Children's Home run by Alpine4care Services Ltd in StaffordshireOfsted inspection, 10 Jun 2026

Inspection report for children’s home: 2721798 1 Registered provider: Alpine4care Services Ltd

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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 provides care for up to two children who may experience social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

A new manager has been appointed since the last full inspection and has applied for registration with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in this home. This child spoke with the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2721798 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/08/2025 Full Good 30/04/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/09/2023 Full Good 23/05/2023 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2721798 3

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Summary of findings

Children are making progress from their individual starting points, particularly in relation to education, attendance and engagement in learning. They are developing positive relationships with staff, and for some children, these trusted relationships help them to share their worries and seek support when needed.

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Summary of findings

Communication between professionals is not always effective or coordinated, which can result in uncertainty and inconsistency in how children’s needs and risks are understood and managed. Consequently, improvement is required to strengthen partnership working and ensure that children benefit from a consistently joined-up approach to their care and protection.

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improvement to be good

Overall children who live in this home are cared for well. The home environment is welcoming and personalised to reflect the child’s interests and preferences. Some aspects of the environment require improvement. Leaders have already started to address these areas during the inspection and are taking appropriate action. This will ensure that the child consistently lives in surroundings that promote their wellbeing and reflect the standards expected of a children’s home.

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improvement to be good

Staff and leaders ensure that all routine and specialist healthcare services are available for the child to access when required. When there are new concerns, they seek appropriate medical advice to help the child receive the appropriate health support. Not all health needs, or strategies to manage these, are understood by managers and staff. Consequently, this means that the child may not receive the care and support they need.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide the child with emotional support through caring relationships. The child has identified some staff members whom they trust and with whom they feel they can share their feelings and any worries. This helps the child to feel valued, listened too and safe. That said, changes in managers and staff mean that the child is not always cared for by people she knows well or feels comfortable talking to.

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improvement to be good

The child is making good progress in education from their starting point. Staff and leaders encourage the child to attend and achieve their potential. This support helps the child to develop the skills and confidence needed for future opportunities and learning. It also provides the child with routines and structures and an opportunity to make friends and socialise.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide the child with opportunities to develop self-care and independence skills. These include spending time away from the home in the local community. Not all care planning decisions are child centred. When challenges arose regarding transport to Inspection report for children’s home: 2721798 4 school, this child had to undertake lengthy independent travel which impacted their emotional wellbeing.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, one child has joined and remains living at the home, another child successfully moved back to live with their parents. Leaders review the impact of children living together to ensure their safety and wellbeing. One child had a planned move to another home when compatibility concerns were identified. These moves were planned and sensitively managed, helping to promote stability and positive outcomes for all the children.

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improvement to be good

Staff and leaders recognise many of the known risks and have taken steps to raise concerns and seek support and guidance from safeguarding professionals. However, communication and information-sharing across the professional network have not been sufficiently effective to ensure that safeguarding arrangements are consistently clear and understood by all agencies. This impacts the effectiveness of planning and risk management and compromises the child’s safety and wellbeing.

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improvement to be good

Staff educate the child about online safety and try to help her understand risks. Despite this, not all staff understand safeguarding arrangements in this area and required phone checks only take place when one trusted member of staff is available. This means that phone checks are inconsistent. In addition, leaders and managers have not sufficiently challenged the local authority when safety planning is unclear. This leaves the child vulnerable.

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improvement to be good

When concerns arise, staff educate children to help them understand risks and make safer choices. This helps children to understand personal safety and provides opportunities for children to learn how to keep themselves safe in the future.

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improvement to be good

Not all significant safeguarding incidents have been notified to Ofsted in accordance with regulatory requirements. This limits external scrutiny of safeguarding practice and reduces confidence in leaders’ understanding of their responsibilities to share serious safeguarding concerns with the regulator.

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improvement to be good

There have been no missing-from-home incidents during the inspection. Staff and leaders have developed individual missing-from-home protocols that reflect each child’s specific needs, vulnerabilities and risk. One child spends time independently in the community to support their growing independence and maturity. This has been appropriately considered, demonstrating a proportionate, individualised and child-centred approach.

