home run by Aone Children’s Services LTD in WiltshireOfsted inspection, 9 Sept 2026

Inspection report for children’s home: 2774120 1 Registered provider: Aone Children’s Services Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to 3 children with learning disabilities and associated needs. At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Both children were seen and spoken with during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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 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: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2774120 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/06/2025 Full Good 14/08/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2774120 3

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Summary of findings

There are serious failings in how children are helped and protected, and shortfalls in leadership and management. This has had a significant impact on children’s experiences and progress, and the quality of care that they receive from staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff struggle to manage children’s behaviour effectively, which impacts children’s day-to- day experiences. At times, the home environment is stressful, and staff do not respond to children’s emotional presentation and needs in a therapeutic manner. Children have sought comfort and companionship in one another, and this has resulted in them developing unhealthy relationships and going missing from home together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff have failed to support children to develop healthy routines. There is a lack of boundaries, structure and positive stimulation. Consequently, children frequently stay awake until the early hours of the morning and remain in bed until late in the day. Children do not have healthy sleeping patterns, and this adversely impacts their emotional wellbeing, motivation and ability to participate in purposeful activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not perceive children’s education to be a priority. Children do not have school placements and staff have not supported them to engage in educational activities at home. Staff do not recognise that prolonged absence from education increases the risk of underachievement and limits children’s future opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff have supported children in 2 areas. They help children to develop independence skills in preparation for adulthood. For example, the children can cook and use the washing machine. They have also supported children to spend good-quality time with their families, which is important for their sense of identity.

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

Staff do not provide children with the care they need to keep safe. Staff were unaware that an unhealthy relationship dynamic had developed between the children, which had serious consequences. Staff failed to closely supervise the children’s relationships, which meant that indicators of harm were overlooked and children did not receive the intervention they needed to keep safe.

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

Staff provide inconsistent care to children because there is a lack of cohesive thinking about how they should approach children and respond to incidents. This has resulted in Inspection report for children’s home: 2774120 4 the children receiving mixed messages about the appropriateness of behaviours and feeling confused and unsure about expectations.

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

Leaders and managers have not taken appropriate steps to ensure that children are safe online. The home does not have appropriate filtering and monitoring systems in place, so staff do not know what children are accessing online and how this impacts their behaviour. The children have their own devices, which they keep in their rooms overnight. Staff have not implemented device checks. Consequently, staff do not know who children are communicating with online or on their mobiles.

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

Children’s plans and records are of variable quality and are mostly brief. Staff struggle to support children effectively because their plans do not contain guidance and strategies to underpin their practice. Staff have expressed concerns about events that have occurred in the home, but they have not sufficiently escalated their concerns, internally or externally.

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

Staff take appropriate action when children go missing from home and ensure they return safely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management oversight is weak and this has resulted in missed opportunities for learning, staff development and improving the quality of care provided to children. Failure to take effective action to improve the quality of care has compromised children’s safety, experiences and outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not understand the home’s statement of purpose and conditions of registration. They have failed to ensure that they are running the home in line with the statement of purpose. Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that staff have the required knowledge, skills and experience to meet children’s needs and keep them safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not provide staff with regular supervision, and this creates missed opportunities to explore their development needs, any challenges in practice or concerns about the home. Leaders and managers are not providing effective support to staff who are in their probation period, which is negatively impacting their confidence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Feedback from external professionals is varied. There are positive comments regarding communication. However, professionals voiced concern about the lack of boundaries in the home and the use of negative language around the children. They also highlighted shortfalls in children’s transitions. Inspection report for children’s home: 2774120 5

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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 the home’s statement of purpose

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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)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

The provider must take immediate action to ensure that they understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose and ensure that this reflects the conditions of registration.

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Requirement Due date

Staff must have sufficient knowledge, experience and skills to care for children living in the home. 9 October 2026

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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

that staff— 9 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2774120 6 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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

The provider must ensure that staff, including managers, have the skills, knowledge and understanding to recognise when a child is at risk of harm, and to take appropriate action to protect them from harm.

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Requirement Due date

The provider must ensure that staff, including managers, know how to escalate safeguarding concerns internally and externally, and take prompt action to do this.

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Requirement Due date

The provider must take urgent action to ensure that relationships between children are safe, and that children do not harm each other.

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child 9 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2774120 7 and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

The provider must implement and use monitoring and review systems to understand the quality of care children receive and to drive improvements in the workforce.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff help children to overcome barriers to learning and understand the benefits of education, while encouraging them to participate in informal learning and educational activities until they are ready to return to education settings. 9 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. 9 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2774120 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff support children to develop healthy routines and structures that promote healthy sleep patterns and positively support children’s emotional wellbeing and their ability to engage positively in daily activities.

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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: 2774120 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aone Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 1, Oatley Trading Estate, Seymour Road, Kingswood, Bristol BS15 1SD

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Inspector

Emma Fryer, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2774120 10 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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