On 23 July 2020 Ofsted published data about residential children’s care homes. For the first time Homes2Inspire is ranked in the top 10 largest private and voluntary children’s homes providers, as at March 2020, with 27 homes.
Paul Cook, Managing Director of Homes2Inspire, said: “‘Since the acquisition by Shaw Trust in 2017 Homes2Inspire has successfully grown, opening nine new children’s homes with a further three under development. This has taken the number of children and young people supported by us to 106, in addition to those looked after in our leaving care flats.
Homes2Inspire’s expansion is a result of new contract wins and existing contract growth. Homes2Inspire’s homes are mixed sized housing, including large five and six bedroom homes. However, the direction of travel has been for smaller homes to look after children and young people with very complex needs. Wherever possible this care is provided within their own county boundaries enabling them to receive wraparound services from their local authority.
The continued growth provides opportunities for employment, the promotion and development of staff. Homes2Inspire prides itself on progressing staff with many home managers having started with the organisation as support workers.
Homes2Inspire plans to recruit more than 75 new staff before the end of the year.
Paul Cook, commented: “This work can be extremely challenging and difficult requiring amazing resilience from our staff no more so than during Covid-19 however, it is also extremely rewarding when you make a real difference to children and young people’s lives, becoming a trusted adult for them and support them into adulthood. The recognition that we are now a top ten Ofsted provider and have above average Ofsted Inspection grades, with 85% of our homes rated Good or Outstanding at their most recent inspections, compared to a national average of 80%, is a testament to our dedicated staff and managers.”
Chris Luck, Shaw Trust Chief Executive, said: “This announcement puts Homes2Inspire at the forefront of residential children’s homes providers and shows the confidence of commissioners in the services we provide when benchmarked against others. This is a real tribute to all the Homes2Inspire staff who all make a significant contribution in providing care for children and young people. At Shaw Trust we believe in the right of everyone to live a decent and dignified life, on a daily basis at Homes2Inspire homes our teams improve life outcomes and social mobility for children when they need us most.”