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improvement to be good

There have been occasions when staff have needed to use physical intervention to protect the child or others from harm. Physical intervention is always used as a last resort. This helps to safeguard the child while promoting the least restrictive approach possible. Inspection report for children’s home: 2721798 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

At the time of this inspection, the registered Manager post was vacant and there have been changes in managers and the staff team. These changes undermine continuity, stability, and the quality of children's relationships with some staff. The senior management team has remained stable providing some continuity. The regulator was not always notified in a timely manner of changes to the arrangements for the day-to- day management of the home. This has limited the regulator’s ability to assess the suitability of individuals in key roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Senior leaders identified concerns when partner agencies were not working effectively to support and safeguard the child. Although they took action to address this, they did not escalate concerns through the appropriate channels, or quickly enough when care and safety planning concerns remained unresolved. Despite these efforts, discord remains among the child's professional network. This is affecting, co-ordinated support to ensure the child receives the care and protection she needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been a considerable staff turnover since the last inspection. Several experienced staff have left the home, and vacancies remain. The current team includes new and inexperienced staff who are still developing their knowledge and understanding of children’s needs. This means that children are not always cared for by staff who know them well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Although induction, training and development arrangements are in place leaders do not always ensure that staff receive the training they need to meet children’s individual needs and complexities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers critically review the effectiveness of external monitoring and challenge oversight that does not provide sufficient scrutiny or evaluation. Where necessary, they have secured alternative independent review arrangements to strengthen accountability and quality assurance. This proactive approach ensures that all children’s experiences, progress and safety are subject to robust oversight and continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff say they enjoy working in the home and some staff know the children well. Staff receive regular reflective supervision to explore practice and identify any areas for development. Supervision records demonstrate that managers challenge inconsistencies in practice and take timely action when concerns are identified. This promotes a culture of accountability, learning and development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2721798 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that concerns relating to safeguarding, risk management and partnership working are appropriately challenged and escalated. 30 September2026

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that— the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. 30 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2721798 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(ii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s health needs are fully understood by the adults supporting them.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, staff must be provided with clear guidance on how to respond appropriately to children’s health needs and help children develop an age-appropriate understanding of their own health needs.

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

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’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have skills, knowledge and experience necessary to meet the individual and complex needs of all children living in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that workforce planning promotes stability and consistency of care, and that suitably 30 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2721798 8 qualified and competent staff are available to meet children’s needs effectively at all times.

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Requirement Due date

If the person who is in day-to-day charge of the children’s home proposes to be absent from the home for a continuous period of 28 days or more, the registered person must give notice in writing to HMCI of the proposed absence.

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Requirement Due date

Except in the case of an emergency or unforeseen absence, a notice under paragraph (1) must—

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Requirement Due date

be given no later than one month before the proposed absence commences, or within such shorter period as may be agreed with HMCI; and

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Requirement Due date

specify with respect to the proposed absence—

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Requirement Due date

the arrangements which have been made for running the home during the absence;

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Requirement Due date

the address, name and qualifications of the person who will be responsible for the home during the absence; and

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Requirement Due date

in the case of the absence of the registered manager, the arrangements that have been, or are proposed to be, made for appointing another person to manage the home during the absence, including the proposed date by which the appointment is to be made.

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Requirement Due date

If the absence arises as a result of an emergency or is unforeseen, the registered person must give notice of the absence—

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Requirement Due date

within one week of the beginning of the absence; and specifying the matters in paragraph (2)(b).

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Requirement Due date

If the notice required under paragraph (2) or (3) has not been given as required, it must be given without delay.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI of the return to duty of the person in day-to-day charge of the home not later than 7 days after the date of that person’s return. 30 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2721798 9 (Regulation 48 (1) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v) (3)(a)(b) (4) (5) Inspection report for children’s home: 2721798 10

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and homely environment that meets the needs of all the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person must notify Ofsted and other relevant persons without delay of any serious event affecting the welfare, protection or safeguarding of a child accommodated at the home. In particular, the registered person must ensure that incidents that meet the threshold under Regulation 40 are reported to Ofsted within the required timescale and that notifications contain sufficient information to enable appropriate regulatory oversight. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 42, paragraph 9.4)

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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: 2721798 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Alpine4care Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Office Suite 4, Rumer Hill Business Estate, Rumer Hill Road, Cannock, Staffordshire WS11 0ET

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Inspector

Gill Rudkin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2721798 12 regulates and inspects to 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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